Coffee machines and dishwashers now smarter / New content for Amazon Alexa

The Miele@mobile app is becoming increasingly multi-talented: The latest addition is a food service which delivers the ingredients of a recipe or even your next big shopping order to your doorstep. Furthermore, many details of the applications have undergone improvement, and further connected appliances have been added. Besides this, Amazon's voice-controlled assistant Alexa has learned a great deal more about Miele domestic appliances; 'Echo Show' can now display favourite recipes. Miele's Scout RX2 robovac is yet another smart appliance.

According to a survey carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 40% of Germans intend to buy groceries on the internet over the coming 12 months. According to its authors, the online food trade is on the brink of a breakthrough. Given this general trend, Miele's new food service is highly topical. And this is how it works: Users select their favourites from over 1,200 recipes on the food portal in the Miele@mobile app. An appropriate shopping list can be transferred to a delivery portal with a single click. This simply involves entering a postcode to call up a selection of suppliers in the local region. All ingredients are then added to the shopping basket for the selected provider; the shopping list can still be edited at will and further items added.

'This application significantly upgrades our Miele@mobile app. Never before has shopping been easier or more time-saving', says Nadine Hanselmann, Business Development Manager with Miele's Smart Home division. The food delivery service – not to be confused with the MChef gourmet service (as presented in Press Release No. 078/2018) – will be available from August 2018 in Germany; Austria and Great Britain are to follow in September.

App simplifies re-ordering of detergents

The additional delivery service is not the only improvement the app has undergone. New, too, is a menu option which shows consumables such as detergent and filters for all connected machines, as well as maintenance intervals. Here are some examples from the wealth of information provided: The level in the TwinDos cartridges is down to 15%; the cooker hood is already half-way through its recommended active charcoal filter replacement cycle; the coffee machine needs descaling after a further 20 cups – from here, re-ordering in the Miele online shop is only a few clicks away. Further improvements: The user interface for the recipe portal has been reworked. This makes searching for recipes and ingredients even more user-friendly. Registering an appliance with the app is now even simpler.

New networking functions for coffee machines and dishwashers

A 'newcomer' in the circle of connected Miele appliances is the CM 7750 CoffeeSelect countertop coffee machine. The machine can be configured remotely to deliver coffee or to monitor levels in the beans container, water tank or milk flask from the convenience of the Miele@mobile app. The app also shows the maintenance status (see also Press Release No.081/2018) and also reduces the burden of work in connection with dishwashers from the G 7000 generation. The new models feature automatic dispensing (AutoDos). Furthermore, starting times can be programmed from a smartphone using the AutoStart function, allowing machines to run autonomously and leaving only loading and unloading to the user. Particularly in large families with busy agendas, this can be welcome help in managing a busy life (see also Press Release No. 076/2018).

'Echo Show' relays machine information and recipes to the screen

Miele has also worked hard at developing communication using Amazon's voice-controlled assistant Alexa. Now, programme selection and the Start/Stop function on Generation G 7000 dishwashers is now possible by voice control. Users requesting the Miele recipe of the week can, alternatively, see the results on Amazon's Echo Show. Echo Show is Alexa's screen extension. This screen can also be used to visualise the SuperVision function. It shows the status of all connected domestic appliances and provides users with useful information such as how long the washing machine in the utility room still has to run. Miele is working relentlessly on skills for Alexa, helping the knowledge base, including food preparation tips, cooking times for food, how to remove stains or information on the special features of specific Miele appliances, to grow apace.

The Scout RX2, too, obeys Alexa

The Scout RX2 robovac has its own version of an app. This product, too, will respond to voice controls in future via Alexa. One such command might for example be 'Alexa, tell Miele to start the robovac'. This application will be introduced together with the next skill update at the beginning of October. The 'Carpet Boost' function already works on the RX2 app: If activated in the app, the Scout RX2 automatically increases suction power when it encounters carpeting.

(771 words, 4,887 characters incl. spaces)

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Professional Business Unit). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has eight production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2017/18 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 4.1 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of around 20,100, 11,200 thereof in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.