Gorenje used IFA 2026 to position ConnectLife as the control layer for a broader connected home, linking compatible refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and other appliances while extending the platform to third-party smart-home products through Google Home APIs, Matter and Works with Google Home.
The ConnectLife app provides remote controls, appliance status information, notifications and energy-consumption monitoring for supported products. Gorenje’s compatible range spans refrigerators, ovens, cooktops, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers, although feature support varies by individual model.
The Google Home integration gives ConnectLife a route beyond Gorenje hardware. Matter-compatible devices, Google Nest products and Works with Google Home accessories can potentially contribute to household automations, including sensors, smart plugs and lighting. Google has cited an external air-quality sensor as an example of a device that could automatically affect air-conditioning operation.
In the kitchen, Gorenje is focusing on sharing data between appliances rather than simply enabling phone-based remote control. Guided recipes in ConnectLife can send cooking temperature, duration and mode to a compatible oven. Compatible cooktops and hoods can also communicate so that ventilation and lighting are adjusted during cooking.
Smart Food Management brings refrigerators into that workflow with food inventory and expiry-date tracking, shopping lists and recipe suggestions. Gorenje confirms inventory management and the ability to transfer recipe settings to an oven, but it does not establish that every ConnectLife oven can independently identify ingredients stored in a refrigerator.
Some ovens displayed at IFA also featured assisted door opening via a touch control rather than a conventional pull handle. As with the software features, the ConnectLife logo and the specifications for each appliance remain the key indicators of what is supported.
Gorenje’s approach reflects the wider IFA 2026 push toward smart-home systems in which appliances can react to data from other devices. The important remaining question is how consistently the Matter and Google-based integrations, as well as appliance-to-appliance functions, will be available across the company’s regional product range.
