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"Hello Experts, I am looking for a Matter-supporting fridge; 33-inches wide, anything but Samsung. Stainless steel (or dark stainless steel) with an external water dispenser/icemaker. Budget, roughly $2-3k. Timeframe, anytime before my existing struggling yet relatively new terrible Samsung cools its last (weeks/months?). Something from the US market works."
Kevin
Marc McLaren, Editor-in-Chief, UK, responds:
The short answer to your question is that there is no Matter-compatible smart refrigerator that fits your needs. Sorry!
In fact, at the time of writing, the only Matter-compatible refrigerator is made by Samsung, which you say you want to avoid. That’s the Bespoke 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub+, but it’s too big to fit your requirements, costs $4,000 and is made by Samsung, so that’s not going to work…
All of the models in Samsung’s Family Hub range are due to gain Matter-compatibility this month, Samsung says, but all are wider than 33 inches, so even if you gave the company another chance, this is a non-starter.
Elsewhere, Bosch makes some fridges with smart capabilities, and some would fit your kitchen, width-wise. However, these only have an internal water dispenser, and are slightly outside of your budget ($3,099) – for instance the 800 Series, available from Best Buy here. If you're feeling flexible, that's working checking out.
But instead, I’d look to LG. LG makes several smart fridges, and though none is currently Matter-compatible, they do otherwise fit your needs. For instance, the LFCS22520S is just under 30 inches wide (33.25in with door open) has an external ice and water dispenser, and comes with some smart features via LG’s ThinQ platform and app. It’s available for $2,200, so at the lower end of your budget, and comes in a stainless steel finish. Plus, at the time of writing, it's currently $200 off, both direct from LG and via Best Buy, so it dips just below $2,000.
We haven't reviewed it ourselves, so any recommendation comes with that caveat, but on Best Buy it has a rating of 4.4/5 from 201 reviews.
I realise this doesn’t fit your needs entirely, but it’s the closest I can currently find. Hopefully more models will appear as Matter rolls out fully, but until then you’ll have to make compromises in at least one area, I'm afraid.
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