Smart homes could become a lot more helpful if the latest generation of AI-powered gadgets works as promised.
I know because I spent last week in New York experiencing Samsung's new AI-powered lineup of its Bespoke appliances in person. There's some seriously impressive sensor and AI work at play that stands out for being helpful, rather than gimmicky.
From a fridge that scans the ingredients you place and take out of it to an all-in-one washer that scans your laundry load to suggest optimal cleaning settings, here are the three most promising appliances I saw that are coming to smart homes as soon as this week.
Samsung Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+
Samsung has built screens into its fridges for years. However, it's the addition of an AI-powered camera on the Bespoke AI Family Hub+ model that takes things to the next level.
Along the top sits an AI Vision Inside camera that accurately identifies and tracks food placed in the fridge. Its multi-detection feature had no problem seeing tomatoes and steak that were taken out of the fridge during the demonstration. Paired with intelligent auto-open doors that help while your hands are full, the Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ works to anticipate your needs and meet them without your input.
Beyond identifying and tracking, the AI comes into play by auto-populating a list of your groceries in the SmartThings app. These come complete with reminders of when food goes bad and even optimize Samsung Food recipes ahead of time so you don't waste food. Currently, the fridge only recognizes 33 of the most popular food items but Samsung's reps have told us that this number will evolve over time.
You can manage your ingredients and recipes from the Samsung Food app on the built-in 32-inch LCD screen. Of course, you can still access a bevy of entertainment apps from TikTok to YouTube as well as use widgets like a notepad to keep track of family activities. You can get the Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ for $4,999 directly from Samsung now.
Samsung Bespoke Slide-In Induction Range with 7" At Home LCD Display
My demonstration then shifted to the new Bespoke Induction range oven. Our rep simply sent a chocolate chip cookie recipe over to it from the smart fridge's screen. Its sleek edge-lit frame is topped off with a scratch-resistant matte black cooktop panel. I found the oven's knobless, handle-free design and auto-open door to be a little confusing—a lot like showing someone how the handles work on a Tesla.
The star of the show here is the 7-inch display which shows you the status of your cook and connected home devices. Not only could we see the time left on the preheating, but also that the fridge door was left open as well as an update that a laundry load was complete.
This interconnected display hub is helpful but the AI isn't as game-changing here. The best it will do is notify you if food is burning and display personalized recipes on its screen based on your preferences.
Instead, this oven is a feature juggernaut. Its built-in camera shows an interior live view of your food on your smartphone or picture-in-picture on your Samsung Smart TV. You can control the oven directly from your phone and download a timelapse of your cooks to share with socials. You can grab it for $3,399 directly from Samsung with an estimated arrival time in the first week of June.
Samsung’s Bespoke AI Laundry Combo Washer + Dryer with 7” AI Home LCD Display
This all-in-one washer and dryer combo condenses oodles of functionality into a sleek frame. Its 5.3 cu ft capacity drum is generous enough to wash a family-sized laundry load without transferring between machines. I appreciated the little touches, like auto open doors that open at the end of a cycle to release humidity, as well as the 7-inch screen which displays a wealth of information.
Samsung’s AI OptiWash & Dry feature detects the weight, fabric type, and soil level of your clothes and uses an algorithm to determine the best wash and dry cycles. Beyond cleaning the SmartThings AI Energy Mode automatically optimizes power consumption, making it easy to minimize your energy usage with a tap. This kind of efficiency not only helps you save time, but is meant to help you reduce energy usage and save money on energy costs.
Beyond laundry, you can manage your other connected SmartThings devices from the machine's screen. During the demo, a Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI vacuum showed its live cleaning status on the washer's display and even sent a notification that its dustbin had been filled. There are even third-party integrations like the ability to answer a Ring video doorbell complete with a live feed. You can get the Bespoke AI Laundry Combo Washer for $3,299 directly from Samsung as soon as next week.
Bottom line
While it's always been nifty to have a screen on your fridge, that screen has never tracked your food or helped you make decisions for efficient meal planning. Overall, the new Bespoke AI lineup feels different from years past because of the way it helpfully automates your tasks, rather than feeling almost gimmicky.
Samsung's SmartThings have always had tight integration between devices, and this new AI component excites me for the future where your apppliances can work together to send a robot vacuum to clean your kitchen after dinner is done. Or maybe an oven camera sees and weighs a chicken, then starts cooking it without any input.
We're on a path that takes the work out of cooking and cleaning, and I'm here for it.
