Whirlpool's $1,699 "smart" washing machine boasts Wi-Fi and a colored control screen, can be started from an iPhone app, and will text or email you when your clothes are ready to dry -- in, as ...

Strip away a washing machine's bonus features, like multiple specialty cycles and a related app, and you wind up with Whirlpool's $1,199 WFW87HEDW. Like the $1,099 Electrolux EFLS617S, the WFW87HEDW ...