I checked out a Ki-compatible blender, and I’m still skeptical about the wireless kitchen

[phillynewsnow]

Credit: Rita El Khoury / Android Authority





It’s been years since the Wireless Consortium — the guys behind the Qi and Qi2 wireless charging standards — announced Ki, their protocol for cordless kitchen appliances. And for the past few years, I’ve seen demos of it at trade shows like IFA and MWC, but the first product is finally here. At this year’s IFA, Midea showed off its wireless/cordless blender that runs on Ki, and I got to see it in action.

What Midea had built was a good example of a Ki implementation in the kitchen of the future: It showed off a stovetop plaque with both induction sections and Ki wireless spots. So even if, technically speaking, you can install a Ki-compatible “charger” under your existing or new countertop, I still think it makes more sense to embed it in a separate piece of equipment like a stovetop.



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