alt Hacker NewsStacked combo units with a top-load washer on the bottom definitely exist[1].
Whirlpool makes them by combining washer assemblies from Clyde, Ohio and dryer assemblers from Marion, Ohio.
(It's not necessarily the most convenient way to do things, but it is also not a fiction.)
[1]: https://www.whirlpool.com/laundry/laundry-sets/stacked-laund... [scroll down]
An apartment I’ve rented in Vietnam had a top-loader with a drying program. I think it put a stream of (cold) air through the clothes while spinning somehow, and IIRC the clothes were not completely dry at the end, but definitely closer than just after a spin. (I think if they’ve added a dehumidifier to the process it would work just as well as a standalone dryer!)