The stock of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) closed at $169.05 gaining 0.34% in yesterday’s trading session. It was on Monday when Whirlpool revealed its plan to activate Apple Watch functionality for a wide range of its home appliances and the company hopes that by early 2018 it will have achieved this.
If everything goes according to plan, the consumer experience might be taken to a whole new level considering that they will be in a position to remotely communicate with washers, ovens and dryers via the Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) watch.
An official familiar with the matter said, “All your appliances will require Wi-Fi to operate all of their connected features, though obviously it’ll work as a dumb equipment as usual should your internet goes under. The feature will allow users to remotely communicate with their appliances through the Whirlpool app on Apple Watch in a variety of ways.”
The vice president of brand strategy for Whirlpool, Brett Dibkey, said that as a company they were focusing on various ways to bring intuitive functionality and technology to the appliance category in a bid to eliminate the friction that usually comes in play in the course of undertaking household chores. Innovating for the smart home could help enhance lives and the company may be able to sharpen its competitive edge in the market.
Many of Whrilpool’s consumers are sophisticated and wish to see all tier appliances operate with smart gadgets. Whirlpool has revealed its plan to collaborate with Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) and the two will be targeting connecting Honeywell’s thermostats to the smart appliances from Whirlpool.
During premarket trade, the stock of Whirlpool was still inactive whereas the shares of Apple eased 0.1%. Apple’s spokesperson in a recent interview said that they will be checking out any opportunities for growth that might pop up with time and will leverage on them towards achieving immense business success. He admitted that challenges had been there on their path towards achieving business success, but they were happy with where they stood at the moment.