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A new Wi-Fi-controlled coffee machine may become this decade’s version of the Teasmade.
Firebox today launched Smarter Coffee, a new appliance which can brew straight from bean to cup all synced up to an app on your phone. The merits are obvious: arguing with your spouse about who makes the coffee in the morning? Order an electronic barista, instead. Suffering from such a bad hangover you can barely see? Fumble around for your phone. Annoyed after work, tired and don't have time for a disco nap? Set the machine to welcome you home with a freshly brewed mug.
By 2020 Andrew Keen, author of The Internet Is Not The Answer, says that research predicts there will be 50 billion connected devices across the globe, making up a so-called Internet of Things. We might loosely remember automated curtains from the 90s as a sign of luxury but newer tech sets to apply this to all kinds of products.
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2015 is allegedly the year of wearables, after all, but perhaps it's also the year of connected appliances. Last year saw the arrival of clever thermostats such as Nest and Hive to the market - so it's likely we will see a rise in automated hardware.
The creators, Smarter, are not newcomers to clever tech. They first introduced the iKettle to the market in 2013, which you could control from your phone in the morning. You can set the machine to make coffee in the morning, and when it's ready, the alarm on your phone will wake you up. At £149.99 Smarter Coffee is not exactly the cheapest machine on the market - though for a bean to cup appliance it's a competitive price point. Last year The Mirror showed that the average consumer is likely to spend upwards of £52,000 on coffee in their lifetime, with the coffee shop industry as a whole worth more than £6bn per year in Britain alone. Perhaps, even with this price tag, a wireless alternative might be the answer.
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