[Miele PerfectFresh fridge which claims to keep food fresh for five days longer than standard fridges]
[Man testing Bosch vacuum cleaner]
[Miele WQ 1200 WPS washing machine]
[Miele washing machine cartridge system being revealed which contains detergent]
[Miele display area]
[Miele Guard L1 Comfort vacuum cleaner]
[Siemens washing machines]
[Sign reading “80 dishes detected automatically. Cooking has never been so easy” and Siemens oven that uses cameras and AI to detect food and suggest the best way to cook it]
[Siemens smart oven with display demonstrating AI capabilities]
Katja Wendel (interview): “The push for AI in products is both driven by us as a brand, but also by consumer demand. Because just look at what happens around us. AI is everywhere. So people of course, start asking, how can it help me in my private life at home? Because at work we are quite used to it already, at least to a certain extent. But at home it’s like you want to understand how AI can help you. And we as a brand are pushing, of course, technology forward. So we use AI to enhance, let’s say, at the consumer experience in a way that really is helpful.”
[Bosch sign]
[Bosch washing machine which can be connected to user’s device to monitor what it is doing]
Andreas Diepold (interview): “The megatrend of networking and connectivity will continue, in conjunction with efficiency and sustainability. For example, dishwashers that show a consumption dashboard. This means that the customer can check on their cell phone how much they have used in the last wash cycle or in the last few wash cycles over the last few months and can change their user behaviour, for example. And being a little more economical is good for the environment and good for your wallet.”
[Siemens smart coffee makers]
[Miele washing machines]
Andrea Nepori (interview): “The smart home will be, of course, the talk of the town here at IFA. We’re going to see if that’s enough to convince us that it’s time to change and upgrade that washing machine, that fridge. And of course, ‘smart’ can mean many things. I think that a lot of consumers will be more interested in the fact that their washing machine or fridge consumes less and so costs less to run, or that it’s more sustainable than, let’s say, a fridge that you can talk to and ask dumb questions to. So we’ll see how these manufacturers will balance the meaning of smart when it comes to their appliances.”
[Miele kitchen]
[Miele integrated coffee machine]
[Siemens washing machines and fabric display]
[Steam being emitted from the fabric display]
[Apple display and Bosch VitaPower Series 6 blender]
[Blender]
Andrea Nepori (interview): “Basically every new technology, we tend to overestimate it in the short run and underestimate its impact in the long run. And if we take that into consideration and we see the news about AI here, I think that’s a better way to frame it. So please give me less of those utter failures that are AI gadgets that you can talk to, record your conversations to. They don’t work. That’s not what we need. We need a better idea, a more profound way that AI, and especially generative AI, can change our lives. And we’ll see if some of the companies that are here at IFA this year have an answer to that.”
[Exterior of Messe Berlin, venue for IFA]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.