Samsung Makes Your Chores High-Tech With Wi-Fi Washing

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Now your washing will talk to your smartphone.

The promise of modern technology is to make everyday tasks easier. Sure, your smartphone can enable you access to information more conveniently than ever before, but can it help you simplify your household chores? Maybe it soon can.

At CES, Samsung announced that basically everything it makes has Wi-Fi. Naturally its notebooks, smartphones, tablets, computers and even smart TVs have wireless internet, but now so do its home appliances. New for CES is – believe it or not – a Wi-Fi-packing washer and dryer (yes, the kind that cleans and fluffs your clothes).

On demo on the show floor is a 5.2 cu. ft. capacity WF457 front-loading washer that has what Samsung calls a Smart Control system, which allows consumers to stay connected to the washer cycle without having to remain close by the machine.  Consumers can, via a smart phone application, monitor cycle selections, remaining time and finishing alerts, as well as remotely start or pause the washer from anywhere in the house.

Samsung demonstrated this to us via an Android app running on a Galaxy S II. Check it out in the video below:

Samsung has also done away with old fashion knobs and dials and has put in an 8-inch color LCD touch screen in case you wanted to control the washer right in front of it.

Aside from the networking technology, Samsung boasts that the WF457 washer is the first from the company to feature Water Shot Technology, which delivers a cleansing shot of water with dissolved detergent and then a rinsing shot for dual rinse performance.  The result is a cycle time that is up to 25 percent shorter compared with conventional washers.

All Samsung has to figure out now is how to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer without human intervention. Maybe for CES 2013?

The WF457 Washer and matching dryer will be available in Charcoal at major retailers in Spring 2012.

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Marcus Yam

Marcus Yam is a technology evangelist for Intel Corporation, the latest in a long line of tech-focused roles spanning a more than 20-year career in the industry. As Executive Editor, News on Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, Marcus was responsible for shaping the sites' news output, and he also spent a period as Editor of Outdoors & Sports at Digital Trends.

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12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • joytech22
    LOL, smart devices done right?
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    You still need to reach the washing machine access your cloths, so having Wi-Fi is kinda useless.
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    The WTF457?
    Reply
  • supall
    Well, this is perfect! Now all they have to do is find a way to...I got it!

    Have a washer on top of a dryer (unconventional, yes), and when the washer is done and the water has been drained, the bottom portion of the washer opens up and dumps the wet clothes into the dryer - and automatically start the dryer upon closing the hatch. All that needs to happen now is an automated process to fill up the washer and a way for clothes to be automatically dumped from a dryer to a bin to be folded up by a machine. :-D
    Reply
  • del35
    Oh no. iCrap will sue.
    Reply
  • southernshark
    It won't be long until our entire house is wired and is turned into a thinking computer that does much of our tasks for us.
    Reply
  • freggo
    TomfreakYou still need to reach the washing machine access your cloths, so having Wi-Fi is kinda useless.
    You have never washed your own cloth I guess :-)

    Our washer/dryer is in the Garage. Washing cycle... 20 minutes, drying cycle 35 minutes.
    If you need to do several loads it is nice to be reminded where the dryer is in its cycle so you can start the next wash. Also, you don't have to run all over the house just to check if the dryer is finished and ready for the next load !

    Reply
  • freggo
    supallWell, this is perfect! Now all they have to do is find a way to...I got it!Have a washer on top of a dryer (unconventional, yes), and when the washer is done and the water has been drained, the bottom portion of the washer opens up and dumps the wet clothes into the dryer - and automatically start the dryer upon closing the hatch. All that needs to happen now is an automated process to fill up the washer and a way for clothes to be automatically dumped from a dryer to a bin to be folded up by a machine. :-D

    Or simply integrate a dryer function into a washing machine :-)

    Reply
  • _Cubase_
    freggoOr simply integrate a dryer function into a washing machine :-)
    Well, you could save yourself the hassle and buy one of the many washer/dryer combos already on the market. But if you insist on making your own, you could always pull an Apple and after you've made it, claim it's a "world first" and sue the other companies for their lack of vision!
    Reply
  • ikyung
    Smart homes have been gaining popularity in South Korea for couple years now. My uncle's home in SK has everything hooked up online. Kinda weird imo...
    Reply