Will Whirlpool's Wi-Fi washer-dryer hybrid clean smarter?
Whirlpool's Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo tackles washing and drying in a single unit.
If you're always forgetting to move your wet, freshly cleaned clothes from the washer to the dryer, Whirlpool might have a solution for you. The large appliance manufacturer today debuted its Whirlpool Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo.
As its name suggests, Whirlpool's newest appliance fits a washer and a dryer into one tidy machine. While the washer-dryer hybrid isn't a new idea, this version has a bit of an edge over the competition. It's Wi-Fi-enabled and the related Whirlpool app is supposed to give you a little additional control over your cleaning and drying cycles.
According to Whirlpool's official press release, this model will send an alert to your phone when a cycle ends, so you know your clothes are ready. The app also offers a feature called Download & Go Cycles that's supposed to let customers select among a wider variety of cleaning cycles.
This washer-dryer unit is also supposed to sense when your laundry detergent is low and automatically order more through a partnership with Amazon's Dash service.
The Whirlpool Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo also features a detergent reservoir for auto-dispensing. It's supposed to automatically begin drying clothes after a wash cycle ends, too. That could prove problematic if you want to remove a few delicate items before drying the rest; maybe you can customize the alerts to receive a notification when the wash cycle ends.
Whirlpool also announced an Amazon Alexa Skill for early 2017 that should extend voice control capabilities to most of the company's current and upcoming connected appliances . I've reached out to Whirlpool to confirm if its Smart All-in-One Care Washer and Dryer Combo will support the Alexa Skill. Read more about Whirlpool's Alexa integration here.