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LG might sell a pod-based ice cream-making gadget in the future

LG might sell a pod-based ice cream-making gadget in the future

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But you’ll need flavor and texture pods

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I wasn’t looking for pod-related gadgets, but, somehow, they found me. LG hosted a pop-up at SXSW this year where it showed off a few new prototypes, although it mostly demoed new models of its CLOi line of home robots. Naturally, LG also brought something called the Snow White to the festival: an at-home ice cream machine that requires capsules to produce a treat.

The machine requires two pods: one for flavor and another for a base texture, which determines whether you’re making sorbet, ice cream, or gelato. Every capsule has a QR code printed on it that’ll tell the machine what to make. The person demoing this device didn’t know what ingredients were inside the capsules, except for shelf-safe pasteurized milk, nor how cold the machine could get.

Unfortunately, we don’t have pricing or availability details for the device, only that it’s in the prototype phase right now. I genuinely hope LG starts making ice cream pods, if only because I think that would be a funny line of business for the same company that also makes the awe-inspiring rollable OLED TV.

LG introduced a separate pod-based gadget at CES this year that brews beer. The LG HomeBrew’s capsules contain malt, yeast, hop oil, and flavoring, while the machine “automates the whole procedure from fermentation, carbonation and aging to serving and cleaning.” As a pod gadget enthusiast, I appreciate that LG is making more pods, but it’s unclear how many people really want to make ice cream from a capsule when they could just pick up a convenient pint at the grocery store.

Photography by Ashley Carman / The Verge