Continuing its tradition of making your icebox one of the savviest devices in your home, Samsung announced at CES 2018 that it's offering improved integration of its SmartThings ecosystem into its line of Family Hub refrigerators.
SmartThings is Samsung's connected home hub, allowing various devices to speak to and work with one another. By bringing more advanced SmartThings connectivity to Family Hub, users can now control and monitor all of their home's connected devices from the screen on their fridge's front door.
This command extends to compatible third-party devices, like the Ring doorbell, as well as things like thermostats. Users can also view camera feeds from inside their homes to see what's happening in another room.
SmartThings integration adds another layer of convenience to the Family Hub experience, even if you aren't spending a ton of time staring at your fridge door (though, admittedly, I do). All in all, this is another step in Samsung smartening up our homes by allowing various devices to connect with one another, and that bodes well for the company's smart home future.
Fridgen' genius
Samsung's home intelligence push doesn't stop there. The company behind the Galaxy Note 8 also talked up this year's arrival of its digital assistant Bixby to its smart TVs and Family Hub refrigerators.
This will bring voice control to the fridges, so now you really will be talking to the refrigerator the next time someone asks from the other room.
What's more, Samsung is also introducing a new SmartThings app in the spring to allow customers to have one central place where they can control all of their various Internet of Things devices.
And by 2020, Samsung says all of its smart home-connected devices will not only be IoT ready, but also "infused with intelligence." Our best guess is that Samsung means the devices will rely on Bixby and other artificial intelligence, though it sounds just a tad unsettling.
With just about every major company, from Amazon to Apple to Google, bringing their smart assistant to more devices, it's no surprise to see Samsung leading the way.
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