Hisense threw everything but the kitchen sink at its CES 2026 stand — between its many TVs, projectors, and home appliances, there were also cowboy robots, and robots doing tai chi, of all things. If it’s a big electronic if you have in your home that could have a screen and AI on it, Hisense probably has a new version of it.
When looking at Hisense’s home appliances, I couldn’t help but get distracted by a robot doing tai chi. It looked like it was going to fall over so many times, but it managed not to, even when it was kicking while standing on one leg. It’s currently just a novelty, and one I was delighted by. I also greatly enjoyed the cowboy hat-wearing robots who danced with pom poms.
Over to the appliances you can actually buy, Hisense’s big claim this year was that its ConnectLife smart home experience has levelled up. It became Matter-compatible recently, and now users can add Google Home devices as well.
A meal planning, AI-infused fridge
Hisense’s second-generation smart fridge, dubbed “PureSmart”, will be coming to Australia, which will have V homeOS, the brand’s renamed screen operating system (formerly VIDAA). One of the new features is voice controls to change the fridge’s temperature settings. I’m not sure how much demand there is for such a feature, so it’ll be interesting to see how that is utilised.
The fridge also has a built-in meal calendar, so you can plan your meals for the month. What makes that interesting is that people can add competing meal ideas to the meal calendar, and then you can choose between them when the time comes. Kids can draw on the screen with their finger, if they so choose.
One feature that was touted was the ability to use generative AI to ask it to change a recipe to not include allergens. Seems risky, but good luck. I’ve seen enough AI-generated crochet patterns and “add glue to stick cheese to pizza” suggestions to be suspicious about any recipe it spits out.
For those with a Hisense smart fridge, this feature is available on the ConnectLife app now if you want to try it out. Recipes are provided by Hisense and curated, though the allergy swaps are not.
Washing your laundry with less effort
In the laundry, Hisense’s new Series 9 washer and dryer uses a constrained AI system with an algorithmic wash designer. In practice, this means you can use the mobile app to say what you’ve spilled on which fabric. It’ll then use this information to wash your clothes to the best of its ability, taking the guesswork out of how to give your clothes the best chance of survival.
My favourite feature of any washing machine like this are material and turbidity sensors, so the washing machine knows what’s in it and how dirty it is. It’s just the most useful feature added to washing machines since the invention of detergent auto-dosing. It means you only need to use the app if you have a specific need. At all other times, the sensors should work the rest out for you.
Expect to see the new range of Hisense appliances in Australia later this year.
Alice Clarke attended CES 2026 as a guest of Lego and Intel.
