Back in April we published a much overdue look at recent food trends. The reason it was overdue was – ironically – that there hadn’t been much change for quite a while and there really wasn’t much new to write about. However 2026 did see some new trends (read the article here).
It’s nearly the same story with devices and appliances we use in the kitchen, and for the same reasons we haven’t done an update on these for a while either – not a huge amount of change.
One good example is air fryers, which we covered as a new trend in appliances back in 2020. Air fryers are now commonplace in many kitchens, but there hasn’t been a new device in the same sense in the past six years, the only advance being that they have become more capable and less expensive since then (see latest developments below).
What has happened instead is that existing appliances – fridges, ovens, dishwashers – have got ‘smarter’ without outwardly looking much different. Smaller ‘gadgets’ are still out there, and some we reviewed here in 2022 are still available and still – in our opinion – worth getting (except perhaps the fridge we profiled, which is now looking a little long in the tooth compared to what modern fridges can do).
To see where things are going in the kitchen, a virtual trip to the Consumer Electronics Show held in January this year in Las Vegas gave some clues – and the answer is generally as above …smarter appliances and devices allowing connectivity between devices via what’s referred to as ‘IoT’ – the ‘Internet of Things’.
Here are some examples that may make their way to your kitchen in the not too distant future…
The HiSense fridge
HiSense want to ‘AI your home’ with their ConnectLife app (which we briefly covered last year here). It of course comes with a built-in smart screen but the really smart thing is its ability to remember what is actually in your fridge so it can suggest recipes you can make based on what’s in there.
Wan AIChef oven
This new countertop oven recognises up to 400 different types of foods and automatically knows how to cook them – choosing the correct temperature setting as well as how long it needs to cook for. Set aside AU$6,000 if you want one when it’s available.
Air fryers doing all the cooking themselves
An air fryer from DREO has an app and a probe for monitoring the food being cooked – for example checking the actual temperature of the food with a real-time probe, and a built-in small water tank for steam to keep the food from getting too dry. There are now also air fryers with voice activation, saving you from having to fiddle with the knobs and buttons to cook something!
Help for people with food allergies
AllergenAlert have introduced a small device that fits in your bag that will detect all major allergens within 2 minutes. If you have a severe allergy this might be the way to still eat at restaurants or get takeout.
No more cables in the kitchen
In the US the Wireless Power Consortium is advocating the installation of a wireless transmitter in kitchen benchtops so that appliances (up to 2.2kW) can draw their electricity without needing to be plugged into a socket. The technology is already approved in the US and now all appliance manufacturers need to do is build in a receiver to connect.
And finally… here’s one innovation with nothing to do with AI or the Internet of Things at all but seems like a really practical way of dealing with limited space in your kitchen – kitchen pots and pans with folding handles. UK-based design company Joseph Joseph has designed a range of stainless steel pots and pans which not only have handles that fold flat against the pans but that also have fold-flat handles on the lids too. Tiny kitchen – no problem!
More info…
https://en.connectlife.io/smart-products/smart-kitchen-products
https://global.wanaichef.com/
https://www.dreo.com/products/dreo-chefmaker-combi-fryer
https://www.allergen-alert.com/
https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/
https://josephjoseph.com.au/products/space-steel-folding-handle-6-piece-cookware-set-stainless-steel
PS the robots are still coming…
https://totalknifecare.com.au/the-grind/robots-ai-and-the-kitchen/
https://totalknifecare.com.au/the-grind/cooking-made-easier/
And here is one of our popular pieces of tech which we promise won’t talk to you (yet)…
