Intero Real Estate Blog Post: 2016's Home Automation Showstopper

With this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) coming to a close this weekend, there’s a whole lot of new tech being talked about. Home automation is nothing new, but it’s certainly been making some interesting strides in recent years. One new innovation is drawing quite a bit of attention, though, and surprisingly, it’s a refrigerator.

Samsung’s new Family Hub Refrigerator is much more than just a place to store perishable food. The expensive new “smart fridge” includes a large touchscreen on the front, cameras, WiFi connection, and more. You might be wondering, how can all of that be useful on, of all things, a refrigerator? I’ll admit that I initially thought it was no more than a gimmick, but after learning more about it, it’s actually pretty cool. Here are a few things you can do with the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator:

● Put together grocery shopping lists using online recipes

● Order groceries online using the touchscreen—while accessing recipes and your digital shopping lists

● Use the connected phone app to have the fridge take photos of the food inside (in case you’re out shopping and you can’t remember whether or not you’re out of eggs)

● Stream music or videos while you’re cooking

The smart fridge even eliminates the need for magnets, as the screen allows you to digitally “pin” photos and notes, a shared calendar, and more—although that does seem to take away a bit of the sentimentality of hanging your kids’ artwork on the fridge. This is the age of the future though, so I guess we’ll all have to make some adjustments as we usher in the age of “smart” everything!

Samsung describes their new refrigerator as “a sophisticated multitasker that reconnects families, organizes groceries and home tasks, and provides entertainment.” That’s some pretty big talk, but for home automation enthusiasts, this fridge could become a new kitchen staple. The Family Hub Refrigerator will be available for purchase this spring. See a video about Samsung's new "smart fridge" HERE.