Your phone is largely wireless. Your headphones, too. Most things are wireless these days, so much that it can feel like anything with the cord ends up feeling a little long in the tooth, and being cut off where it’s not needed.
You definitely need a cord for some things, particularly those with hefty power requirements, and that’s true of multiple gadgets in the home.
In the kitchen it would seem impossible to image a fridge without the cord, or even a large coffee machine, largely because the power draw would just be too strong. It’s the same for a stand mixer or a big blender, but it might not be the case for everything.
And much like some of the electrified tools you leave out in the shed or garage that come with batteries, so too can that tech be used elsewhere.
That’s what KitchenAid is showing off, with a bit of a sleeper launch that seems to have gone under the radar: rechargeable batteries for the kitchen (and then some).
While the idea of totally cord-free stick mixers aren’t that new, the idea of being able to use and reuse a battery for that appliance is, allowing you to detach the battery from something like a stick mixer, and then share it around to other gadgets in the kitchen, as well.
It’s a little like having a battery that works for an electric lawn mower and trimmer and drill and so on, except applied to the kitchen counter.
In many ways, we’re actually surprised this hasn’t been considered prior. Maybe the issue is one of power needs, with energy hungry appliances often seen as a little too power intensive to consider a rechargeable battery option.
But KitchenAid’s Go Cordless range aims to fix that, using a combination of relatively compact kitchen appliances and a 10.8 volt battery to jump devices, providing enough power to easily keep small appliances alive in the kitchen or somewhere else.
You might decide to use them table side or on the porch, with the range including the aforementioned stick mixer, plus a citrus press, coffee and spice grinder, portable blender, hand mixer with beaters, and even a small handheld vacuum for the home.
At a recent KitchenAid launch, this was the gadget and development that surprised us most: why hasn’t a rechargeable battery for small appliances happened sooner?
No longer, do you have to stick-mix next to the wall, shuffling through an assortment of plugs and ports to mix a cake on one, whip the cream on another, quickly cut your veggies in a food processor, and squeeze some juice. You could do this outside by the table, or somewhere else in the home. And you can use and reuse that battery for more than the one appliance, as well.
KitchenAid told Pickr that battery life varied between the models, even though the battery remained the same, largely because each small appliance had their own power requirements.
However, recharging was hardly an issue, as the rechargeable charge pack used the USB-C plug port, what is considered by most to be the current universal standard, used by all and likely going nowhere.
Everything uses Type C these days, including your appliances, it seems, so you already have a way to charge this battery from a phone, laptop, headphones, and pretty much any other gadget you may already own.
The one caveat could be that you are reliant on that battery pack in the KitchenAid Go Cordless range of appliances.
Even if you want to keep these appliances charged and topped up with a power port, KitchenAid’s Go Cordless small appliances only work from the battery pack. There’s no plug port at all, even if the port is reminiscent of a jug plug (though that’s just the port being used for the battery pack itself).
But for this type of appliance, we’re not sure that matters. The whole point of this range is to clip the cords entirely, and get them out of your life.
Frankly, we’re just looking forward to freeing up plugs as much as we’re looking forward to cleaning up counter space.
A stand-mixer that goes to 11, or at least folding
It’s probably a good thing we’re cleaning out counter space, because we might need room for something else.
The other introduction is a gadget KitchenAid is known for, and more specifically sought after: the stand-mixer. It may well be the appliance KitchenAid is most known for.
That classic stand-mixer gets new colours in the Artisan Plus this year, but also a take on controls that like Spinal Tap goes to 11, kinda sorta. Instead of technically introducing a super fast speed of 11, the latest mixer actually supports a 1/2 speed behind 1 specifically for folding ingredients and delicate mixing.
The 350 watt motor powering the KitchenAid Artisan Plus stand mixer is a little too strong for a cordless battery, so this one will be counter-bound. You’ll leave it in the kitchen, and given the nearly 10 kilogram weight (9.89kg) and full metal construction, your back and arms will probably be happier all the same.
But if you’re someone who needs to control how you mix and churn and lightly fold, the ability to shift speeds might just grab you. If not, there’s also an LED light aimed at the bowl, plus that classic style that feels like it jumped out of the 50s and remained retroliciously awesome with minor touch-ups.
Australian pricing and availability
We’re not sure we have a reason to grind coffee and spices near the table, but the idea of whipping cream using a cordless stick mixer for a fresh pavlova seems just about right. Or alternatively switching to the big one if we miraculously have the counter-top room.
For those without the space (or even the desire to port their cooking to more places), KitchenAid’s Go Cordless range is now in stores across the country, priced between $129 and $199 for the various models, though without a $69 battery or $30 charging dock. It may not need the latter since USB-C is how they charge, though, with that one a proper optional extra, it seems.
Meanwhile, the KitchenAid Artisan Plus will hit stores for $1199, while the regular model will retail from $849 in variations on the theme. You won’t get the little bowl LED light or the folding mode, but you should still be able to mix on that counter of yours.
