Thanks to the introduction of Matter 1.2 (with the latest version being 1.3, released in May 2024) smart fridges, along with other home appliances like dishwashers and ovens became supported Matter device types. Matter is a unifying protocol that enables smart home devices to be connected with one another, regardless of the brand, an idea born out of the need for interoperability among smart home devices so the vision of a fully connected home could be realised.
In the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s (CSA) announcement about Matter 1.2 dated October 2023, it explained that refrigerators were added as a new device type – adding temperature control and monitoring capabilities, including devices like deep freezers and wine fridges.
What is a smart fridge?
What a smart fridge means can vary. In theory, a “smart” fridge differs from its conventional counterpart by being equipped with technologies like IoT, sensors and AI to perform tasks like monitoring the contents of the fridge and providing users with real-time updates on what’s happening inside. Frequently, thanks to the development of Matter, a smart home device now refers to connected devices that are able to “talk to one another”, regardless of which brand you bought it from.
A standout feature of a smart fridge is its ability to automatically manage inventory, by tracking what items are stored, how much remains and when an item of food is nearing its expiry date. The ideal scenario being, a user can keep track of the food in their fridge and not have to throw out a curdled carton of milk because their fridge has already notified them it’s due to go off two days prior. This ultimately means less food waste and less expense.
In practice, what a smart home fridge means is less simple. If you’re building a smart home ecosystem and having Matter-compliant devices is a must for you, you might struggle with smart fridges. Although Matter 1.2 brought on fridges as a new device type, it entirely depends on whether smart home manufacturers are willing to create products that support the standard. This means if you’re buying a smart fridge from a retailer, it might not be able to communicate with your other devices, and is something to consider.
Currently, Samsung’s Bespoke Family Hub refrigerator is a Matter controller but not a Matter device – Matter controllers are an essential part of any smart home ecosystem as it onboards devices, controls them and manages communications.
What smart fridges are available on the market now?
As it stands, some of the manufacturers who make smart fridges include Samsung, LG, GE and Bosch. Samsung has exhibited its own particular passion and indeed, investment, into the smart home market, at CES in January of this year when it unveiled its latest smart fridge – the Bespoke Family Hub Plus – featuring a 32-inch screen, AI vision that uses a camera to recognise food items and AI-powered features like enabling users to set use by dates for food items so the fridge sends a notification when that expiry date is close – exactly like the ideal scenario of what a smart fridge can do
Last month, Samsung announced new features that would be rolled out using Smart Forward, its over-the-network updates for home appliances. In the announcement, Miyoung Yoo, EVP and Head of the Software Development Team, Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics said: “After years of R&D with a relentless focus on the home user experience, we are thrilled to be rolling out more Smart Forward updates to our earlier released appliances around the globe.”
Should you buy a smart fridge?
This question is entirely dependent on what you’re looking for, and what benefits you think you’ll glean from a smart fridge. As it offers capabilities to reduce food waste, cost and increase energy efficiency, smart fridges are definitely worth the investment for households concerned with these aspects.
If you’re the kind of tech-savvy user who’d like your entire home to be overhauled with smart devices and communication between them is important, it’s important to consider that smart fridges aren’t quite there yet.
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