Connected oven with camera to hit Germany in 2016
Electrolux's connected steam oven and updated app are among the items the company will showcase at this year's IFA electronics show in Berlin. The oven debuted as a concept at last year's event.
A connected steam oven that includes a camera for live streaming will be available in Germany in April 2016, appliance manufacturer Electrolux announced ahead of its appearance at the IFA electronics show next week in Berlin.
AEG, the German arm of Electrolux, debuted the ProCombi Plus Smart Oven at last year's IFA conference as a oven concept not available to consumers. The company equipped the oven with a camera mounted on the outside of the door that can give consumers a live feed on their iOS or Android device as their food cooks. No word yet on pricing or if this product will eventually be available in the US.
The ProCombi Plus Smart Oven's camera give you a live peek at your food.
ProCombi Plus Smart Oven will also include some major cooking shops. The wall oven contains steam system to add more moisture to food as it cooks and a sous-vide function for cooking food in vacuum-sealed bags, a cooking method that's made a dent in the small-appliance market.
Consumers will be able to control the oven's functions and view the live stream of their food with the My AEG app, an updated version of the Let's Taste app that AEG displayed at last year's IFA conference. The Let's Taste app offers recipe suggestions and diagnostic functionality. It will remain available for iOS and Android until My AEG debuts in January 2016.
The camera on the ProCombi oven is mounted on the outside of the door beneath the handle.
Manufacturers such as LG and GE have tried to use apps to connect and control kitchen appliances, but results have been mixed. The Let's Taste app showed a lot of promise at last year's IFA show, so the updated My AEG version should be just as impressive.
The ProCombi Plus Smart's camera is what's really impressive. This additional piece of hardware will give home cooks the freedom to monitor their food remotely, a boon for dinner party hosts and multitaskers. A streaming video will also prevent cooks from repeatedly opening an oven to view their dish, an act that releases heat from the oven and slows down cook times. We've seen this technology included in the United States with the June Intelligent Oven , which became available for preorder in June 2015. But the countertop appliance is the size of a toaster oven, which limits just how much live-stream baking you can do. Electrolux has an edge by equipping a full-size oven with a camera, which makes the appliance a better option for regular cooking in home kitchens.
Check back with CNET for full coverage from IFA 2015.