The washing machine factory rolls "intelligent", but the result is laughable

If you can only keep the same electrical appliances between the air conditioner and the washing machine, I don't know how everyone will choose? In Xiao Lei's own situation, although the "summer cold wind" is indeed very tempting, if I had to choose one of the two, I would definitely choose the washing machine without hesitation. The reason for this choice is also very simple: the washing machine is an epoch-making appliance that can liberate productivity.

Unlike appliances such as air conditioners, air fryers, and cordless vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dishwashers free people from simple but trivial chores and squeeze out 30-60 minutes of unattended free time in the stressful city life, during which time I can go downhill and ride a workout, edit last week's game videos and even go out to watch a movie.

In terms of the technical iteration of washing machine products, "liberating users" or "laziness" has also become the development direction of washing machines. From the initial manual washing machine, to the double-barrel washing machine that washes and drys and separates, and then to the later washing and drying integration and washing and drying, in the matter of washing clothes, the washing machine has never had only one development direction: replacing humans and freeing hands.

But then again, not all clothes can be thrown into the washing machine without a brain, and some special materials and designs of clothes can only be washed by hand to this day. However, the ALPHA G1S laundry robot all-in-one machine released some time ago represents the latest attempt by washing machines to "replace humans".

There is a saying that this "laundry robot all-in-one machine" is not entirely new, we can understand it as a traditional washing machine and a loose hand washing washing machine two-in-one product. And this part that can "replace hand washing", in fact, Panasonic has released an independent pre-product Panasonic NA-Y1Z laundry robot before this.

Despite the name of the robot, in terms of function, the Panasonic NA-Y1Z laundry robot is ultimately a "washing machine", but the working principle is different from other washing machines. In the past, washing machines achieved laundry effect by simulating the mutual friction between clothes and clothes, while panasonic NA-Y1Z squeezed clothes through two telescopic air columns inside, thus simulating the effect of hand washing, creating the era of laundry 4.0.

But the question is, is the squeeze laundry "robot" considered to be hands-free?

Can extrusion become a new revolution in laundry?

First, let's take a look at how this laundry robot works. As one of the core selling points of laundry robots, the way of squeezing and cleaning can prevent clothes from tumbling during washing, avoiding clothes rolling and rubbing, thus protecting clothes.

But the problem is that this washing method puts forward new requirements for the placement of clothes. The general washing machine only needs to put the clothes one by one, not kneaded into a large ball; and the laundry robot only needs the user to fold the clothes before washing the clothes, and put them flat into the washing machine robot. After washing, it is dried or dried separately, and then re-folded.

Remember when we mentioned earlier that "washing machines make users as lazy as possible"? But from the perspective of laundry steps, I really dare not say whether the development direction of this "laundry robot" is wrong. In addition, due to the different working principles, although the external size of the laundry robot is smaller than that of the general washing machine, its corresponding washing amount is only 1kg. At the same time, according to the feedback of product reviews, the washing time of about 60 minutes is really difficult to accept.

I believe this is also the main reason why Panasonic decided to take the laundry robot as an additional function, and the traditional drum washing machine into one, to create a two-in-one washing machine - Panasonic This laundry robot can exist in the form of a practical "additional function", as a supplement and extension of the conventional washing machine, but as a separate washing machine, the laundry robot is obviously still a little worse.

Although I don't think that the current stage of the laundry robot can be a unique side in the history of the development of washing machines and become the future development direction of washing machine products, in my opinion, two-in-one washing machines such as Panasonic ALPHA G1S laundry robot all-in-one machines still indicate a future development direction for washing machine products - before the practical qualitative change in the working principle of washing machines, added value will replace basic functions and become a temporary battlefield for major appliances such as washing machines.

After starting from scratch, where should washing machines develop?

Throughout the history of the development of washing machines, we can roughly divide the time of washing machine products into two stages: functional products from scratch and value products that add icing on the cake. Among them, functional products are naturally products with practical basic functions such as washing, drying and drying as the core. For such products, the brand's research and development focus is often how to make washing machines at a lower cost, reduce the cost of buying and using washing machines, so that washing machines can enter more homes and benefit more users. To this day, we can still buy basic washing machines without a drying function on the e-commerce platform. And these products are undoubtedly the masterpieces of functional washing machines.

In contrast, the nature is to take specific functions as the core selling point of laundry products, such as various types of silver ion sterilization washing machines, and even a brand has launched a "washing machine that can wash vegetables", these products are aimed at the non-traditional washing machine market, and through unique functions to achieve more use value. Because washing machine products have higher reproducibility in terms of technology, the vast majority of washing machine brands still have an attitude of trying new technologies and will not rush to the market of core products. This also leads to a special market environment in which washing machines need to realize user value through additional functions.

Taking G1S as an example, no matter from what point of view, the drum washing machine below will be the "washing main force" after the product is put into use, and the small volume laundry robot can only be regarded as an "additional function" in terms of frequency of use. However, before the huge technological replacement of the washing machine industry, washing machine products based on traditional washing machines and auxiliary functions as the breakthrough point are destined to be the mainstream of the market, and the popular smart washing machines in recent years are the best examples. From the perspective of core functions, smart washing machines and traditional "non-smart" washing machines have not changed at all, and even automatic online shopping laundry detergent replenishment cannot be done.

However, for brands, while maintaining the core competitiveness of traditional products, exploring diversified auxiliary functions and taking these auxiliary functions as a test field for their new technologies is also a steady development route. The rice cooker of the past and present also has only the most basic heating function, and such a rich cooking mode as now is the result of the brand's exploration.

Although I am not satisfied with the work efficiency of the "laundry robot" at this stage, after solving the problem from scratch, these icing on the cake additional functions are destined to become the new normal for the future development of washing machines. When more and more new technologies appear in the market, the next step of the washing machine industry's technological update will naturally stand out.