I mean, brands of electronics launch so many models of smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs with different RAM and storage capacities, inputs like HDMI and USB, screen sizes and so on that we can’t decide which one to buy.
But as I observed, domestic appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, fridges, irons, vacuum cleaners and so on nearly stay the same and not many of them are launched so often. Their main functions approximately have stayed the same, except detergent adjusting and less water consumption for washing machines, for example. And ovens adjusting time of cooking according to type of dish. And robot vacuum cleaners. [And appliances with Wifi connection](https://www.vestel.com.tr/akilli-urunler-c-1108)
Like the capacity of washing machine doesn’t bother us, for example, but we’re disappointed when buying a smartphone with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage but seeing another one with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Plus, we don’t change domestic appliances as often as smart devices, like I had a washing machine bought in 1997 working until 2022 but changed 9 mobile phones since 2006 to this day.
Why is there such a difference?
In: 597
Some of the advancements in appliances relate to power consumption (reducing power required while maintaining the same or even better performance). For example, inverter aircons.
You’ve clearly never owned a modern automatic vacuum cleaner that talks to you and maps your house using AI.
I’d argue that, besides minor internal changes, phones have been at a relative standstill for the past few years. I think every technology reaches a sort of maximum in its design, and minute alterations can be cute but aren’t fundamental. The first iPhone compared to the flip phones of the time was pretty profound. Now, it’s thinner bigger smaller faster whatever, but the fundamental rectangle touch screen has not changed much
There are many improvements in household appliances. For instance anyone growing up in the 80’s or 90’s can tell you how loud their dishwashers were – hell they’re still loud as hell in many places today.
I’ve had a Bosch dishwasher for 5 years, and I still accidentally open it while it’s running to put something away because it’s so freaking quiet.
Why don’t you hear about it? Well frankly it’s not sexy. It helps make life easier, sure, it doesn’t mean it’s all appealing.
There are exhibit shows for the latest in household tech, but they’re usually industry show’s you won’t just go to to kill time.
Domestic appliances are designed to do ONE THING and do it well. There are literally decades of development in these things.
Also, these things are tied to chores, and most people don’t care about the grandest features in a thing that is only directly used for a few hours every month. So there is a lack of innovation pressure.
They do advance! You can see in to your fridge without opening the door.
I just bought the GE washer/dryer combo. It all happens in one machine. I never have to switch clothes out. It holds enough laundry detergent and fabric softener for 32 loads and I get a notification on my phone when it’s done. That’s some pretty major advancement!
I would think this has more to do with how much the consumers tolerate and interest in buying a new model of their appliances every year. This is pretty much accepted for many electronics like phones, laptops, TVs. While not everyone buys them, enough do to justify this practice.
I’m pretty sure appliance makers would love to sell you a dryer every year but most people do not have an interest or need in these type of higher cost items and probably there isn’t enough demand like consumer electronics to make a new model so often
Oven: Pyrolytic cleaning, fan assist, air fryer, microwave
Washer: integrated dryer, loads of programs, lower water usage
Fridge: digital inverter, integrated ice makers/cool water, energy efficiency, smart fridges
Hob: Induction, built in extractors
Vacuums: cyclone/bag less designs
Hi-Fi: Wireless connectivity, smart speakers, positional audio (Atmos)
All of the electronics inside these have improved thanks to improvements in semiconductors, power efficiency and additional functionality is often associated with these improvements.
Mostly though we don’t notice that a modern budget model has the capabilities of an older high-end model. It just doesn’t run on a 2-year-2x improvement like semiconductors.
Appliances are fairly expensive and large and heavy. Most people won’t change their appliance to get any of these features because the features are not that useful. Computers and cell phones were replaced often because the new features allowed extra features. More ram and faster processors let you get higher frame rates. Some games/programs couldn’t run on older computers. Better camera, finger print scanner, face recognition. These features became available as phones improved. I just got a new oven. It has WiFi. I can turn the light on from my phone. It will tell me when it’s preheated. I can change the temperature remotely. This is kind of handy for a roast. For most things I want to look at the food before changing anything. The new features are not super useful/important. If my 20 year old oven didn’t break I would probably not have upgraded.
Even today with computers and phones, improvements are becoming less important and people are settling into a cycle of only upgrading when their device dies. My desktop is 10 years old. Still runs windows 10 fine. My phone is 3 years old. No plans to upgrade.
Things settle in to designs that solve consumer needs pretty well. Once they solve those problems. After that there are smaller changes to fine tune designs, improve reliability, reduce costs. There have been changes over the years. Refrigerators are much more efficient. Washers are less noisy and use less water. Appliances are cheaper than they used to be and pretty reliable. There are improvements but these are more to get people to buy when their ma give breaks rather than to buy to get the better features.
As somone that spent years in appliance retail, the perfection of the mechanics came a long time ago. What we see now is the result of computerization already played out at the start of the millenium, when miniturization caught up. In other words, the advancement bubble already happened 20ish years ago. Minor improvement may come along. But major tech trends will take time like you see with vehicles as of now.
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