New Miele W1 Little Giants

[mielerod69]

Here is the first pic of the new Miele Little Giants based on the W1 series domestic range. The model shown has touch screen controls. There are three new models ranging from 6 kg to 8 kg capacity. Wash times around 49 minutes. There are two dryer models, a vented one which dries a load in 38 minutes and a heat-pump which can dry a load in under an hour.

 

[freshnclean]

Debut date? And no don’t lose that button .

I wonder when can we expect them in the US? Shame that they removed the mechanical orange start button , it’s a signature Miele identity .

 

[logixx]

Can't even find a release date for Germany...

 

[ozzie908]

Yellow button

On all Miele I have seen opens the door !

 

[henene4]

Miele did away with a door open button day one with the W1 series.

Launchdate for Germany is sometime in April.

2 lines: Performance and Performance plus, 7kg vs 6,7 or 8kg and connectivity.

 

[toploader55]

OOOOOOOoooooo...

They look delicious ; )

 

[freshnclean]

Is touch screen gonna be so much better now ?

What’s the difference between performance and performance plus ?
Any new internal changes or is it just vanity ?

 

[sgt10]

I can’t imagine the Little Giants getting any better so I hope they don’t change them too much.

When we see that they are “based upon the W1,” I wonder what that means. The Little Giants seem better than the W1s, at least IMO

 

[moon1234]

Is there a PDF somewhere or some place we can "read more about it"?

 

[richnz]

Thanks to the mielelovers website

Someone with much sharper eyes shared a photo on Instagram which shows such machines.

That photo is from September 2018 (from ifa)
It shows touchscreen machines and ones with a knob.

Wonder what else about these machines is floating on the internet

 

[schulthess]

I wonder that nobody visiting the IFA saw them

It was me who found the photos on Instagram by coincidence searching for some kitchen design inspirations.

I really do think that the little giants can get better and happy to see the new series.
Compared to a Schulthess or V-Zug washing machine (the ones for multy housing) the Miele PW has dissatisfied me in terms of washing, rinsing and even spinning performance. I still think, that a really fine perforated drum is better for cleaning e.g. flushing out hair, particles or sand than a Miele Honeycomb drum. My laundry done in a V-Zug or Schulthess comes out with less wrinkles and dryer . Good that they added additional holes in the back of the drum and I hope that the wash and rinse rhythm in the cottons cycle will be more vigorous, which is needed to clean laundry in less time besides a good heating capacity.

 

[richnz]

Are those them behind the man?

 

[freshnclean]

So they do have knobs and buttons?

How different is performance plus vs performance?

It’s odd that no other companies will create an equivalent version to compete against Miele’s Little Giants.

 

[launderess]

If you're speaking of North American market

Likely no one will take on Miele's Little Giant washers at least for the electrical power requirements. As Miele itself learned when they finally gave in and began producing 120v washers for sale here, Americans just aren't going to spend the money for rewiring when they can get a perfectly good washer that doesn't require.

Miele can spread production costs of their Little Giants across a world wide market. So even if there are only small number of sales in North American everything balances out.

 

[moon1234]

The USA is Miele's LARGEST market outside of Germany. It's not like the USA is a minor market for Miele. The Little Giants are "Semi-Pro" models. The true professional models are designed for 30,000 hours of use and for a commercial only setting. The little giants were always designed for high end residential or small commercial.

Their only real competitor is Electrolux for the same capability and build quality. Electrolux professional is vastly better build quality compared to their residential machines.

Take a look at the line 6000 dryers that were just released:
https://professional.electrolux.com/commercial-laundry-equipment/tumble-dryer/
https://opl-ltd.co.uk/products/launderette-equipment/electrolux-td6-7-7kg/


The washers will be released later this year. They look just as good as the current Miele models. The smartphone connected models look really interesting. I did some research and Electrolux is building a fully integrated monitoring system for their machines. They will report on total energy used, water used, etc. Reports faults immediately so they can be dealt with. I almost think Electrolux has somewhat leapfrogged Miele in this area on the professional side.

If I had an on-prem laundry fleet or ran a Laundromat these new systems would allow me to better track my costs and know which cycles were most in use, when the busiest times of the day were, etc. All of this from a smartphone app.

 

[launderess]

USA/North America Might Be Miele's Largest Market

Outside of Germany, but they remain a relatively small player in the appliance market here.

Electrolux, Whirlpool, and lately LG sell far more laundry appliances than Miele.

Miele USA lacks a serious nationwide service network for a start. Meaning if you live far from (or in some cases even relatively near) a major urban area like NYC, LA, SF, Boston, etc... you can be waiting a very long time for a call out. Worse if the technician does not have the part(s) required he must send to Princeton, NJ. Heaven help if part isn't in stock there either as it must come from Germany.

Miele has steadfastly refused to open production plants in USA. LG, Bosch, Electrolux and of course Whirlpool all have manufacturing in USA. Now that White Swan owns GE who knows where that will lead.

 

[sgt10]

I think Miele is a privately-owned company and therefore doesn’t face the same pressure to grow as it would as a public company. It remains iconoclastic and Teutonic, and at least the US branch doesn’t bow to consumer pressure on many issues. I like many of their washing machines, but sometimes feel like a chump for spending so much on them. I was pretty happy with my old Maytag Neptune (pre-Whirlpool acquisition). It has outlasted several Miele’s, although doesn’t have the plethora of cycles and options.

 

[freshnclean]

The little giant washer design

The design is so appealing . It has the performance credentials to match it . Washers are one of the few appliances I can take with me if I move .

What does the new Electrolux look like ?

 

[launderess]

Back when front loading "compact" washers pretty much were only Miele, Bosch, and Creda things were different. Unless willing to go with a Westinghouse, you had to deal with one of the named three.

However things have changed and North Americans have vastly more choices for H-axis washers. Miele has been stubbornly slow in adapting IMHO, and that cost them market share.

It wasn't until just a few years ago they finally realized 208v-240v service is *NOT* as widely distributed and or can be accessed as Miele hoped and or thought. Persons being asked to pay over one thousand for a washing machine often balked at paying an equal sum (or more) to put in the required wiring where it didn't exist.

While Miele appliances are wonderful when they are running, again heaven help you when they don't. Initial contact with Miele's customer service here seems to espouse all the not so nice traits persons attribute to Germans.

What did you do to the machine? No, it can't be doing *that*, you are doing something wrong...." When a repair person finally does confirm the thing *is* doing what you said it was (after a wait of two or more weeks for a call out), you'll likely be told another appointment must be made to fix the appliance. This can be again two or more weeks away. Meanwhile you've spend huge sums for an appliance that is sitting broken.

It's like buying a BMW or Mercedes then having to deal with the thing being laid up in repair shop more than on road.

Unlike say Europe where spares can be had from many sources, for North America Miele insists on keeping everything under their control. You basically can only get Miele parts by either going through them (MieleUSA), or trying your luck shopping in Europe by internet or whatever.

Because Miele won't supply parts and other things required for "non authorized" service men to work on their machines, few want the hassle and bother. Though IIRC Miele recently opened a service center here in NYC, but don't know if they are part of that company or independent.