Smart appliances

Connected cooler

This type of technology has been a longstanding joke — “Is there anything tech companies won’t connect?” — but smart-fridge technology is really coming into its own.

LG’s InstaView door-in-door fridge,

for example, has a panel on the front that becomes transparent so you can see into the fridge without opening it, and a second division accessible through the panel door — for keeping energy use down. The fridge connects to your phone, so you can control the temperature and features (like express freezing), or switch to “holiday mode” from the app. The fridge will send you notifications — if the door is left open for example, or if there’s a power or connectivity loss, and when you need to change your water filter. Finally, it’s got an air purifier option that can be switched on from the app. This feature will remove odours (R34 999).

Dust bot

The 360 Eye vacuum is Dyson’s take on the automated vacuum cleaner, a segment in which iRobot’s Roomba device is the household name. Using an app to configure and schedule, and a fish-eye camera on top of the device to navigate, the vacuum motors around a room with a mind of its own. It’s an expensive little luxury, starting at R24 000. It has treads like a tank, rather than wheels, so it can manage on carpets.

Art on demand

Samsung’s “The Frame” smart TV is about as beautiful and unobtrusive as a TV can get. It mounts flat against the wall, and when you’re not using it as an actual TV the device does a convincing job of looking like framed art. It includes a preloaded selection of 100 artworks to display. Add your own, too. They come in 55and 65-inch models. (Starts at R34 000.)