Hisense Bets Big on AI and Modularity for Home Appliances at CES 2026

NEWS – If you’ve ever wrestled a sloshing dehumidifier tank up basement stairs, or wondered why your smart fridge and smart oven don’t talk to each other, or given up on Hisense washers because they were too small for American households, this CES lineup is aimed directly at you. Hisense showed a dehumidifier you empty from the top instead of bending over, a modular laundry system you can expand as your family grows, and a kitchen suite where your dishwasher automatically picks the right cycle based on what you just cooked. The through-line is fixing actual annoyances instead of adding features nobody asked for.

Miguel Becerra, Hisense’s Director of Smart Home, walked press through products built around daily life rather than spec sheets. The standout is the X-Zone Master, a modular washer/dryer system that lets you run baby clothes, pet bedding, and gym gear in separate drums at the same time. You can see everything at Hisense’s Central Hall booth starting January 6.

Connect Life AI Ecosystem

The pitch is simple: your appliances should notice problems and fix settings before you do. Connect Life is Hisense’s smart home app, and it now has five AI helpers built in. One manages air quality, one helps with cooking, one handles laundry, one tracks your energy use, and one watches for device problems. The app works with thousands of Matter-compatible gadgets, so most newer smart home products connect without hassle. If you already use Alexa or Google Home, this is more of a quiet upgrade than a fresh start. You keep your existing setup and Connect Life just adds features on top.

Here’s how it works in practice. Spill coffee on a white shirt before a meeting, and the AI laundry agent lets you scan the stain through your phone. The system identifies the fabric, picks the right cycle, and tells you exactly when the shirt will be ready. No more guessing which settings to use. Hisense wants appliances that figure things out for you instead of waiting to be told what to do.

Connect Life also works with non-Hisense devices. Pair a Hisense air conditioner with motion sensors and air quality monitors, and the system adjusts based on who’s in the room, whether your pet is there, and actual air conditions instead of just temperature. The support agent watches for device errors and suggests fixes before things break. This is the kind of automation that expensive whole-home systems have promised for years. Hisense is trying to deliver it through appliances instead of dedicated smart home hardware.

Smart Kitchen Suite

Hisense is putting screens on everything in the kitchen. The Connect Life Cap refrigerators have two screens: a big 21-inch display for the full smart home interface, and a smaller 3.5-inch screen just for quick stuff like adjusting temperature. Picture your kids checking what snacks are left without opening the door and letting all the cold air out, or you pulling up a recipe mid-cook without hunting for your phone. You’ll be able to choose from several fridge styles, including a counter-depth model, a traditional French door, and a side-by-side layout.

Hisense’s first smart induction range has a seven-inch screen on top. The cooktop lets you combine heating zones, so you can use a big griddle for weekend pancakes or an oversized pan without worrying about burner placement. That flexibility is something gas stoves can’t match. The oven heats up fast, which matters when you’re hungry and don’t want to wait 15 minutes. The real bonus is that the range talks to your other kitchen appliances, so everything works together.

The S7 Smart Dishwasher completes the kitchen trio with its own touch display. It connects with compatible ovens to detect what you’ve been cooking. Make a greasy steak, and the dishwasher automatically queues up a heavy-duty cycle before you’ve even loaded the dishes. Forget to start it before bed? You can trigger it from your phone. The dishwasher already won multiple awards earlier in 2025, so the tech works. Appliances that actually talk to each other without complicated setup is something smart home fans have wanted for years. Hisense finally delivers it.

Not everyone wants a screen on their fridge, but the smarts behind those screens are genuinely useful. The kitchen suite will compete directly against Samsung’s Family Hub and LG’s ThinQ ecosystems, both of which have had years to establish market presence. Hisense needs the AI differentiation to matter.

PureFit Wine Cabinet

If you actually buy bottles you care about, and you want them stored properly without a standalone wine fridge eating floor space, PureFit is worth a look. The new wine cabinet matches Hisense’s refrigerator and freezer columns exactly, so you can line them up and they look like one built-in unit instead of three mismatched appliances. The slim profile works in kitchens where a full-depth fridge would stick out too far. Hisense hasn’t released capacity or temperature zone details yet, but if you obsess over built-in aesthetics, this is one to watch.

Top Lift Dehumidifier

Dehumidifiers are boring, but everyone who owns one hates the same thing about them. They sit in basements, fill with water, and then punish you when you try to empty them. Bending to remove a heavy tank, carrying it across the room without spilling, dealing with the inevitable slosh and splash: the experience has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Hisense studied how people actually use dehumidifiers and decided to rethink the fundamental interaction rather than just adding connectivity.

The Top Lift Dehumidifier features the world’s first top-mounted water collection cartridge. Instead of bending to remove a tank from the bottom of the unit, users lift an enclosed cartridge from the top. The design change sounds minor until you consider the ergonomic reality of basement maintenance. The enclosed cartridge eliminates spillage during transport. The top position eliminates bending. These changes make a real difference for anyone with back problems or mobility issues, not just people who want convenience.

You also get 38% more water storage than traditional models, which means fewer trips to empty the tank. Ultra-quiet operation keeps the unit from announcing its presence in finished basements or living spaces. Full smart home compatibility covers Connect Life, Google Home, Apple Home, and Amazon Alexa. Anyone who has ever dragged a sloshing tank up narrow stairs will get why this matters. Dehumidifiers don’t usually generate excitement at trade shows, but this is exactly the kind of practical fix that earns long-term loyalty.

Fabric Care: U7, Stylish, and X-Zone Master

Hisense showed three laundry products, and this is where things got interesting. The U7 Smart Washer and Dryer is Hisense’s first machine built for American-sized loads. Their older models were too small for U.S. households, so most people ignored them. The U7 fixes that. It connects to the Connect Life app, has steam cleaning to kill germs and allergens, and uses a Hi-Bubble detergent system that mixes soap more thoroughly so you get cleaner clothes with less detergent waste.

The Stylish washer/dryer takes the opposite approach, prioritizing aesthetics and compact dimensions over raw capacity. Italian design influence shows in the matte exterior finish that reads more like furniture than appliance. At 21 inches deep compared to the typical 30-plus inches of conventional machines, the Stylish fits in spaces where traditional laundry pairs simply cannot go. Bedrooms, closets, or visible living areas where design matters become viable installation locations. The unit handles washing, drying, sanitization, and odor removal in a single drum, eliminating the need for separate machines.

The all-in-one approach does involve trade-offs that buyers should understand. Combo washer/dryers have historically struggled with drying performance compared to dedicated dryers, a limitation that comes with cramming both functions into shared space. Hisense has not released capacity figures or cycle times, which makes direct comparison with European compact models impossible for now. This is for people who care more about where they can put a washer than how much it holds. That’s a lot of apartment dwellers and anyone without a dedicated laundry room.

X-Zone Master is the product Hisense saved for last, and it’s the most interesting. This is the world’s first modular washer/dryer system that you can keep expanding. You start with a main unit that works as a regular full-size washer and dryer. It uses heat pump technology, which means lower energy bills and gentler drying. Then you can add mini modules whenever you need more capacity. Each mini module has two small drums that wash and dry separately. Add as many as you want.

Think about how laundry actually works in a busy household. Baby clothes shouldn’t mix with adult clothes. Pet bedding definitely shouldn’t mix with your sheets. Workout gear needs different settings than dress shirts. With a normal washer, you either run a bunch of small loads one after another, or you throw everything in together and hope for the best. X-Zone Master gives you separate drums for each type of laundry, and they all run at the same time. Even with four or more drums going, the system stays under 46 decibels, which is quieter than a normal conversation. The mini modules use a gentler drying method that’s better for delicates. As your family grows or your needs change, you just add more modules. This is the rare CES laundry idea that actually sounds like it would make weekends easier.

Availability and CES Details

All products shown during the briefing will be available to experience at Hisense’s booth in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 6 through 9. Product specialists will be on hand to demonstrate features and answer questions. Hisense is hosting a press conference on January 5 for additional announcements beyond what the pre-brief covered.

Pricing and specific U.S. availability dates remain undetermined. Hisense conducts retailer and distributor meetings after CES, with decisions filtering through during Q1. In other words, you will not be buying these in January. A New Product Introduction event later in the quarter should provide concrete details on when these products reach American homes. Some items shown may vary by market, as CES serves global audiences even with heavy U.S. focus.