Heavy soiling has a new foe: Samsung has unveiled a smartphone-controlled super-launderer costing 1,700 quid.
The new Samsung WW9000 washing machine does away with fiddly buttons and time-consuming dials, opting instead for a full-colour 5 inch LED touchscreen that provides instant control over every setting of your 10kg capacity beast, letting you pull down extra wash options and swipe through to your favourite wash cycle, be it "dark", "cotton" or "hurry up, this is my only pair of pants".
Okay, we made the last one up, but the array of included cycles, which automatically optimise your wash based on activity, are impressive indeed. Programmes include a 'Gardening' cycle to shift grass stains while 'Cooking & Dining' deals with messy eaters. No, we have no idea how they differ from each other, given that they all involve sloshing laundry around in a drum full of hot water. Just go with it.
More impressively, the WW9000 abolishes the antiquated notion of a detergent drawer, instead holding up to a month's worth of soap directly within the drum that it smartly dispenses according to the load.No more agonising over just how much detergent to include or trying to decipher the mystifying chart on the back of a Persil box; your machine will make the choice for you.
Its ecological credentials are also impressive. It uses Samsung's "Ecobubble" tech to produce suds that dissolve faster and deeper into your clothes, making for a cleaner wash while also allowing for lower heats to be used.
As well as boasting a top spin speed of 1600RPM, the WW9000 is also super-quiet, operating at a "market leading" 46 decibels thanks to its 3D vibration sensor. So you can put on a wash at night without worrying about the neighbours.
If all this wasn't clever enough, Samsung's new Smart Control feature allows you to control your washing right from your smartphone or tablet. So no more rushing home to make sure you get tomorrow's shirt clean - so long as you remembered to put it in the machine before setting off - or hauling yourself off the couch to check if the load is done yet. Sadly, the app doesn't also let you remotely empty the machine and hang the laundry up. Maybe one for the WW10000.
With washing machines gaining this level of intelligence, it's surely only a matter of time until a Skynet-style rebellion foments amongst our undergarment-scrubbing robots. T3, for one, welcomes our new single-drum/large-load overlords...
By Nick Kay
