The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has rolled out Matter version 1.3 giving smart home brands another avenue to expand their tech into the kitchen and other areas of the house. One of the cornerstones in the update is the ability to control important, or more essential, household appliances. This includes ovens and cooktop stoves.
With the former, homeowners can check the “state of the oven”, like whether it’s preheating or cooling down, and control how it operates. You can instruct the device to begin broiling the ribs placed inside. Cooktop stoves will see a similar level of control. Users can turn it on or alter the temperature from afar.
When it comes to laundry rooms, the CSA is adding support for dryers and enabling control over several functions like changing the drying mode. The machine will even send out a notification letting you know when your clothes are dry. If you’re curious about support for washing machines, that was added back in Matter 1.2. Version 1.3 extends that support.
Managing utilities
There is more to owning a home than just appliances. Managing utilities is another important aspect. To help with this, the CSA upgraded the standard’s energy reporting capabilities. Connected smart home devices will now inform you how much electricity they consume, how much they generate, and other important metrics such as the current’s voltage. The energy features extend to electric vehicles too. Thanks to Matter 1.3, EV drivers can control the charge level to match their desired range. They can do this by signifying a “set departure time” or by manually deactivating the charging.
Additionally, Matter can watch your home’s plumbing. Your app will display information from installed pipe detectors letting you know if the house sprung a leak somewhere or if the pipes are frozen solid.
Notable improvements
Everything we covered so far applies to previously unsupported devices. The rest of the patch consists of new software features and improvements to past hardware.
Scenes are now supported, according to the CSA, letting homeowners create special conditions that activate with the push of a button. For example, a scene can dim the lights in your living room or change their color instantly.
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Matter 1.3 also lets users pool multiple commands together so they go off one after the other. The CSA states this will minimize the “popcorn effect” which is a long delay between commands being sent out to a smart home device and their visible execution. Software improvements in Matter 1.3 include the ability to see notifications from other gadgets on smart TVs plus several bug fixes.
If you’re looking to upgrade your house, check out TechRadar’s roundup of the best smart home devices for 2024. We have speakers, cameras, thermostats, and more on the list.
Samsung has found a new clever way to shine the spotlight on its Bespoke AI lineup. More specifically, the company is promoting its AI Laundry Combo washer and dryer, which was released globally a few weeks ago, at a new theme park in Korea. Samsung is taking its new AI-enabled washer to Aqua Play Zone, where it will be used to wash and dry rental costumes.
A new Pororo Theme Park is opening in Wolmido, Korea, on May 1, and Samsung Electronics will be there from day one. The Pororo Theme Park is opening at the Aqua Play Zone — a water play space where visitors often get their clothes wet.
The park offers rental costumes, and Pororo Theme Park management intends to use the Samsung Bespoke AI Laundry Combo to wash and dry rental costumes and manage clothing hygiene.
Pororo Theme Park visitors will get to experience the efficiency and intelligence of Samsung’s new Bespoke AI Laundry Combo and see it in action. The all-in-one is already a sales success in Korea, and this will likely help Samsung sell even more Laundry Combos.
The Bespoke AI Laundry Combo is smart and efficient
Samsung’s new Bespoke AI Laundry Combo is an all-in-one washer and dryer that can save 40% of installation space compared to solutions that separate the two functions.
The new Laundry Combo uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) in clever ways and employs a system called AI Opti Wash & Dry, which detects six parameters to get your laundry clean and dry at the end of every cycle.
Through this new endeavor, Samsung hopes Pororo Theme Park visitors “will have a more enjoyable experience […] with Bespoke AI Combo.”
Samsung says that the new all-in-one Bespoke AI Laundry Combo surpassed 10,000 units sold for the first time in the domestic market. The latest AI features appear to be gaining popularity among customers and prospective buyers.
The Korean tech giant is using AI more extensively across the Bespoke range for 2024, which includes new refrigerators, microwave ovens, ranges, and vacuum cleaners, all of which offer more insight through the SmartThings app.
Deep-cleaning my house tends to leave me with a lot of plastic bags, paper, and plastic containers to throw away. It got me wondering how I could make my cleaning routines less wasteful. Scientists are developing new ways to recycle plastic, but it’s not an Earth-friendly material, and cleaning supplies use a lot of it.
Common solutions like disinfecting sprays and soaps are largely composed of water, which makes those products heavy and hard to ship efficiently. Excessive packaging is another factor in cleaning-product waste, as are harmful chemicals that can end up in the water supply (or in you). Add in the risk of microplastic shedding and a gazillion greenwashed Instagram ads, and it can be difficult to know how to make things clean and greener.
Below are some of my favorite cleaning products that try to be environmentally conscious. They won’t feel too different from what you already use, and are relatively affordable. For the ultimate cheap minimalist homemade cleaning solution, baking soda and vinegar paired with elbow grease will do the trick for many tasks (though baking soda can harm certain materials like aluminum, so do your research). Be sure to check out our other eco-friendly guides, like the Best Reusable Products, Best Recycled Products, and Best Clothes Made of Recycled Materials.
Updated April 2024: We’ve added JAWS and LastObject (and a new look).
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Eco-Friendly Cleaners for the Whole House
Some cleaning supply manufacturers offer general-use products you’d typically buy in spray bottles. All the brands below go the extra mile with refills, simpler ingredients, or plastic-free shipping.
Our Top Pick
Supernatural’s kit is pricey, but it goes on sale a few times a year. The frosted glass spray bottles are hefty (in a good way), and the silicone bottoms keep them in place. The nozzles don’t clog or get jammed, though the bottles can leak if you don’t twist and close the lid carefully. The glass concentrate vials contain blends of essential oils for windows and mirrors, counters and granite, bath and tile, or wood and floors. The products smell amazing—like fresh botanicals, not artificial or chemical like most cleaning solutions. This set is the only one I’ve continued to purchase refills for. And I especially like that the refills are in glass, so there’s no single-use plastic involved.
Runner-Up
Blueland’s cheap refills come in the form of dissolvable tablets. You’ll get a few reusable Tritan Forever Bottles by purchasing a $46 starter kit. You can subscribe to a refill re-up plan for a bit less money. Starter kit refills include hand soap, bathroom cleaner, glass and mirror cleaner, and multipurpose cleaner. (And for what it’s worth, I wasn’t going through a bottle of glass cleaner each month. Maybe I’m gross—I don’t think most people scrub their mirrors every day—but if you’re in the same camp, you might not need a monthly subscription.) Blueland also offers laundry soap, dishwashing essentials, and various accessories. You can mix and match products to suit your needs. Everything I tried smelled great and did the job. The tablets can take a little while to dissolve, so mix the solutions up an hour or two before you tackle your chores.
Most Versatile
The starter kit gets you a 34-ounce bottle of sustainable concentrated cleaning solution, spray bottles with fill lines for easy dilution, and a tub of Oxygen Boost powder. You’ll get enough concentrate for three bottles of all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and foaming wash, respectively, plus a 64-load laundry bottle. The unscented concentrate is powerful and made from simple ingredients. You can also buy it separately and supply your own bottles. Fans of nice-smelling cleaners might find this set lacking, but a few drops of essential oils would liven things up in the olfactory department.
Best Design
Grove Collaborative Essential Cleaner Concentrates Set
Grove Co. cleaning concentrates are available in a three-pack. You’ll get all-purpose, glass, and tub-and-tile cleaners. Dump the contents into 16-ounce bottles (also on Grove’s site) and fill them with water. I especially like the glass cleaner, which works better than Windex—and smells nicer.
Easiest Refills
JAWS stands for “Just Add Water System,” and that holds up. The refills are pods you twist onto proprietary bottles. Add water, twist in a refill, and your solutions are mixed up. These cleaners smell like traditional cleaning products, and the bottles are a little … curvaceous. That means they can be a bit awkward to store. But there are a few unique cleaners that JAWS includes in this starter kit, like a granite cleaner and a general disinfectant.
For Sensitive Households
Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner
This bio-based product isn’t sold in concentrates, but I’m including it here because I haven’t tried anything else like it. It has no fragrance and no color. It almost feels like you’re cleaning with water. If you’re sensitive to fragrances, to the point where “lightly scented” still gives you a headache, this is what you’re looking for.
For the Kitchen
From reusable dishcloths to eco-friendly dish soaps, there are a few options to make your kitchen cleaning routine better for the planet.
Best Overall Dish Soap
Seventh Generation Liquid Dish Soap
I tested this one a while ago, but I’ve repurchased it many times. It’s made of plant-based ingredients, and the biodegradable formula gets the job done. It doesn’t dry out my hands as much as the stuff I used to use. It’s available in multipacks online, and you can choose from various scents (including unscented).
Runner-Up Dish Soap
JuniperSeed Mercantile Laundry Stain Stick
This bar is technically meant for cleaning tough stains on your clothes before you toss them into the laundry. Dampen the end of the bar and the stain, scrub away, and then toss the garment into the laundry. However, the bar effectively doubles as dish soap. I also like No Tox Life’s ($14) dishwashing block.
Biodegradable Dishcloths
Three Bluebirds Swedish Dishcloths
These fast-drying biodegradable cloths are made of cellulose and cotton. Unlike typical washcloths, these don’t get smelly or mildewy. You can wash them up to 200 times in your washing machine or the top rack of your dishwasher. The eye-catching designs are a bonus. Mine started degrading after a couple of months of use but lasted longer than similar products I tried.
A Great Scrub
I didn’t want to love this extremely popular, cheery sponge, but it lives up to the hype. The shape and texture make it weirdly effective for scrubbing, wiping, and suds. I use it for everything from doing my dishes to cleaning my floors. It’s also more durable than other similarly priced sponges. While the sponge itself isn’t especially sustainable, Scrub Daddy products are recyclable, making them a better option than sponges you’d throw away.
Best Overall Reusable Paper Towels
These bright cotton flannel towels are durable and absorbent. They get even more absorbent after a few washes. They also cling together, so you can roll them up on a cardboard tube just like the paper alternatives. Note that the clinginess means they attract lint and dust pretty easily, so be prepared to wash them often. But still! If you’re trying to go zero-waste, these are one good way to do that.
Runner-Up Paper Towels
Cloud Paper Bamboo Paper Towels
If you prefer more traditional paper towels, these strike a good balance between familiarity and sustainability. They’re made of bamboo—no trees. The towels aren’t the softest, but they are absorbent and don’t fall apart or shed easily. For gross or quick tasks like cleaning up cat hairballs or cooking residue, I feel less guilty throwing these out than a tree-based paper towel.
Great Trash Bags
They aren’t as durable as traditional trash bags, but they’re made of 90 percent post-consumer plastic. (The other 10 percent is renewable sugarcane.) I think the eco-friendly composition makes these a worthy trade-off. The brand makes clear recycling bags as well.
Reusable Mop Pads
JuniperSeed Mercantile Sweeper Pads
These sweeper pads are a sturdier, less wasteful alternative to disposable mop pads. They work with Swiffer mops and similar systems, and they can be used wet or dry. The thick, absorbent texture makes cleaning the floor easy. Toss the pads in the washing machine to reuse them.
For the Laundry Room
Washing machines are a major culprit in microplastic pollution, but every little bit can help, right? Here are a few eco-friendly cleaning supplies for your laundry room.
Detergent Pods
These pods smell fantastic, work with high-efficiency machines, get your clothes squeaky clean, and are made of plant-derived ingredients. There are no dyes, and shipping is free and carbon-neutral. I also like the company’s wool dryer balls ($29) as an alternative to fabric softener sheets. If you don’t like pods, try MyKieri’s Easy-Spray Laundry Detergent ($28).
Laundry Sheets
We’ve recommended a few products from LastObject over the years. These laundry detergent sheets look like fabric softener sheets, except they’re soap. They dissolve in hot or cold water right inside your washer. They’re super affordable, and there’s no plastic jug involved. There aren’t any dyes or perfumes, either.
A Stain Remover
I tested this plant-based spray on blood, coffee, red sauce, and makeup. It removed them all. It doesn’t contain chlorine, dyes, or other common irritants typically found in stain removers.
This baking soda booster is free of bleach, ammonia, dyes, and fragrances. It’s also septic-safe. I especially like it for linens and towels—it leaves them really fresh and banishes any lingering smells.
What Makes a Cleaning Product Sustainable?
“Eco-friendly” is an extremely vague term that can be misleading, especially in marketing. No product is perfect, but the Environmental Protection Agency has some things to look for when searching for more environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.
For product composition, the smaller the list, the better. A concentrated product produces fewer carbon emissions and creates less waste to ship than a heavier, more diluted version, and a powder or tablet is even smaller. The EPA Safer Choice program vets products and certifies them if they meet the agency’s standards for safer, more environmentally friendly products. Certified products feature the Safer Choice certification label on their packaging. Other certifications you may want to look for include those from the Rainforest Alliance, Leaping Bunny, and One Percent for the Planet. All of these certifications can help you make more sustainable choices when you’re shopping.
You can also take a look at the ingredients. For example, we look for products that are biodegradable and have less fragrance and other unnecessary additives. You can also check various brands’ sustainability initiatives. Is the shipping carbon-neutral? Is the packaging minimal and recyclable?
Samsung’s latest Bespoke home appliances are chock-full of new and cleverer features powered by AI. But how does it work? How can Samsung’s artificial intelligence help the new Bespoke AI Laundry Combo clean and dry your clothes better?
In short, Samsung’s new washer and dryer All-in-One uses artificial intelligence to sense a variety of parameters and adjust settings accordingly. The system is called AI Opti Wash & Dry, and it detects six parameters to get your laundry clean, fresh, and dry by the end of every cycle.
Samsung’s Bespoke AI Laundry Combo is smart enough to sense wash load, fabric, water level, soil level, detergent level, and dry level. When combining all this information, the AI can adjust the washer and drier to come up with the best cycle for each load.
The washer also boasts AI Bubble technology, which, according to Samsung, “creates a cleansing foam that seeps into fabrics for an effective wash.”
Another home appliance that connects to your phone
It wouldn’t make much sense for the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo to have an internal camera for video streaming, but that doesn’t mean it’s not connected to your phone.
The AI Laundry Combo washer and dryer syncs with the SmartThings mobile app and sends users cycle notifications that allow them to start, stop, or delay washing cycles directly from their phones.
The Laundry Combo also has an Auto Open Door system that opens the door automatically at the end of the drying cycle, leaving your clothes smelling fresh.
The appliance can notify users when it’s out of detergent and is smart enough to auto-dispense and measure the appropriate amount of detergent.
If you are looking for a new washer and dryer, the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo is now available for pre-order. If you pre-order, you get a discount of $1,139. As of now, the price is cut down to $2,199 from $3,338. You also get free installation and free haul away, and up to $483 instant credit if you trade-in a mobile device. Hit the Pre-Order button below for details.
Earlier this year, Samsung launched the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo, a washer and dryer combo, in Korea, which became an instant hit in the country given the cutting-edge features it offers. Like most washing machines and dryers, the product was available in only one color in the region, Dark Silver Steel. While the product looks great in that shade, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Well, Samsung is fixing that problem today.
Samsung has announced that it has launched the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo in a new color in Korea, Satin Light Beige, giving people the option to get the product in different colors to match their preferences or the aesthetics of the laundry room. So, people who love darker colors can go with Dark Silver Steel and people who love lighter colors can go with Satin Light Beige. As you might expect, this color costs the same as the other.
Recently, Samsung launched the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo, along with other Bespoke AI products, globally, and a couple of days ago, it made the new washer and dryer available to purchase in the United States as well. However, unlike in Korea, the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo is available in only one color in the US, which is Dark Silver Steel. We hope that the company launches Satin Light Beige in other regions as well.
On a related note, yesterday, Samsung launched the Tide POD Cold wash cycle for the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo in partnership with Procter and Gamble (P&G). This wash cycle is optimized for washing clothes using the Tide Hygienic Clean Heavy Duty 10X Power PODS detergent using cold water, and the tech giant says that it offers “excellent laundry performance without consuming energy to heat the water.”