At IFA in Berlin, Samsung announced new features via Smart Forward, Samsung’s over-the-network updates for home appliances, which will roll out to select devices throughout the second half of this year.
These updates are designed to provide new functionality to existing appliances, future-proofing them and delivering enhanced safety and energy savings.
The Smart Forward updates introduce new functionalities to help enhance the user experience and appliance performance. The Family Hub on the Four-Door French Door Refrigerator will now come with Quick Share and Fridge Call, to significantly improve connectivity and usability.
Quick Share allows users to send photos to the Family Hub screen directly from their mobile device with just a few clicks. With Fridge Call directly on the Family Hub, using its microphone and speaker, eliminates the need to find a phone. These new features will be available on refrigerator models with Family Hub produced from 2017 onward.
Quick Remote, an additional feature in which a smartphone becomes a remote control for connected Samsung appliances, is being expanded across refrigerators produced since 2023, regardless of whether they include a Family Hub screen or not.
Other connected appliances include washing machines and air conditioners also produced since 2023. Users simply need to move close to a SmartThings-connected appliance, and a remote control menu for the appliance will appear on the quick panel of the Galaxy phone screen being used.
Beyond making the user experience more seamless, Samsung is focused on future-proofing existing appliances. The upgraded Bixby understands commands with multiple intentions and remembers the most recent conversation. Samsung is also providing the update to the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo and Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI launched in Australia in 2024.
Bixby now opens doors for 2024 refrigerators with Family Hub upon verbal request, without the need for wake-up commands like ‘Hi Bixby’. Users can simply say, ‘Open the refrigerator door’.
Samsung Australia vice president of consumer electronics, Jeremy Senior said, “Our local research tells us that 98% of Australians are prioritising good value appliances above all else. For 50 years, Samsung has delivered appliances that are built to last. Now our focus is taking that one step further by helping those quality products do even more for longer. Enabling our smart appliances to recognise how we live and learn to be one step ahead will bring meaningful value to our everyday lives.”
In terms of safety and energy savings, Samsung is rolling out updates to older models, including refrigerators made in 2021. After a power outage, refrigerators are designed to detect and notify users via the SmartThings app when the internal temperature is high, making users aware of potential issues that could affect freshness of food. In addition, users can now choose different chimes for open door notifications and put ice makers in sleep mode, preventing them from operating during the night.
The Bespoke AI Heat Pump Combo will see an Optimal Scheduling function added, which delays the start of the appliance to not run during peak energy usage hours or periods of high carbon intensity. The 7-inch AI Home is designed to automatically switch to power-save mode during wash cycles, further assisting with energy savings.