Day 1 Edition - 2018 Edition

NEWS Bosch innovations

NEWS Bosch innovations put consumers first Blurred lines between kitchen chores and consumer lifestyle Bosch's IFA Press Conference In a wide-ranging press launch at IFA 2018, German home appliances giant Bosch unveiled an innovative portfolio of products and solutions designed to cater for consumers who want to live a connected, but individual, lifestyle. The Vario Style fridge-freezer, the VitaMaxx blender, the WDU28640 automatic washing machine and kitchen-located smart sensors were just a few examples of the company’s vision. Robert Bosch Home Appliances Managing Director Harald Friedrich added that the company has “shifted position so that everything is done from the point of view of the consumer. And this is something we are not just paying lip service to.” An illustration of what this means in practice is how the company is responding to a blurring of the lines between kitchen chores and consumer lifestyle, he explained. With consumers spending more and more leisure time in the kitchen, many of this year’s products either reflect people’s personal design tastes, or are so unobtrusive they fade into the background. An example of the latter is a new fridge freezer range in a less dominant, carbon black colour scheme. Bosch also discussed various advances on the connected home front. It has, for example, added a number of new partners to its Home Connect ecosystem including Eismann, Otto and Busch-Jaeger. It also introduced innovations such as the Twist remote control, the AIR mobile wellbeing sensor and 360 degree voice controlled security camera range. Michael Bohn, director of brand marketing at Robert Bosch Home Appliances, said many of the company’s new products and services were designed to “take the stress” out of day-to-day life. Other examples of new thinking included the FreshBox, an ingenious cooling system for sub- Saharan Africa that can drop temperatures by 10 degrees without needing electricity. Also of interest was the SmartGrow product range which caters for the hot topic of indoor gardening Hall 3.1 Stand 101 At IFA, Miele outlined its new MChef gourmet service... Miele introduces products for "life beyond ordinary" Company saves the best until last with reveal of new dishwasher technology Miele’s IFA press conference on Wednesday culminated in the unveiling of the new G 7000 range of dishwashers, featuring the integrated PowerDisk system. PowerDisk dispenses detergent automatically and uses powder granulate specially designed for the purpose. The new dishwashers can be controlled by an app and programmed from a mobile device. All that remains for the user to do is to load and unload the machine and, occasionally, to replace the PowerDisk. The PowerDisk is fitted in a receptacle on the inner face of the door. It dispenses detergent by rotating automatically during the programme. It is around 15cm in diameter and just under 4cm thick, and releases a precise amount of powder granulate into the chamber with each 360° turn. It needs to be replaced once a month. Generation 7000 dishwashers go on sale in November. At the IFA 2018 Press Conference, Miele underlined again the importance of its baseline #LifeBeyondOrdinary. “This applies in a very special way to the new and autonomous dishwashers from the 7000 generation,” Miele executive director and coproprietor Dr Markus Miele said at the conference. Aside from filling and emptying the dishwasher and replacing the PowerDisk, “you can sit back and leave the rest to the machine,” he added. Co-proprietor Reinhard Zinkann described the new environmentally friendly SingleWash function in the company’s range of washing machines, which allows single garments to be washed efficiently. “No pangs of conscience any more at running a programme just for your favourite pullover, and no more tedious waiting for enough laundry to come together for a full load.” Miele also outlined its new MChef gourmet service, which brings “top-class restaurant fare to your home”. MChef is available from the startup company of the same name, based in Bielefeld in Germany, and in which Miele has taken a majority stake. The company delivers dishes for preparation in customers’ own Miele dialog ovens. MChef's founder and CEO revealed at the conference that sales start in September in North Rhine/Westphalia, with a nationwide rollout early in 2019 Hall 2.1 Stand 101 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Friday 31 st August 2018 21