AEG's MultiSpace fridge spins your groceries on a lazy susan shelf
We're chasing down the coolest, weirdest appliances Europe has to offer -- how about one that spins your salsa from the back to the front?
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
New at IFA 2018: The AEG MultiSpace Fridge Freezer.
AEG's "CustomFlex" bins hang out inside the fridge door, then pop out when you're ready to cook.
It just wouldn't be IFA without a fleet of new European refrigerators packed with clever features. The latest comes from AEG, a subsidiary of Electrolux , and the focus is all on the food -- specifically how you store and access it.
It's called the MultiSpace Fridge Freezer and it comes with two features of note. The first is a variety of removable "CustomFlex" storage bins that hang inside the door, letting you store ingredients for a quick salad or for your next taco night. Just take the bin straight to your countertop when you're ready to cook.
It's a neat idea for a feature, and similar to something Samsung tried in its ritzy Chef Collection fridge a few years back. My only qualm with AEG's design? I wish that those bins had lids.
The optional SpinView Shelf accessory rotates like a lazy susan to bring groceries from the back of the fridge to the front.
Feature number two is a removable lazy susan-style accessory that lets you spin the fridge shelf, moving items in the back up to the front for easier access. I'm not sure that's the sort of thing that'd make me pay more for a fridge, but as features go, it seems like a clear convenience in hindsight, albeit a bit of a gimmicky one.
AEG calls that lazy susan feature the SpinView Shelf, and also says that it's an "individual accessory." No word from AEG yet on whether or not that means you have to pay extra for it, but as soon as I hunt the fridge down on the IFA show floor I'll be sure to find out. We're also waiting to hear how much the fridge will actually cost, though AEG tells us that it's on sale at select European retailers right now.
Even if you don't live in Europe, gimmicky fridges like this one are still worth keeping an eye on -- and here's why. With fridges much smaller in Europe and Asia than what people are used to in the United States, manufacturers often turn to unique features and innovative designs in order to separate themselves from the pack. That makes those regions something of a fridge feature test lab -- and the ones that really connect with consumers often end up making their way to North America.
For example, at IFA 2015, we lost our collective minds over a fridge from Haier that turned translucent when you walked up to it, letting you see inside without opening anything. Soon enough, that same feature soon started popping up in LG's "InstaView" fridges in North America, complete with a knock-to-see-inside approach as an added quirk.
AEG doesn't sell refrigerators in the US, but its parent company, the Swedish retailer Electrolux, does.
Whether or not that means we'll ultimately see Electrolux fridges with lazy susan shelves of their own in the US remains to be seen. For now, we'll keep scouring the IFA show floor in search of more appliances like these that'll have you wishing the US market was as creative as what you'll find overseas. Bleib dran, which Google translate tells me means "stay tuned" in German.
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