October 2026 ertonline.co.uk


And apparently two drums were not enough. After showing its three-drum washing machine concept in Berlin last year, Haier returned with its Multi Care Collection, including the Multi Care Laundry Studio. It packs four drums into one architecture, allowing different washing and drying loads to be handled simultaneously. Refrigeration


received the intelligent


treatment too. The Maestro prototype brings together some of Haier’s most advanced preservation technology, including an AI Defrost Zone designed to gently defrost food while helping retain texture, nutrients and juices. Meanwhile, the Horizon Collection gains Hydro Hub, combining an AI Food Care System capable of food recognition and storage guidance with an enhanced beverage experience. Haier is also linking its food preservation work with efforts to reduce waste, supporting German food redistribution network Tafel Deutschland. AI follows you into the kitchen, where the ID Ultimate Series 6 oven uses AI Vision to recognise food, monitor cooking and automatically stop once the desired result has been reached.


And if that was not enough decision-making


being handed over to your appliances, the I-Pro Shine A-70 per cent dishwasher uses sensors to analyse the load, soil level and temperature before automatically selecting what it considers the most suitable and efficient programme.


From the kitchen to the living room Haier’s connected ecosystem is not confined to white goods.


The company used IFA to demonstrate UltraSense AI for its Smart TVs, where picture and sound can be adapted in real time depending on both the content being watched and conditions in the room.


Its TV portfolio now stretches all the way to a rather difficult-to-miss 163 inches, alongside different display technologies, energy ratings up to Class B and accompanying audio products. Small domestic appliances are part of the


picture as well. The I-Pro Clean Series 5 floorcare range introduces a Double Roller System, while the I-Master Specialty Coffee Machine Series 5 adjusts temperature, water quantity and extraction depending on the coffee being prepared – and can gradually learn its owner’s preferences. Sitting across all of this is Haier’s hOn App, which acts as the digital connector between products and services.


Among its capabilities is Smart Energy Management, which can optimise when connected appliances use energy according to the availability of renewable power, including electricity generated by solar panels.


Giving something back Chief Digital Experience Officer Phil Knight brought the conversation back to what all of this means once you strip away the technical terminology. Haier, he explained, had looked at AI and its new technologies from the consumer’s perspective, asking what these growing capabilities


could actually do to make


someone’s day easier. To illustrate that, the company created a film following different consumers through everyday life, demonstrating the moments where intelligent technology could step in and help. Rather fittingly, Mr Knight revealed that AI had been used throughout the creation of the film itself.


But the message was less about AI for AI’s sake and more about the end result: technology that can remove a task, make something


simpler or just give somebody a little bit of their time back.


And then Haier took things considerably


further. Its


stand also demonstrated how the


company’s work in AI could move beyond conventional appliances and into robotics. Humanoid robots were shown working alongside appliances, completing tasks including loading and unloading laundry and placing food into a refrigerator. Cleaning robots demonstrated the ability to


recognise and classify objects and different types of dirt before deciding how to respond, while companion robots explored how voice assistance and personalised support could become part of everyday life. Then there was the Haier Exoskeleton W3. Made using carbon fibre and titanium alloy, the AI-powered system analyses movement intentions in real


time and adjusts the level


of physical assistance it provides, with Haier exploring potential applications ranging from everyday mobility to sport and training. It is certainly a long way from selling washing machines.


But that was arguably the point Haier wanted to make in Berlin.


The company is still producing appliances, and plenty of them, but its ambition for the intelligent home increasingly stretches beyond a collection of connected products. IFA was full of companies telling us just how


intelligent their latest technology has become. Haier’s pitch was slightly different: the cleverer the technology gets, the less consumers should have to think about it. And if AI really can give us some of our time and attention back, rather than demanding even more of it, that might be one smart-home promise consumers can actually get behind.


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