Mike Wuerthele
Whirlpool will add Apple Watch support to its app in 2018, allowing users of the wearable to control more than 20 compatible appliances when the technology is fully deployed.
Announced at the Las Vegas 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, users with compatible appliances will be able to check or change oven temperature during a cook cycle, change the type of wash cycle while a clothes washer is in use, or see if a cycle has started or how much time remains on a a cycle. It doesn't appear at this time that the appliance can be turned on remotely by the Apple Watch, though.
Appliances listed as compatible with the technology include the Smart Cabrio washer and dryer, the Smart Front Load washer and dryer. At present, it isn't clear which ovens will work with the technology.
The Whirlpool app for the iPhone already exists. Apple Watch compatibility will arrive "later this year" according to Cnet.
Andrew Orr
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25 Comments
There’s an app no one needs...
I can see people wanting to control the temp in their homes, scheduling the grass watering (or turning it off remotely if it’s raining), controlling the oven, etc. but no one cares managing the dryer/washer remotely.
Based on all the trouble I've had out of my Whirlpool and Whirlpool Gold appliances I bought for my new home 5 years ago, the only benefit I'd receive is if this feature would automatically schedule a repair so that I wouldn't have to do it myself.
Based on my purchase of a new Whirlpool refrigerator, dishwasher, range, microwave, and washer, and dryer, I'll NEVER buy Whirlpool again. Ironically, the microwave received the lowest ratings (1 star!!!) and is the ONLY one of those six products that hasn't failed...yet. The washer and dryer have been the most problematic and they were the highest rated models by Consumer Reports at the time! The dishwasher's plastic handle is poorly design and breaks in half every couple of years and the circulation pump has failed. The display on the dryer failed right after the one year warranty expired and parts were no longer available. The refrigerator doesn't like to dispense water, but happily dispenses ice all over the floor.