At CES 2022, Moen has announced a new addition to its network of smart water products for homes: Moen’s Smart Faucet with Motion Control takes the hands-free kitchen faucet to the next level, offering gesture control of water temperature. This new product complements the Moen Smart Faucet (formerly known as the U by Moen Smart Faucet)—our favorite smart home product at CES 2020.
As with the Moen Smart Faucet, you can configure your preferred temperatures for cold, warm, and hot in their app. The new faucet will recognize different gestures to switch between your preferred preset temperatures. You’ll even be able to configure the gestures so it’s most intuitive to you and your household. And, of course, you’ll be able to operate the faucet with your Amazon and Google voice assistants. No word, though, on HomeKit or Siri shortcut support, which is still lacking on existing Moen Smart Faucets.
Moen has been expanding its smart domestic water management product line-up over the years. Between a combination of partnerships, acquisitions, and integrations, Moen’s products are still somewhat scattered across multiple brands and apps. But an updated and rebranded Moen Smart Water App should pull all these products together under one roof…by 2023. You’ll still see improvements in the app experience this year, though. They’re planning integration with the Flō-branded water security products, like the Flō Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff, and more. These are all welcome, overdue improvements that we’ll be happy to see.
The new Smart Faucet with Motion Control will be available in four different styles in various finishes (expect gold, black, bronze, nickel, and other options, depending on the style). Two of the styles will come without a handle, which feels gimmicky. Ooh, look, the faucet doesn’t have a handle! We can’t wait to see what gesture Aunt Ester uses to turn off the hot water at the next family dinner. In all seriousness, though, this strikes us as a Jony Ive-esque form-over-function move. We don’t recommend kitchen appliances without buttons—nor would we recommend faucets without handles.
