Now, Samsung's smart fridge will send door-open alerts, morning briefings
At the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung has unveiled the latest generation of its 'Family Hub' smart refrigerator. The appliance, which Samsung touts as a smart assistant, is now a lot more capable, thanks to deeper integration with Bixby voice assistant. It comes with a range of smart functions and can even send out alerts if its door is not properly closed. Here's more.
Family Hub gets incremental but handy updates
Samsung has been showcasing and upgrading, its 'Family Hub' smart fridge since 2016. Over these years, the company has pushed several updates, making the whole device and its home screen features better. Last year, it introduced Bixby into the fridge, and now, it is leveraging the assistant for various functions one could expect in a connected kitchen.
Here's what you can do with Bixby on Family Hub
In the latest version, Bixby is more conversational and can handle a range of kitchen-related tasks, be it searching recipes or pre-setting oven temperature. The smart assistant on the fridge can even be triggered to provide morning briefings while you're getting ready for work. It will deliver verbal and screen-based reports of weather and news, and will also call an Uber if you need.
And, you can use Family Hub's screen as bulletin board
Family Hub features a touchscreen with a revamped Tizen-like interface and a small batch of apps. You can use this screen as a digital bulletin board, where you can stick notes or create doodles. Plus, there's a screensaver, which much like Google Home Hub, displays your photos or custom information like weather updates. Notably, you can even tweak this feature to match kitchen decor.
Finally, there are features like 'View Inside' and 'Meal Planner'
Along with Bixby and screen-based features, there are also some capabilities for meal planning and management on Family Hub. For instance, its camera-based 'View Inside' feature will let you check what's in the fridge while shopping at the store, and Meal planner will customize recipes according to your food preferences, dietary needs, and items available. There's also an option to create a shopping list.
