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Whirlpool is launching a Wear OS app for its connected appliances

Whirlpool is launching a Wear OS app for its connected appliances

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New and hopefully better mobile abilities

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Whirlpool has announced that it is expanding the mobile watch functionality of its connected appliances to Wear OS ahead of CES 2019. This expands the foray Whirlpool made to mobile earlier this year when it announced plans for an Apple Watch app. In addition, Whirlpool said it’s introducing simplified voice commands to its Smart Laundry appliances for both Google Assistant and Alexa devices.

In the planned Wear OS app, owners of Whirlpool connected appliances will be able to see status updates and control certain commands via their watches. For example, the app will let you see a connected oven’s current status and control commands when it’s in use. With a Whirlpool connected washer, you’ll get status updates and be able to change wash options during an active cycle. Lastly, with one of Whirlpool’s connected dryers, you’ll be able to see if a cycle has started and also how much drying time is left.

Whirlpool’s simplified voice commands for Google Assistant and Alexa devices mean you’ll no longer need to state the specific brand when requesting to complete an action, such as assigning wash settings.

There’s no exact date for when the Wear OS app or the simplified commands will be available, but Whirlpool says to expect both this year. Hopefully, the Wear OS app will fare better than the company’s attempt at a mobile app, which has gotten poor reviews from both Apple and Android users.