Now Funding: millo air

When it comes to home appliances, I tend to stick towards the tried and true – simpler devices that get the job done (though, that said, I do like the convenience of a convection toaster oven). Even our blender, while it can chew through just about anything, it’s still a relatively simple machine. That said, it’s not something I’d fire up when the rest of the house is asleep. If you need to get that early-morning smoothie fix, then something like the millo air is where you want to look,

In a way, the millo air reminds me of one of those bullet blenders, as there’s a cup that sets down on the base. Though, this feels a bit more modern and slimmed down, almost a minimalist design. What’s really clever here is the magnetic connection that happens between the base and the blender blades in the lid (think of it like the magnetic impeller pumps in a fish tank filter. Along with helping to mitigate noise with this approach, it also helps keep things very waterproof, keeping stuff from leaking out.

The base of the millo air also has a lot of smarts built into it. By talking to the app on your phone, you can setup custom recipes and blending patterns, and it can take it to the consistency that you want it to be, from chunky blends to silky smooth. Once it can tell it’s hit that, it’ll back off or even stop, maintaining that perfect drink. And if you’re not there right when it ends? It can spin up after it stops just to ensure it keeps the drink fresh. And that’s just one cool bit of tech – check out the details down below.

One other thing I want to call out with the millo air is that it’s fully cordless. The base charges up (it’s got LiOn batteries in it) when it hangs on the wall, and can do up to 10 blends before being depleted. That means it would be easy to take on a weekend trip camping, or even on a road trip to blend stuff up on the go. While the MSRP of the millo air is targeted at $299, earlybird pricing is coming in as low as $179, which is a tidy discount if you’re looking for a compact – and super-quiet – blender. kickstarter.com

Details from millo

Blender base dimensions: 200 x 110 x 30 mm | Weight: 750 gr
Cup dimensions: 100 x 100 x 200 mm | Weight: 300 gr

550 ml Smart Lid dimensions: 100 x 100 x 40 mm | Weight: 300 gr
Dustproof & waterproof base – a seamless magnetic connection between the base and blending lid allowed to seal the base and keep it waterproof. Level of protection – IP67.
Wireless – the blender runs on Li-ion batteries, capable of making up to 10 blends.

Magnetic hook charger
Touch control – intuitive LED touch is very simple to use. There are 3 ways to launch blender: A – manually set the speed, B – set the level of smoothness or C – select one of the 3 presets.
Consistency control – first of its kind blender control setting! Smart electronics are able to recognise change of drink consistency in real time. A user is able to set the level of drink smoothness from roughly blended to silky smooth and the device will do it automatically.

“Smart Stop” – a blender will stop automatically once there is no change in drink viscosity (consistency). This helps to save time and energy.
“Smart Slow” – a blender will reduce the speed to minimum automatically when blades are in a free spin. This happens when the blender is operated empty or when blended ice becomes snow. This feature helps to protect bearings from overheat damage.
“Auto refresh” – if the on-the-go cup is not lifted after blending the blender will spin for a few seconds every minute to keep the drink fresh. The duration of the refresh time can be changed in the App settings.

Over-the-air updates – the blender firmware will be seamlessly updated to improve performance and introduce new features. Updates will be available over the Mobile App. Once new appliances accessories will be added, new dedicated controls will be added as well.
Mobile App – will allow people to Create, Save, Assign to blender presets and Share blending patterns. So from now on, a smoothie recipe will include not only the ingredients, but also the exact setting for blending the drink. Many community developed recipes will be available through the App.
User ID – each blending lid has some smart electronics that allows it to recognize the user (also the type of accessory used in the future), switching the blender to user personalized settings.

Safety protection – blending lid smart electronics allow blending only when the lid is tightly closed and correctly positioned on top of the base.
Open profile blending lid – the blending lid is designed in such a way that it is extremely easy to wash. There are no blind spots, whether it is just rinsing it under the water or putting it into the dishwasher.
On-the-go cup – it is made from Tritan, the glass-like look, BPA free, light plastic.