I checked out a Ki-compatible blender, and I'm still skeptical about the wireless kitchen

It’s been years since the Wireless Consortium — the guys behind the Qi and Qi2 wireless charging standards — announced Ki, their protocol for cordless kitchen appliances. And for the past few years, I’ve seen demos of it at trade shows like IFA and MWC, but the first product is finally here. At this year’s IFA, Midea showed off its wireless/cordless blender that runs on Ki, and I got to see it in action.

What Midea had built was a good example of a Ki implementation in the kitchen of the future: It showed off a stovetop plaque with both induction sections and Ki wireless spots. So even if, technically speaking, you can install a Ki-compatible “charger” under your existing or new countertop, I still think it makes more sense to embed it in a separate piece of equipment like a stovetop.

The idea is that this surface can take both your induction pans, cookware, and kettles, as well as your Ki appliances like a blender or a chopper or whatnot. Plus, the stovetop has a touchscreen control to turn on and off the Ki power output.

In the demo, the Midea blender was placed on the stovetop, causing a blue light indicator to pop up. Then, when the button was pressed, the blender turned on. No wires, no cords, nothing. Ki is as simple and invisible as induction cooking, except you’re transferring electricity instead of heat.

The wireless range is decent, too, so even when the blender was lifted off the stovetop, it continued running. It was fine for an inch or two, then it was too far from the power source and stopped blending.

In a way, the demo felt so familiar — a mix of induction and Qi charging, basically. But it was still a little magical to think that there was no cord there. Given how many times I curse at how short the wire of my blender and chopper are and how often they end up hanging on the countertop or above the mixing bowls, dipped in sauce, I just love the idea of skipping cords entirely.

But I’m still skeptical about Ki’s real future or how long it’ll take to get there. Of course, you need that Ki base to use your appliances on, so until those come, whether they’re standalone or included in the stovetop like Midea’s, it’s pointless to buy any Ki units. If there are no compatible bases, there won’t be any compatible appliances, and vice-versa. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem, and given how expensive kitchen renovations and upgrades are and how infrequently people do them, we’re likely many, many years away from Ki becoming a reality in our kitchens.

My other issue is with this 2-in-1 stovetop design. I know it’s more practical on paper than outfitting an existing countertop with Ki charging, but I speak from experience when I say the stovetop often gets super crowded and super dirty, so is that where I’d want to add a blender or chopper or stand mixer? They’d get dirty, there’ll be heat nearby, and they will definitely crowd up my stovetop more. I’d rather use them in a separate, less crowded, and cleaner countertop area. But for that, I’d have to retrofit a Ki charger under the countertop.

The tech concept, though? Love it. It’s simple and practical, exactly like tech should be. And I’m glad we’re starting to see the first products go live.