GE Appliances Announces Kitchen Hub Touchscreen Range Hood

Currently at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, appliance manufacturer GE has debuted a futuristic product called the Kitchen Hub. The over-the-range smart hood features a large touchscreen and has the ability to control all of a home’s smart-home appliances. New Atlas writer Rich Haridy says the hub offers access to well-known apps, such as Spotify and Netflix, and serves as a mobile cooking platform with its SideChef integration.

The Kitchen Hub was first revealed a year ago in prototype form, but now the system is ready for prime time, with a commercial release scheduled for May 2019. The system combines a ventilation range hood with a 27-inch smart touchscreen. Multiple cameras are incorporated into the unit so you can both, live video chat while cooking, and utilize an overhead cooktop camera to share snaps of your dinner as a work in progress.

The system promises broad interconnectivity with other smart home products, so ideally it can function as a central hub for controlling all your connected appliances, from the home thermostat to lighting and security cameras. The incorporation of Google Assistant also adds to the device's usability, allowing for voice control when your hands are dirty from preparing dinner.