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The dreamy home appliances of IFA 2015 (pictures)

On display at the glitzy IFA show in Berlin this week, along with traditional consumer electronics, was a sparkling array of futuristic home appliances. We saw everything from camera-equipped fridges and ovens to wall-mounted sous vide cookers and app-controlled kettles.

Brian Bennett
Brian Bennett is a former senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET.
Brian Bennett
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1 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Way beyond basic sous vide

If you’re really into sous vide cooking or just host lots of gourmet dinner parties at home, KitchenAid has a product that’s sure to appeal. Costing a cool €10,000, the KitchenAid Chef Touch Sous Vide Collection is definitely meant for well-heeled European shoppers. Wall-mounted, this machine goes way beyond basic immersion and countertop sous vide gadgets. Instead of water, this appliance uses steam to cook food at precisely controlled temperatures, has its own vacuum bag sealer, and freezer for saving sous vide-prepped portions.

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2 of 11 Ry Crist/CNET

Forget your socks, no problem

The Samsung WW8500 AddWash has its name for a reason. This washing machine is built for those of us who always seem to forget including some item in the laundry cycle. Sporting a hidden clothes hatch, the AddWash lets forgetful laundry doers drop in that essential pair of socks, towel, what have you without interrupting the entire cleaning process.

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3 of 11 Smarter

Smarter for hot water on time

Don’t settle for an ordinary kettle when you can own a smarter one. Created by British connected appliance maker Smarter, the £99.99 Smarter Kettle 2.0 is touted to have enough electronic intelligence to track your schedule and even local traffic and adjust its programmed brew time accordingly.

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4 of 11 Ry Crist/CNET

This fridge has x-ray vision

With Haier’s new Smart Window Refrigerator you no longer have to keep the fridge wide open to see what’s inside. Indeed this door-in-door model will convert an otherwise opaque refrigerator door into a translucent window when it detects motion before it. And when movement subsides the appliance will automatically switch its internal light off to save electricity.

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5 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

The sense for heat

Taking one step closer to the dream of automated robotic cooking, the Bosch Series 8 ovens not only provide heat but also sensors to analyze how hot food is in real time. Based on these two factors, Bosch says these machines can adjust their heat levels intelligently so burnt roasts and underbaked cakes will be a thing of the past.

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6 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Sanitise without super hot water

Understanding that one big reason why we wash clothes is for good hygiene, Bosch unveiled a fresh washer billed with the power to destroy germs. Called ActiveOxygen, according to Bosch the laundry mode is designed to destroy 99.99 percent of bacteria and germs hiding within your apparel.

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7 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

A fridge that's anything but no-frills

Boasting special modes for keeping food fresh longer without the danger of exposing refrigerator items frost, the Bosch NoFrost fridge line large and in charge. The premium Series 8 cooling appliances will even ship with Web-connected cameras for checking shelves via Android and iOS mobile app.

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8 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Two drums are better than one

Envisioned to tackle the headache of washing whites and darks in two separate cycles, the Haier Duo takes the high road but doing both at once. Equipped with two drums stacked vertically, the Duo has the chops to run twin loads of clothes simultaneously.

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9 of 11 Haier

Wash your clothes with intelligence

Haier’s second stab at a connected laundry solution, the new Intelius 2.0 washing machine sports a colorful 7-inch screens and LED lights for quick status updates at a glance. The washer also connects to the Intelius mobile app for commanding the laundry cycle remotely and to stay in the loop regarding relevant developments.

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10 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Modular fridge, mix and match shelves

Finding room in the fridge for all your tasty items can be a challenge but not with the Custom Flex refrigerator says Electrolux AEG. This interesting kitchen appliance has a modular shelf system designed to provide a kaleidoscopic array of options and configurations to adapt to a wide range of container sizes and storage needs.

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11 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

An oven that sees through steam

First shown as a prototype last year, the ProCombi Steam Oven is now a real product. The wall-mounted oven cooks with the power of steam plus has an internal camera to check in on food status via Android and iOS mobile application.

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