Samsung has announced the expansion of features that are available to European users of the Family Hub refrigerator. The tech giant has disclosed that it would be rolling out the voice assistant feature on Family Hub in European countries in the second half of the year. The tech giant has also revealed that it would be unveiling the Samsung Connect smart home feature for the first time at IFA 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
The Samsung European edition of the Smart Fridge usually comes with a Twin-door setup which places the fridge at the top and the freezer at the bottom and this is the preferred choice of European consumers. The company recently unveiled the T9000 with this arrangement and also announced that it would be including Bixby on the Family Hub 2.0 refrigerator. Bixby will hit the Family Hub refrigerator via a software update to all shipped Family Hub units. The software update brings AI compatibility to the smart fridge.
The cloud-based Bixby voice assistant feature was first introduced to the Family Hub in Korea and just recently Bixby U.S English was introduced. Now, Samsung will be adding European languages in multiple phases this year and would commence with British English, German, French, and Italian.
The Family Hub refrigerator already comes with an intuitive user interface which supports touch commands. The voice assistant will provide users with an additional and even easier means to communicate with the Smart fridge. With voice command, users can easily ask for the time and weather updates, search the internet, read news articles, play music and radio, add items to their shopping list, and even view inside of the refrigerator without opening the door.
If this sounds appealing, the Samsung Connect smart home feature is even more appealing. Samsung Connect would make the Family Hub a true hub at the Centre of the home as it would help home owners take control of their various Samsung smart devices. The smart home feature will enable the capability of connecting and controlling various Internet devices irrespective of their operating system. In this regard, despite the Family Hub running on Tizen OS, it can connect to gadgets running on Android or iOS.
With this new function, users will now be able to turn on and monitor their Samsung AddWashTM smart washing machine or prompt their POWERbot vacuum cleaner to begin cleaning up the living room by voice command right from the Family Hub’s interactive screen while cooking or entertaining in the kitchen. In addition, Samsung Family Hub’s content and services continue to be expanded with more than 100 partner companies now collaborating with the Family Hub platform across North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. The list presently includes retailers like Instacart, Shoprite and Fresh direct which provide consumers in the U.S. with seamless e-Commerce shopping experiences. European versions of the Samsung Family Hub feature European retailers like Supermercato24 and Eataly to provide grocery shopping which can be done right from the Family Hub’s interface at home.
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The kitchen isn’t built to be a boring place and the smart fridge also includes entertainment and news apps providing music streaming services such as Spotify. Households can also stay up-to-date with the latest news via NPR or update. There are also apps which dish out the latest recipes from Allrecipes, Whisk!, and Samsung Club des Chefs.
Attendees at this year’s IFA in Berlin can have a preview of the Family Hub’s new voice recognition feature as well as Samsung’s smart home and IoT services integration with Samsung Connect by visiting Samsung’s exhibition booth at IFA 2017 in Berlin, beginning on September 1.
