Sharp has announced a whole smart home’s worth of major appliances, from clothes washers and dryers to a dishwasher, a fridge with a built-in vacuum-pack sealer, and a five-shelf oven.
The Sharp appliances introduced at IFA 2018 in Berlin promise ease of use, energy efficiency, handsome design and innovations such as the vacuum-sealing feature in the VacPac Pro refrigerator. there’s also the Smart Intellidos 10Kg washing machine’s built-in Amazon Dash Replenishment technology that can order laundry detergent when it determines you are running low.
Lots of laundry options
The Intellidos 10Kg is one of three washing machines Sharp announced. They include:
The Smart Intellidos 10Kg: Amazon Dash Replenishment can be activated by registering the Intellidos model to your Amazon account and specifying your preferred detergent and fabric softener, payment method, and shipping address. Sharp announced an Intellidos washing machine at IFA 2017 but it has yet to appear.
Sharp says the machine is able to dispense supplies as needed after you choose from its 15 cleaning programs, and it will reorder as needed. You can, however, adjust the amount of detergent and softener to your liking, and you can also cancel a reorder (the Intellidos will try again in five days).
The cleaning programs vary in length from 12 minutes to an hour. Got a laundry emergency? You can choose from 22 special settings for different types of stains.
Easy Care 10Kg Steam Washing Machine: This machine uses steam to help eliminate wrinkles (and, presumably, reduce the need for ironing). Because steam cleaning uses less water than conventional washers, the Easy Care is more energy efficient and conserves water better than conventional machines.
Sharp says the Easy Care can clean lightly soiled clothes in a mere 12 minutes, and heavy loads in an hour. There’s also a 29-minute water-free cycle intended to give lightly worn clothes a just-cleaned look.
1-Touch Pro 10Kg Washing Machine: Lazy launderers may opt for this addition to Sharp’s super-easy-to-operate 1-Touch Pro Series of appliances. Sharp says you only have to press a single button to run this machine. It senses the textile type and weight, as well as the size of the load and how dirty it is, then sets the appropriate amount of detergent, water temperature, and cycle time. (The only requirement on your end is that you only clean like-colored items in a given load.)
Like the Smart Intellidos, the 1-Touch Pro can choose from 15 washing programs varying in length from 12 minutes to an hour, and offers settings for 22 stain types. Its EcoLogic function automatically adjusts energy and water consumption when it detects a half-load.
Easy Care tumble dryers: Sharp hasn’t forgotten about the need to dry your newly cleaned clothes. A new line of Easy Care dryers use heat pump and condenser technology, which recycles warm damp air internally. This not only makes them more efficient than conventional dryers, but also eliminates the need for the often troublesome vents conventional dryers use to expel warm, damp air. As an added bonus, you get greater flexibility in placing the units, which can be stacked onto washing machines.
Sharp says these 7-9Kg washing machines offer 15 drying programs, including one as short as 12 minutes. Easy Care dryers can handle full loads in less than half an hour, and they stop running when they sense your clothes are dry.
On to the kitchen
1-Touch Pro 15 Place Setting Dishwasher: Sharp’s other addition to its 1-Touch Pro appliance line is a dishwasher that can also run at the touch of a fingertip, figuring out on its own how much time and dishwashing detergent the load requires.
Sharp says the 1-Touch Pro can clean dishes for a family of four in 14 minutes, and complete larger loads in half an hour. Special features include a Three-Way Half Load function that lets you specify which baskets to use when cleaning fewer items. AquaGlide technology lets you aim funnels of water upwards (for interiors of glasses, bottles, and the like) or downwards (for extra cleaning on items on the bottom). For larger loads, a WaterBlade feature lets you activate and target two additional spray arms as needed.
Sharp also touts the dishwasher’s smartphone-like controls, including the ability to open its door by swiping its glass exterior.
AirStream Oven: Sharp’s new 73-liter oven boasts five shelves and technology designed to maintain temperature evenly throughout. Sharp says this means you can cook five of the same dishes at once (think five pizzas, or five trays full of cupcakes). Alternatively, you can cook three different dishes (on the top, middle and bottom shelves) without worrying about their flavors mixing together.
The AirStream’s AirCurtain circulation management technology should keep hot air from escaping when you open the oven door, making for a cooler kitchen overall and lowering the risk of uncomfortable heat when checking on culinary works in progress.
Sharp programmed the AirStream with 150 auto-cook dishes: You prepare the provided recipe and input the number of servings, and the oven takes care of temperature and time settings. When the cooking is done, the VapClean feature steam cleans the oven in just 20 minutes.
VacPac Pro: Vacuum sealing food before freezing it not only saves space but extends shelf life by sucking out air that inflates package size and can contribute to freezer burn. The new VacPac Pro refrigerator-freezer delivers functionality you might otherwise get only in a separate appliance (which also would take up kiotchen space). You can also use it to prepare food for sous-vide cooking (submerging plastic-encased food in water kept at the temperature you want to achieve).
Vacuum packing isn’t the only advanced feature in the VacPacPro. Its QuickDrink function promises to chill a soda can or bottle of wine in five minutes, and its AdaptiZone technology lets you expand refrigeration space when needed by warming up one or both freezer zones.
Sharp plans to introduce these products in Europe first, around the second quarter of 2019.
