These appliances don’t depend on smart speakers for voice control

Smart appliances that can be controlled with voice commands are nothing new, but IAI Smart is showing a new line of Emerson Smart appliances at CES that respond directly to voice commands. They don’t need a smart speaker in the middle, and they don’t rely on a broadband connection, an app, or anything other infrastructure—everything is processed locally. If you’re leery of the privacy and security vulnerabilities of IoT devices, this could be the answer.

Emerson Smart devices—tower fans, space heaters, air fryers, and smart plugs, to start—use IAI Smart’s proprietary SmartVoice technology, which embeds natural-language voice processing directly into the appliance. Each device has an integrated microphone, so you can speak a wake word relevant to the appliance you want to use: “Hey Fan,” “Hey Heater,” or “Hey Air Fryer,” for example. Most also include an onboard speaker to provide audible confirmation of your command without relying on an intermediary device or an internet connection.

IAI Smart

Emerson Smart is not marketing its technology as a replacement for Alexa- or Google-powered smart homes, but SmartVoice’s disconnected nature will be a compelling feature to many. Since all processing occurs on the device itself, recordings of your voice—and your usage data—will never leave your home. And if you have slow or limited broadband service—or an onerous data upload cap—they eliminate the need for persistent connectivity to the internet.

The Emerson Smart SmartVoice Air Fryers (one is pictured up top) are the most ambitious products in the new lineup. Available in 5.3-quart ($129.99) and 10-quart ($169.99) sizes, the cookers support more than 1,000 voice commands and have more than 100 cooking presets. Users can issue commands such as “Cook salmon,” “Reheat pizza,” or “Increase temperature,” allowing basic meal prep without ever touching the controls.

The company is also showing three SmartVoice tower fans: 29-inch ($89.99), 40-inch $99.99), and 42-inch models ($119.99). The fans have 15-hour sleep timers, wide-angle oscillation, and LED touch controls. The 42-inch model also features an integrated aroma diffuser.

SmartVoice Fan-Heaters will be available in two sizes: 25-inch ($129.99) and 32-inch ($169.99). Both provide up to 1,500 watts of heating power, with oscillation options and multiple heat modes. Safety features include tip-over protection and automatic shutoff timers.

IAI Smart

To control lamps or dumb appliances, there will be SmartVoice Electrical Plugs in two configurations: A single-outlet ($24.99) model and a dual-outlet ($29.99) SKU that includes USB charging ports ($34.99). Using the wake phrase “Hey Emerson,” users will be able to issue more than 30 preset voice commands to turn devices on or off, set timers, schedule routines, or group multiple plugs–all without a Wi-Fi connection.

Emerson Smart has started with the basics (aside from the air fryer), possibly to find out if there’s a market for its offline approach. If there’s a sizable contingent of buyers who want all the features with none of the connectivity, can refrigerators, washers and dryers be far behind? As novel as these appliances sound, they aren’t the first household products we’ve seen that have local voice-command processing. Simple Human introduced a pricey garbage can that responds to simple voice commands (“open can,” “close can,” “stay open”) way back in 2020.

If you’re attending CES in person, Emerson Smart appliances are on display at the Venetian Expo Center, booth #52808.