Refrigerators that suggest recipes, washing machines that scan clothing before picking a cycle, and sensors that can tell whether a room is genuinely occupied were among the devices shown at IFA 2026, the technology trade fair that concluded this week in Berlin, Germany.
The show appeared to mark a shift from simply "connected" gadgets to what manufacturers are calling "contextual" ones: devices that observe a situation, combine several pieces of information, and adjust their own behaviour, rather than just following a command.
Artificial intelligence featured across televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, security systems, energy equipment and home robots on the show floor. Exhibitors said the real change was not the label but the move from devices that simply connect to devices that can perceive and adapt on their own.
Washing machines and fridges that check before acting
Chinese manufacturer Haier showed its Vision 15 washing machine, which uses a camera to analyse the quantity, colours and fabric type of a load of laundry, while sensors then adjust the water level, detergent dose and cycle length accordingly.
In the kitchen, Haier's Horizon Hydro Hub and Maestro refrigerators can recognise the food stored inside and advise on how long to keep it or where to place it. Haier is also bringing AI to ovens, hobs and extractor hoods.
Fellow Chinese brand Hisense took the idea further with a built-in companion for its PureView refrigerator, which can suggest recipes based on the food available inside and flag items that are approaching their expiry date.
Cameras and sensors that read a room
That ability to "see" is extending across the rest of the home. New cameras from EZVIZ combine multiple lenses and rely on a processing station called AI CoreX, which can analyse footage locally and retrieve a specific clip in response to a natural-language search.
TP-Link's Tapo T150 sensor goes beyond simple motion detection. Using radar, it can determine whether a room is genuinely occupied even when the person inside is standing still.
From single gadgets to whole-home agents
Manufacturers are also moving past intelligence built into a single device. With its ThinQ Claw system, LG has introduced an agent that a user can simply tell about their plans. The system interprets the request, takes account of the user's habits, and coordinates the relevant appliances itself.
Ugreen is positioning its HomeAgent as the brain of the household, combining storage, computing power, monitoring and smart home control in a single unit.
Zendure applies a similar approach to energy management. Its system forecasts solar production, household consumption, electricity prices and weather conditions before deciding when to charge a battery or delay charging an electric vehicle.
Processing kept inside the home
Many of the new products emphasised a return to local data processing, meaning they do not rely on a constant internet connection. Ugreen, EZVIZ, Qualcomm and Asus all showcased devices designed to run AI close to the data they collect, rather than routinely sending video, voice recordings and household habits to the cloud.
The approach addresses a growing concern: the more a home observes the people living in it, the more central the question of privacy becomes.
Still a work in progress
Not everything shown at the fair is ready for shoppers. Some of the equipment will not reach the market until 2027, and other products are still going through crowdfunding campaigns.
The broader trend, however, is clear. Having spent years connecting household devices to the internet, manufacturers are now working to give them memory, perception and the ability to make decisions on their own. It remains to be seen whether consumers will embrace a smarter home that could also become a more intrusive one.
