Samsung’s smart refrigerators are about to get a little too smart for comfort. Starting November 3, a new update will bring a widget that displays weather, news, calendar info and, yes, ads. According to Android Policse, the rollout will begin in the United States on Family Hub models that have screens 21 inches or larger.
These fridges are hardly budget appliances, often priced around $2,199 or more, so the idea of them suddenly showing advertisements feels like a punch in the wallet. The Verge reports that the first batch of ads will feature Samsung’s own products, but it is easy to see where this is heading. Third-party brands will almost certainly find their way onto your fridge screen before long.
The new widget will be part of a larger software update that brings some new features along with the marketing push. Samsung says the interface will now be consistent across its 2024 and 2025 refrigerator models, making the user experience smoother. The company’s AI Vision system is also getting an upgrade, with improved recognition for more types of foods and packaging. Bixby users will gain better voice recognition too, allowing the fridge to switch accounts automatically when different people speak. Security updates are also part of the package, which sounds like good news when your kitchen appliance is connected to the internet.
The problem, of course, is that most people didn’t sign up for an ad-supported refrigerator. Samsung says users can turn off the ads, but the only way to do that is by removing the entire widget, which also deletes the other useful bits like the weather and calendar. In other words, you can keep the ads or lose the convenience entirely.
It is not the first time Samsung has flirted with advertising on its devices. Its smart TVs already display promotional content within menus, and the company has faced backlash for it before. Doing the same on an appliance that costs over two thousand dollars might not go down smoothly with owners who just wanted a screen to check recipes or family schedules.
For now, Samsung insists the ads will be “curated” and “non-intrusive,” but that is what every company says before things get annoying. Today it is a banner suggesting a new Galaxy phone; tomorrow it might be your fridge recommending which soda to chill. The smart home dream is starting to look a lot like a digital billboard with a freezer attached.
