Do you really need a smart dryer?

When it comes to smart home appliances, ‘smart’ refers to any function that relies on Wi-Fi to work. Smart technology is generally found in heat pump dryers rather than vented dryers, but that’s not to say that all heat pump dryers have Wi-Fi connectivity.

Many smart dryers include advanced features like energy efficient heat pump technology and load sensing that aren’t ‘smart’ features in the Wi-Fi sense of the word and are better described as clever technology.

If you’re not fussed about monitoring laundry on your phone but want a dryer with some of those other bells and whistles, you may find that smart functionality comes as part of the package anyway. And once you have it, you might just use it.

If you buy a smart dryer in 2025, it will almost always be a heat pump dryer rather than an older-style vented one. Because they are more technologically advanced and higher priced, it’s not unusual for manufacturers to also include smart tech in them.

Heat pump technology uses lower temperatures and recycles heat for greater energy efficiency, giving heat pump dryers energy ratings of 7-stars or more, compared to 2-star ratings for vented dryers.

Load sensing functions automatically measure the moisture levels in your laundry and adjust drying times accordingly. This prevents overdrying, protects fabrics, and improves energy efficiency.

The lower drying temperatures are gentler on fabrics, while steam functions and specialty cycles for delicates like synthetics can allow you to dry items that can’t be dried in traditional vented dryers.

However, while almost all smart dryers are heat pump dryers, not all heat pump dryers are smart.

Many brands, including Fisher & Paykel, Samsung, LG, Miele, Beko, Akai and Haier have smart tech in much of their heat pump range, while others, such as Bosch, include it in a smaller number of high end models. Many budget brands don’t have smart capabilities in any of their heat pump dryers.

A smart dryer can be a good choice if your busy lifestyle means you’ll genuinely benefit from remote start functions, troubleshooting, energy usage and cycle finish notifications. It could also be a missing piece of your smart home puzzle if you already have a smart washing machine or other smart home appliances.

On the other hand, if you’re happy pressing buttons on the control panel or if your internet connection is unreliable, a smart dryer may not be necessary since its features depend on stable Wi-Fi.

While many of the best heat pump dryers include smart features, you can still find high-performing non-smart models that offer energy savings and fabric care without the added cost of smart Wi-Fi connectivity.