The Future of Tech: 7 Home Appliances That are Becoming Invisible
Smart home designers continue to add new devices that help around the house, but now they're aiming for invisibility
Luke Buckle
25 January 2019
Three kids. Renovating in Sydney. Again. I love taking photos of inspiring or awkward architecture.
Three kids. Renovating in Sydney. Again. I love taking photos of inspiring or awkward... More
Once, if you had home tech, you shouted it from the rooftops with big, sci-fi inspired devices. But today, the trend is for smart tech that is integrated to the point of being unseen.
Gone are the days of showing off your enormous hi-fi system or Rank Arena television as the tech industry embraces miniaturisation and invisible tech. Here are the seven popular devices that have undergone the transformation from hefty and unsightly to neat and petite.
1. Cooktops that integrate into bench space
Induction cooktops appear as thin glass panels that sit just 10 millimetres above a benchtop. This ingenious design makes them simple to clean, because unlike gas stoves or dated coil elements, there are no gaps that catch food scraps and they won’t rust. Win-win.
Also, as induction cooktops are seamless and crafted from a single sheet, they are safer around children as the glass surface doesn’t get as hot as ceramic or gas cooktops. Induction cooking may also cost you more than traditional alternatives, but think of the joy in cleaning it easily, the sleek lines, and the extra bench space you will gain.
Tip: If you buy an induction cooktop you may need to replace your pots and pans as glass, aluminium and copper are not suitable and only flat-bottom pots work efficiently.
Induction cooktops appear as thin glass panels that sit just 10 millimetres above a benchtop. This ingenious design makes them simple to clean, because unlike gas stoves or dated coil elements, there are no gaps that catch food scraps and they won’t rust. Win-win.
Also, as induction cooktops are seamless and crafted from a single sheet, they are safer around children as the glass surface doesn’t get as hot as ceramic or gas cooktops. Induction cooking may also cost you more than traditional alternatives, but think of the joy in cleaning it easily, the sleek lines, and the extra bench space you will gain.
Tip: If you buy an induction cooktop you may need to replace your pots and pans as glass, aluminium and copper are not suitable and only flat-bottom pots work efficiently.
2. Speakers that reinvent the wheel
Being stylish and barely visible doesn’t always mean innovative products are automatically small. One extremely minimalist new speaker, the Beosound Edge by Bang & Olufsen, looks more like a chrome wheel than a speaker. Crafted by renowned designer Michael Anastassiades, whose work is featured in collections at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York, this aluminium-clad disc will go unrecognised by visitors until you step up to adjust the volume.
“If you look in my home, I always hide my electronic products in the cupboard, as I don’t want technology to take over,” says Anastassiades. “At least, this has been the story until now. This was a very good starting point for me, and served as a challenge … to create a design that I could leave outside the cupboard. The intention was to create a very mysterious object; one that is so abstract that it doesn’t scream, ‘I am a speaker!’”
Functionality-wise, you can increase the volume by physically rolling the speaker to the right. To decrease the volume, rock it to the left. Rock or roll it faster for greater adjustments. Another ‘hide me until I’m needed’ feature are the proximity sensors that detect when you come near the device, illuminate the controls automatically, then fade to black again when not in use.
The Verdict: 5 Smart-Home Ideas Worth Adopting
Being stylish and barely visible doesn’t always mean innovative products are automatically small. One extremely minimalist new speaker, the Beosound Edge by Bang & Olufsen, looks more like a chrome wheel than a speaker. Crafted by renowned designer Michael Anastassiades, whose work is featured in collections at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York, this aluminium-clad disc will go unrecognised by visitors until you step up to adjust the volume.
“If you look in my home, I always hide my electronic products in the cupboard, as I don’t want technology to take over,” says Anastassiades. “At least, this has been the story until now. This was a very good starting point for me, and served as a challenge … to create a design that I could leave outside the cupboard. The intention was to create a very mysterious object; one that is so abstract that it doesn’t scream, ‘I am a speaker!’”
Functionality-wise, you can increase the volume by physically rolling the speaker to the right. To decrease the volume, rock it to the left. Rock or roll it faster for greater adjustments. Another ‘hide me until I’m needed’ feature are the proximity sensors that detect when you come near the device, illuminate the controls automatically, then fade to black again when not in use.
The Verdict: 5 Smart-Home Ideas Worth Adopting
Hiding your speakers in plain sight is also the thinking behind this clever wall-mounted Shape speaker set by Bang & Olufsen. “I try to make things as clear and non-technical as possible,” says designer Øivind Alexander Slaatto. “Technology just has to work, without you even noticing it is technology.”
Tip: This model is modular so you can ‘shape’ it yourself.
Tip: This model is modular so you can ‘shape’ it yourself.
Image from LG
3. Smart speakers get sexy
Letting go of the screens that dominate our lives could be one more benefit of internet-connected speakers. A recent survey found that 66 percent of smart-speaker users reported they have been using their phones for fewer activities since adopting smart speakers.
Google started this new trend with their Google Home Mini smart speakers that fulfil a range of tasks while avoiding attention with their Scandinavian styling in in neutral colours. “We see the home as a special place,” says Tríona Butler Lavery, a designer and lead on the Google Home and Nest team, in an interview with The Irish Times. “We don’t want to bring more black boxes into people’s homes.”
Many of these speakers have outgrown their first phase of whites and greys and are now branding out into colours such as aqua and red as they become an accepted, albeit small and easily hidden, part of a home’s decor.
Amazon, Apple, Sonos, Google: Which Smart Speaker is the Best?
3. Smart speakers get sexy
Letting go of the screens that dominate our lives could be one more benefit of internet-connected speakers. A recent survey found that 66 percent of smart-speaker users reported they have been using their phones for fewer activities since adopting smart speakers.
Google started this new trend with their Google Home Mini smart speakers that fulfil a range of tasks while avoiding attention with their Scandinavian styling in in neutral colours. “We see the home as a special place,” says Tríona Butler Lavery, a designer and lead on the Google Home and Nest team, in an interview with The Irish Times. “We don’t want to bring more black boxes into people’s homes.”
Many of these speakers have outgrown their first phase of whites and greys and are now branding out into colours such as aqua and red as they become an accepted, albeit small and easily hidden, part of a home’s decor.
Amazon, Apple, Sonos, Google: Which Smart Speaker is the Best?
4. TVs that double as wall art
Just as Bang & Olufsen reimagined the smart speaker, Samsung reinvented the appearance of dormant TV with its The Frame television, and recently released the second generation of this game-changing model. The television hangs flat on a wall and has thin, frame-like bezels that come in a choice of white, walnut or light wood. Owners can then choose from hundreds of artworks, or upload their own photos and images, to appear on the screen when the television is off. This means that while dormant, The Frame ‘reads’ as an artwork, not a TV.
To top if off, all HDMI, USB and other cables connect to the TV via a single white cable and a large black box that you can hide elsewhere. The ‘artwork’ illusion is complete.
Just as Bang & Olufsen reimagined the smart speaker, Samsung reinvented the appearance of dormant TV with its The Frame television, and recently released the second generation of this game-changing model. The television hangs flat on a wall and has thin, frame-like bezels that come in a choice of white, walnut or light wood. Owners can then choose from hundreds of artworks, or upload their own photos and images, to appear on the screen when the television is off. This means that while dormant, The Frame ‘reads’ as an artwork, not a TV.
To top if off, all HDMI, USB and other cables connect to the TV via a single white cable and a large black box that you can hide elsewhere. The ‘artwork’ illusion is complete.
5. App-controlled robot vacuum cleaners
In a few short decades, hauling a vacuum cleaner around the house has gone from an arduous task that could ruin your back to an unseen, scheduled job for an efficient little robot.
The reality of automated vacuuming has still not struck home for most of us and that could be because these robotic housemaids are not yet able to give your carpets a lasting clean.
For floorboards, however, the latest model from Ecovacs, the Deebot 900 pictured above, is an interesting housemate. Of course you can be away from home and not see it do the work, or you can use the smartphone app to remotely watch the Deebot navigate through your house, then around the chairs and tables. It’s also clever enough to return to its base when the battery is low and will connect with a Google-powered smart speaker.
In a few short decades, hauling a vacuum cleaner around the house has gone from an arduous task that could ruin your back to an unseen, scheduled job for an efficient little robot.
The reality of automated vacuuming has still not struck home for most of us and that could be because these robotic housemaids are not yet able to give your carpets a lasting clean.
For floorboards, however, the latest model from Ecovacs, the Deebot 900 pictured above, is an interesting housemate. Of course you can be away from home and not see it do the work, or you can use the smartphone app to remotely watch the Deebot navigate through your house, then around the chairs and tables. It’s also clever enough to return to its base when the battery is low and will connect with a Google-powered smart speaker.
6. Tiny dials with a big impact
Traditionally, Australians have not warmed to thermostats like people in the northern hemisphere. But as power prices rise, more people are considering the benefits of temperature control to reduce power bills. Not only are thermostats relatively inexpensive but their control displays are disappearing before our eyes. Most also come Wi-Fi enabled so you don’t even need to get off the sofa if you have a smartphone or tablet nearby.
Two such models are the Ecobee4 and the Nest, both of which are designed as minimally as can be. If you pick one with geo-fencing technology, your home’s temperature will auto-adjust depending on if you are arriving home or leaving. The Ecobee also comes with remote sensors that you conceal in rooms with fluctuating temperatures so it can better regulate your comfort at any time.
Traditionally, Australians have not warmed to thermostats like people in the northern hemisphere. But as power prices rise, more people are considering the benefits of temperature control to reduce power bills. Not only are thermostats relatively inexpensive but their control displays are disappearing before our eyes. Most also come Wi-Fi enabled so you don’t even need to get off the sofa if you have a smartphone or tablet nearby.
Two such models are the Ecobee4 and the Nest, both of which are designed as minimally as can be. If you pick one with geo-fencing technology, your home’s temperature will auto-adjust depending on if you are arriving home or leaving. The Ecobee also comes with remote sensors that you conceal in rooms with fluctuating temperatures so it can better regulate your comfort at any time.
7. App-controlled smart blinds
Not long ago, motorised blinds arrived with the ability to offer us the freedom to raise them at the touch of a button. Now, blind manufacturers have added a smartphone app and voice control, so you can operate your blinds while you are away from home. And, if you have a smart speaker, you can just give the command and it will be so.
Tell us
What piece of technology would you like to see disappear in your home? Tell us in the Comments below; like, save and share this story; and join the conversation.
More
Fancy installing some fancy invisible tech in your home? Find an electrician near you
Not long ago, motorised blinds arrived with the ability to offer us the freedom to raise them at the touch of a button. Now, blind manufacturers have added a smartphone app and voice control, so you can operate your blinds while you are away from home. And, if you have a smart speaker, you can just give the command and it will be so.
Tell us
What piece of technology would you like to see disappear in your home? Tell us in the Comments below; like, save and share this story; and join the conversation.
More
Fancy installing some fancy invisible tech in your home? Find an electrician near you
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My daughter and I were talking a few hours ago about technological advances. She is part of the last generation to know cassette tapes, landlines stuck on a wall, pre mobile and pre the world wide net. She has adapted fabulously but can appreciate the changes. Her children will know nothing about these things as they step straight into the 2020's taking new technologies for granted.
I have just acquired a robotic vacuum cleaner. My dog is a continuous shedder of hair and I was getting tired of the drifts of golden hair collecting in the corners of the room. Also thought it may have been activating my hay fever. Couple that with a hatred of vacuuming and you can understand my wish for assistance - hence iRobot - known as Bertie. I click Bertie's app on my phone when heading out to walk the dog in the morning, and by the time we get home he has completed his cleaning job and is safely docked at the charging port. Fantastic! May have to get the Dyson out occasionally for the difficult-to-reach spots but can cope with that if Bertie copes with the daily clean.