KitchenAid just released the biggest update to its iconic stand mixer in 70 years. The new Artisan Plus has a slower folding speed, smooth speed transitions, automatic lighting, and a special wand that stirs while cleaning the bowl.
The catch? The company refused to change how the mixer looks on the outside. That famous bowl-hugging shape had to stay exactly the same.
Surgery on a Kitchen Icon
This created a massive engineering challenge. The team had to fit all the new features inside the existing body without changing the silhouette at all. “We’re really attached to the silhouette. We really don’t want to change the outside, which is a challenging engineering function when you say no, the package is fixed,” says Joseph Snyder, a system architect at KitchenAid.
To make it work, they performed what Snyder calls “industrial surgery.” The old analog controls that created the mixer’s 10 distinct speeds got replaced with computer-like microcontrollers. But they kept the familiar speed settings because longtime users are attached to their baking routines.
The new mixer starts at $599 and represents the biggest leap forward for a product that’s barely changed since the 1950s. It’s proof that even the most beloved kitchen appliances can get smarter without losing their classic appeal.
