GE Appliances and Haier Deliver a “Smarter Home, Better Life” with Transformative, Time-Saving Technologies

Together, Haier and GE Appliances are transforming the way consumers interact with their homes. Focused on creating a “Smarter Home, Better Life,” the two brands are combining their strengths to bring to life real, meaningful IoT products that save time and create opportunities for consumers to connect with their homes—and each other. Those innovations will be featured during the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), Central Hall, Booth 11128.

“In a connected world, there’s still nothing more important than creating real, human connections with friends and family near and far,” said Shawn Stover, vice president, SmartHome Solutions for GE Appliances. “GE Appliances and Haier rally around this ideal in everything we do by creating opportunities for consumers to spend less time on household tasks and more time on the things that really matter to them.”

GE Appliances is the pioneer of many industry-first technologies. The company has the largest suite of smart home appliances, with more than 300 connected models and partnerships with tech brands including Amazon, Google, Apple and Nest.

Haier’s U+ platform—the foundation for GE Appliances and Haier connected technologies—makes seamless, whole-home experiences possible. Connected service enhances appliance performance and fosters peace of mind for users. It also helps extend the life of products through reminders, software enhancements and capabilities like remote diagnostics.

“As smart home adoption rates rise, we see it as our responsibility to ensure that smarter homes go beyond tech features to actually create meaningful daily impacts on people’s lives,” Stover said. “Our U+ Connect platform helps us do that because it is a fully open, single solution that ties together all smart home technologies and future-proofs connected investments for consumers.”

At CES, GE Appliances and Haier will showcase their collective breadth of smart home products that save time on common tasks like planning and preparing meals, reordering household items, rewashing forgotten clothes and more. And for the whole home, Haier is focused on solutions that promote healthier eating, cleaner air and enhanced convenience and connectivity throughout the home.

Featured Products at CES:

• GE Appliances Kitchen Hub. The first-of-its-kind smart Kitchen Hub helps consumers improve cooking skills with thousands of proven recipes and guided cooking; manage daily tasks, including calendars and shopping lists; and connect with friends and family through live video chat. And because it’s built on the U+ Connect platform, consumers can also do things like tap into their favourite music and movies or control lighting and temperatures—all with hands-free control through the Google Assistant. Doubling as an exhaust hood above the range and faced with this unique, smart screen, the Kitchen Hub puts everyday tasks at eye level, eliminating the need to reach for your phone while you cook.

• Haier Smart Refrigerator. This innovation is a smart refrigerator featuring a 21.5-inch smart screen that transforms the way users manage food and plan meals. It scans foods for expiration dates, recommends meals based on the contents of the refrigerator, is compatible with Amazon Alexa and orders groceries through Amazon Fresh. (Available in China and some European countries.)

• GE Profile Countertop Microwave with Scan-to-Cook Technology. Compatible with Amazon Alexa and soon to be compatible with the Google Assistant, GE Appliances’ scan-to-cook technology ensures perfectly prepared food by connecting with a smartphone to scan barcodes on food packaging and automatically send the microwave precise instructions for cooking times and power levels.

• Café Guided Gourmet Cooking. Developed through a collaboration between GE Appliances and Hestan Smart Cooking, the latest Café induction cooktops and ranges feature Hestan Cue, an app-guided cooking system with temperature-sensing smart cookware that automatically adjusts the pan temperature as users progress through video-guided recipes.

• Casarte Washing Machine. The Casarte washing machine reads the RFID tag on clothing, QR codes on detergent and recognizes the washer’s location to determine water quality to adjust the amount of water, water temperature, amount of detergent, cycle and rinse for the perfect wash.

• Haier Vertical Air Conditioner. The industry’s first fresh-air, self-cleaning air conditioner. Smart technology allows two levels of air volume for maximum comfort—high volume near the head and low volume for less-cool air around the feet—while smart ventilation allows users to continue to enjoy fresh air while the unit is running.

• Haier America Full-Size Kitchen Suite. The first-ever full-size suite of connected appliances from Haier America features a sleek, minimalist style with integrated handles, WiFi connectivity, edge-to-edge viewing glass on the ovens and a French-door refrigerator with the most capacity in its class. (Available in the United States.)

• The Forge. The newest speciality innovation from FirstBuild, a global co-creation community backed by GE Appliances, the Forge produces impeccable ice spheres in an accessible, compact design that was created for use by professional bartenders and mixologists—or even the home connoisseur—for a sophisticated bourbon or cocktail experience.

• Haier Footwear Care Solutions. New Haier speciality shoe solutions, including a shoe washer, smart shoe cabinet and smart shoe bag, solve a common problem for consumers: the desire for clean footwear but the reluctance to use the traditional washing machine to launder shoes.

• Haier Smart Wine Cooler. Haier will unveil a prototype for the world’s first IoT-enabled wine cooler. Leveraging data about more than 800,000 different wines from around the world, the cooler’s smart screen provides users with information about wines, improving their wine knowledge and providing the insight needed to perfectly pair wines with any cuisine. The cooler also allows you to purchase wine directly from more than 100 wineries.

Featured Partners at CES

Throughout CES 2019, the following partners—which collaborate with GE Appliances to power or enhance many of its CES Featured Products—will maintain the presence in the Haier/GE Appliances booth:

• Alexa/Dash Replenishment Service: Alexa virtual voice assistant and Dash Replenishment Service are core features on a number of GE Appliances connected ovens, dishwashers, washers and dryers.

• Drop: The partnership between GE Appliances and Drop brings a layer of intelligence to GE Appliances’ connected ovens. Home cooks can preheat and control connected wall ovens from recipes within the Drop Recipes app, as well as choose from and bring to life more than 500 recipes enabled by the Drop platform right from their kitchens.

• Google: GE Appliances connected products work with the Google Assistant to take connected refrigerators, ovens and ranges, microwaves, vent hoods, dishwashers, washers, dryers and room air conditioners to the next level with hands-free voice controls. The partnership also brings related notifications direct to mobile devices or through GE Appliances apps.

• Hestan Smart Cooking: Through a partnership between two culinary IoT leaders, GE Appliances’ new line of Café appliances includes cooktops and ranges with Hestan Cue, an app-guided cooking system with temperature-sensing smart cookware that automatically adjusts the pan temperature as users progress through video-guided recipes.

• Innit: GE Appliances and Innit partner to enable adaptive cook programs that are tailored specifically to the connected appliance and the food, enabling restaurant-quality results—with a single click—for home cooks of all skill levels.

• SideChef: GE Appliances and Side Chef bring the most advanced recipe guidance and cooking features to the GE Appliances Kitchen Hub. Powered by the SideChef recipe app, the Kitchen Hub delivers an easier and more memorable cooking experience by providing home cooks with guided cooking and access to more than 5,000 recipes, with searching and filtering based on dietary restrictions, food preferences, cooking goals and more.

Featured Leaders and Experts at CES

These GE Appliances leaders, experts and partners will participate in interviews during CES:

• Shawn Stover, vice president of SmartHome Solutions, GE Appliances: Driving initiatives that position GE Appliances and Haier as the leader in the Smart Home space, Stover leads overall SmartHome Solutions IoT strategy including the development of an ecosystem of products and partners that work together to provide owners of GE Appliances with the choice and convenience they desire. A 20-year GE Appliances veteran, Stover is passionate about thoughtful innovation and bringing real value to consumers. He plays an active role in driving industry conversations about smart appliances and the IoT.

• Kevin Nolan, president and chief executive officer of GE Appliances: During a 28-year GE career, Kevin Nolan has played a central role in cultivating the vision for and commercializing the technology. As the president and CEO, he is responsible for setting short- and long-term strategy for the business, including technology, product innovation and product line performance. The chief technology officer for GE Appliances and Qingdao Haier prior to his appointment as CEO, Nolan was responsible for driving the company’s overall technical vision and global product roadmaps. He was also integral to the establishment of FirstBuild, a global co-creation community backed by GE Appliances. A career innovator, Nolan holds 27 patent awards.

• Curt Steinhorst, efficiency expert on behalf of GE Appliances: A bestselling author, executive coach and Forbes contributor, Curt Steinhorst is an efficiency expert partnering with GE Appliances during CES 2019 to explore the role connected appliances can play in creating a more efficient home. After years of studying the impact of technology on human behaviour, Steinhorst founded Focus wise, a consultancy that equips organizations and individuals to overcome the distinct challenges of constant connection. His unique insight has captured the attention of audiences worldwide, from global leadership associations to nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies.