Feast your eyes on 2017's smart, goofy small appliances
Small appliance makers showed off their newest products last weekend at the annual International Home and Housewares Show (IHHS) in Chicago. Here's the countertop gadgetry that stood out, from the inventive to the questionable.
Aquasana Active Clean Water Machine
The $149 Bluetooth-enabled Aquasana Active Clean Water Machine keeps tabs on how much water it filters and sends that info to a compatible app.
Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker
You connect the $70 Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker the cooker to your home's Wi-Fi network, and you can use Black & Decker's iOS or Android app to change the cook settings while you're away.
Black & Decker WiFi-Enabled Slow Cooker
The slow cooker has three cook settings: low, high and warm.
Bonavita 8-Cup Connoisseur Brewer
Bonavita displayed a protoype of its new Bonavita 8-Cup Connoisseur Brewer. This machine will have design enhancements over the current BV1900TS model.
Bonavita Entry Level 8-Cup Glass Carafe Brewer
Bonavita also showcased its Entry Level 8-Cup Glass Carafe Brewer which lacks a thermal carafe, is made from mostly plastic, but should cost much less than the company's flagship.
TaC Brew Coffee Brewer
Bonavita rounded out its display with another new coffee maker. Made by Victor & Victoria, the TaC Coffee Brewer uses a timer and 3 AAA batteries to make rich coffee in the immersion and pour-over style.
Char-Broil SmartChef TRU-Infrared Gas Grill
This $800 gas grill from Char-Broil has Wi-Fi so you can monitor cooking temperatures from a Char-Broil iOS app.
Char-Broil SmartChef TRU-Infrared Gas Grill
The grill's app also includes guided cooking instructions that will walk you step-by-step through a recipe.
Gourmia Fryers
Gourmia brought its $150 FryHigh Auto Rotisserie Multi-Fryer (roughly converted to £120 and AU$195) and $180 Free Fry 360-Degree Turbo XP Air Fryer with Wi-Fi (roughly £145 and £235), both of which are equipped with Wi-Fi and a camera so you can watch your food cook from an app.
Gourmia Fryers
The prototype fryer on display had a camera called the Cook Cam attached to the outside of the cooker looking into the fryer through a clear window.
Gourmia Fryers
You'll be able to take photos and video while your food is cooking through the iOS and Android Gourmia apps.
KitchenAid Stand Mixer
KitchenAid supersized its stand mixer for the company's booth at IHHS.
KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker
KitchenAid's $130 Cold Brew Coffee Maker made of premium glass and steel materials instead of basic plastic like other models.
KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker
The brewer's compact size designed to squeeze into tight spots in your refrigerator and has a convenient handle for transporting it to your countertop.
Melitta Signature Series Pour-Over
German coffee product maker Melitta says its new $20 Signature Series Pour-Over has subtle improvements designed to make creating a good cup of joe foolproof.
GrowWall
The $600 GrowWall uses hydroponics to grow plants indoors.
GrowWall
There are also smaller versions of the GrowWall, like this cube full of succulents.
Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle
Coffee products were big at IHHS this year. A rep from the manufacturer Oxo uses the company's new $100 Gooseneck Kettle.
Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle
You can use Oxo's kettle with the brand's Glass Pour-Over Set coffee maker.
Oxo Adjustable Temperature Gooseneck Kettle
The kettle will heats and hold water at a specific temperatures between 170 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Oxo Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
Oxo also has a new $100 conical burr grinder that relies on a timer to measure the amount of beans it grinds.
Sansaire Delta
The $249 Sansaire Delta sous vide device mounts on standard household stock pots to create water baths at precisely controlled temperatures.
Sansaire Delta
The Delta's front face, the part that hangs outside your pot, has an LED display to communicate the current water temperature. The device also contains Wi-Fi that links it to a companion mobile app (iOS and Android).
Sobro Smart Coffee Table
The coffee table also contains USB ports and AC outlets for charging your devices.
Sobro Smart Coffee Table
The Sobro's touch controls live on the table's top right-hand side corner. They command the table's audio playback and activate its array of color shifting LED lights.
Sobro Smart Coffee Table
The coffee table's creators have launched an Indiegogo campaign for the product, which will retail for $1,000.
Sobro Smart Coffee Table
The Sobro smart coffee table plays music, charges laptops and phones. It also includes a small refrigerator for cold beverages.
StinkBoss
The $169 StinkBoss uses ozone and heat to deodorize and disinfect items that might not be great for a washing machine, such as shoes or sports equipment.
Vitamix Ascent Series
The containers that come with the new Vitamix Ascent Series blenders and the blenders themselves will use near-field communication (NFC), which lets two devices talk to one another when they are close to one another.
Vitamix Ascent Series
The new Vitamix blenders start at $470 (roughly £380 and AU$610).
Vitamix Ascent Series
The Ascent blenders are also equipped with Bluetooth wireless connectivity. It's disabled right now, but Vitamix plans to turn that feature on this fall. The plan is for the blenders to connect to the Perfect Blend app from the Perfect Company, the creator of smart kitchen scales and apps that guide you through recipes based on the weight of your ingredients.