Colour-changing fridge

You may not know that a part of you wants a colour-changing fridge. LG’s MoodUp fridge is big and comes with different panels that can change colours using a mobile app. The upper panels can be one of 22 colors while the lower ones can be one of 19 different shades. Plus, the fridge can sense you coming in the middle of the night, and offers some gentle light.

Splash in the toilet bowl

There are magic health numbers hiding in one’s pee and Withings — best known for smart scales and watches — is wanting to make a splash inside your toilet bowl. Withings U-Scan is a biggish pebble-shaped device that sits inside the toilet bowl to analyse urine, which the company says has 3,000 metabolites, giving an immediate snapshot of the body’s balance and health. The rechargeable U-Scan reader can tell the difference between flush water and urine and ensures it collects the samples it needs. The sample goes through a microfluidic circuit and is injected into a test pod. Here, the reaction is read by an optical sensor and reported back to the app.

Screen on wireless earbuds case

It’s annoying to pull out wireless earbuds to check their charge levels or change settings. JBL has a solution on its Tour Pro 2 Wireless, which comes with a 1.45-inch screen to display the charge of each earbud, turn noise cancelling and ambient sound on and off, and adjust other features without having to visit the app. The earbuds are high-end with six microphones for calls and noise cancelling. The case still offers enough battery life — with active noise cancelling on you will get up to eight hours and 10 with it off.

Designed for accessibility needs

Sony has a PlayStation 5 controller for disabled gamers. Project Leonardo is a “highly customisable kit” with various buttons, triggers and sticks that let players create a set-up that suits their needs. The controllers lie flat on a table or they can be mounted on a standard tripod, and they can be paired with a DualSense to turn all three devices into a single gamepad, offering plenty of flexibility for players.

More than a mixer

KitchenAid has a strong corner when it comes to stand mixers, but GE Profile’s latest entry into the category has raised eyebrows. It comes with a built-in scale that will help while working on recipes that require precise measurements. It also has Auto-Sense technology which helps the machine determine when something is done mixing. Also, the device’s Smart HQ app lets you use your Alexa or Google Home devices to offer verbal instructions to the mixer to set a timer, adjust mixing speed, stop mixing or zero the scale.

The pen gets smarter

Companies have been trying to turn the humble pen into something smart and Nuwa is on the right track with a smart ballpoint pen that converts your notes and doodles into digital text without having to use wires or special paper. When you write, three cameras and an infrared light track your pen strokes. After you are done writing, sync the pen to your smartphone and you’ll find everything you wrote in the Nuwa Pen App.

Satellite messaging for Android phones

Last year, when Apple introduced its iPhone 14 series, one of the biggest news was the ability to contact emergency services via satellite, when you don’t have a cell signal. This year, a partnership between wireless-chip giant Qualcomm and satellite-provider Iridium will offer a somewhat similar technology to Android phones. And you’ll be able to send and receive text messages with anyone you like and type whatever you want.

AI-powered oven

Samsung has a new oven and fridge in its Bespoke Home smart appliances lineup. The oven comes with an internal camera and sensors that recognise more than 80 dishes and ingredients to optimise cooking settings. It can warn if it detects food might be burning. The cameras can stream a live feed of what’s cooking in the oven to streaming platforms like Twitch.