Samsung Is Putting Google Gemini AI Into Your Refrigerator, Whether You Need It or Not (nerds.xyz) 75
BrianFagioli writes: Samsung is bringing Google Gemini directly into the kitchen, starting with a refrigerator that can see what you eat. At CES 2026, the company plans to show off a new Bespoke AI Refrigerator that uses a built in camera system paired with Gemini to automatically recognize food items, including leftovers stored in unlabeled containers. The idea is to keep an always up to date inventory without manual input, track what is added or removed, and surface suggestions based on what is actually inside the fridge. It is the first time Google's Gemini AI is being integrated into a refrigerator, pushing generative AI well beyond phones and laptops.
I hope they trained it well (Score:5, Insightful)
They're going to have a hard time getting Gemini to not explain to consumers why their ice maker isn't working or any of the other widespread Samsung refrigerator problems of the last 15 years.
On the other hand, at least it's not Bixby.
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Oh, and it's a little too easy for little kids to accidentally put it into Store Demo mode, which turns off the compressor.
We got a great deal on it when we bought our house. Floor model at B
Re: I hope they trained it well (Score:2)
That's lucky. There's a whole Facebook group dedicated to getting repairs and refunds for the models with the major defects. And even after the defect was identified, they continued to sell without any changes.
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We had some Samsung appliances in the past and found getting repairs to be a huge headache in our area. Even though we live in a major city there were hardly any "Authorized Repair Centers" and the prices were ridiculous. Just for the cost to have a repair guy drive out to look at it and tell us what might be wrong was going to be half the cost of just buying a new one.
And I feel like so many of the Samsung things I've owned lately do an uncomfortable amount of data collection. I just want you to keep my ic
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I wonder if there is a market for a third party board you drop in without all the bullshit? All it has to do is read the temperature sensor and run the compressor. You know all this garbage fails due to managers and suits trying to save pennies per fridge.
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Well, I had to replace the truncheon and icemaker on ours in the first few years, and I'm unimpressed by the poor ergonomics of the produce drawers, which have a hard time clearing the doors. And, of course, I immediately acted to defeat its call-home feature.
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or any of the other widespread Samsung refrigerator problems of the last 15 years.
*Awkwardly looks at the 7 year old Samsung refrigerator that hasn't had a single problem, bought at a time when they were considered extremely reliable, while wondering what the fuck you are talking about.*
GenAI isn't the problem or the culprit here. (Score:5, Insightful)
Smart devices have been spying on you for years now. Don't buy a fridge that spies on you.
Re: GenAI isn't the problem or the culprit here. (Score:4, Funny)
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Im going to put my tv, fridge, roomba, and computer in the garage with the car and let them spy on each other.
The roomba will win. It'll have the most mobility in a confined space.
Re:GenAI isn't the problem or the culprit here. (Score:5, Informative)
Smart devices have been spying on you for years now. Don't buy a fridge that spies on you.
I've had my 1990's GE side by side forever and have no plan to replace it. 12 years ago a part went out. It was easily replaced and has been running great since. No one needs a fridge to tell them what they ate or what they need to buy.
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Re:GenAI isn't the problem or the culprit here. (Score:4, Insightful)
There are still makers of appliances with good quality and you can get those from some mainstream vendors as well. You need to look out for longer warranties and whether they give you guarantees as to how long replacement parts will be available. Also check whether the manual has an explosion-drawing and part numbers.
No such assurances or information? Stay away, they are out to screw you over. Also, equipment aimed at restaurants will often (but not always) be "industrial" quality.
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Mostly it's boomers I see buying into this stuff. "I'm talking to my computer... it's finally the year 2000!"
If it requires a network connection (Score:1)
... It doesn't belong in the kitchen. Simple as that. Its up to consumers to refuse to pay for this spyware. The only wires/tubes coming out of my kitchen appliances plug into power outlets and natural gas - Zero appliances have an IP address.
Re: If it requires a network connection (Score:2)
Why do engineers know this but if the boss tells them to do it anyway they meekly comply? What if engineers refused to cooperate with bad engineering orders?
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Job Market.
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Engineers need to eat too. And in the absence of regulation, they have not leverage against a greedy employer.
With regulation, that looks a bit different. See, for example, the HIPPA Act. "What, you want me to make this medical data handling device shoddily? No problem, I just need a written order and you may go to jail if it gets hacked." Something like that tends to impress managers.
Another example is gas stations. In some parts of Europe, they have legal availability requirements. Guess what OT systems a
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Indeed. But too many people mistake "uses the Internet" and "fancy" for "good". Still, the rational part of the market is large enough that you find vendors there as well. You just have to look for a bit and you may have to do some research.
Wont buy it (Score:2)
There is no way I will ever connect an appliance like this to the internet.
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I Have a GE profile gas stove there no way to set the time on it with out an NTP server. yeap the clock needs and NTP server to tell time and it wont claim to do timer count down with out an internet NTP server. guess what once you connect to it wants and register it never needs it again.
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That sounds pretty illegal. At least in Europe. Forcing a registration for full functionality is prohibited by the GDPR unless clearly needed for the function itself. One of the reasons Windows still has ways to use it without an MS account.
Nuh-uh (Score:2)
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Samsung generally makes pretty good appliances. Just be careful what you buy.
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I've got a 32" Samsung TV (NOT a "smart"-tv) that I've had for going on 10 years, I use it as a monitor for a Roku "stick" in one of the HDMI ports. Works great.. Probably they don't make any "non-smart-tvs" anymore, so I hope this thing lasts, as I WILL NOT BUY any "smart-tvs" to replace it.
Fridges... it's always fridges (Score:2)
What is it with fridge-makers that they feel that every new technology must somehow be shoe-horned in to fridges?
When I think of a fridge, it's a cool and cold place to store food (and batteries!) and not a place for technology.
Having worked on my out-of-warranty LG fridge recently, I was truly shocked in the shoddy, low-quality design and cheap parts being used. For a $1600 "normal" fridge.
I feel like this stuff is a distraction away from what a rip-off fridges really are.
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Yes. It is a commodity market, i.e. you just compete on merit and have to deliver a solid product. Greedy assholes do not want that, so they seek to "fancify" things in order to mislead consumers and increase their margins.
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Because it is a mature product. You have to sell your brand on something..
Everything else like ice on the door etc has been cloned. You can't really sell on quality. It is to difficult to educate consumers. They are standing there in Lowes' looking at 2 generally identical 22 sq ft units but one costs $300 more. Which one are they leaving with?
In the old days of appliance stores, where you would generally interact with a sales person they might explain that well the INSERT-BRAND has 25% lower failure rat
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Indeed. Capitalism is a self-destroying system unless eternal growth is possible or you have careful limits in place that are decidedly non-capitalist. Like limits on personal wealth and the like.
That little problem is also where nonsense like "Colonies on Mars!" comes from.
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I can't wait until the market further matures and the only way to appease the dark, evil cabal of shareholders across all brands is by growing long tail long revenue via ads, tracking, yadda yadda. Which stuff like this is just the beach-head needed to inure consooooomers to having advertisements coming at them 24/7 from all angles. You won't even be safe in your own home if these cretins get their way.
Anything with a screen can, and will be used to rape your eyeballs with cunty advertisements.
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That's why people buy Speed Queen washer/driers. 5 and 7 years warranties, and you get the extra cost back the first time someone doesn't have to come out to fix it (if the spare is available).
Also, no app, no internet.
That's okay, I don't need a fancy fridge. (Score:2)
I'm sure that people who value gadgetry for gadgetry's sake will, and they will love them. That's fine with me, it's their money.
I bought a house with Samsung appliances (Score:2)
But not connecting them to the Internet was simple. Samsung even made the decision for me, because their app doesn't work on Pixel devices.
On the other hand the LG washer and dryer that I bought don't even have the option to connect to the Internet.
The wine version seems reasonable. (Score:2)
The kind of guy that buys a wine fridge is going to obsess about things like what he is out of and which wine pairs best with the current meal.
Honestly, most people that buy a wine anything like wine but do not know a huge amount about it. So the AI seems like a perfect fit.
But I know of no person that wants this for the normal fridge. That seems like an answer looking for a question.
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I know some folks who exist solely on box food (usually frozen heat and eat stuff) and I can see how someone heading home from work on a friday would ping their fridge to see if they have frozen pizza or whatever it is they want, in case they have to hit the supermercado on the way home.
And maybe some folks with memory issues, when they're out grocery shopping/
But other than that, naw.
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If I am heading home and I want to stop and buy food, I buy food that is already made from a restaurant.
Nope (Score:2)
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when there is no competeive advantage any more. I do not see this taking long. The models are what matters what i see happing is the AI chips that coming will be able to just a load a prebuilt model and go. The AI chip companies will start traing there own models to do spefic thing.
A good example is FedEX in the 80s they before faxes they build out a sytem to scan a document transmit and they reprint and deliver on the other end. Before they got it don faxes rulled the world. This is the future i see for AI
I start to see the appeal (Score:2)
I don't want it, and I'm not going to buy it (in fact, I just bought a new fridge the other day and sought out a non-"smart" model), but as someone who's only recently started experimenting more with cooking, I can see the appeal.
It would be pretty neat if my fridge knew what foods I have and could recommend recipes based on it. And though it sounds ridiculous, it actually would be handy if it could remind me what I just used the last of or am running low on. Sometimes, you forget to write something down, a
I'm a bit sanguine (Score:2)
As long as it can be disabled, I'm cautiously curious about technology like this. It could monitor food for spoilage, help with menus and dietary planning, recommend shopping lists, and so on. It could be very helpful if not abused.
On the other hand, I'm not so keen about home-technology that monitors what comes out of us at the other end. May that never catch on. Oh, wait. [everydayhealth.com]
Can this be paired (Score:2)
with the poop Camera somehow?
Chip-Clippy (Score:2)
"It looks like you're making a casserole..."
Not mine, ever (Score:2)
If Samsung does not want me to buy from them, that is entirely fine.
In that case (Score:3)
In that case, guess who'll be taping over the cameras and sensors? Me, that's who.
I'm just waiting for the inevitable day when AI is shoved into everything- floss sticks, pop cans, hamburgers, dildos, nuclear weapons, crotchless underwear, snowstorms, farts, bad dreams, horses, etc etc.
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Why on earth would you pay for their top-of-the-line AI-powered refrigerator, if you didn't intend to use the AI features? You realize they aren't going to just give this away, right?
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Why on earth would you pay for their top-of-the-line AI-powered refrigerator, if you didn't intend to use the AI features?
I wouldn't buy it, but I'm looking ahead because I know that my next refrigerator will probably have sensors and cameras and AI crap in it whether I want it or not.
(We'll probably be able to find appliances without AI for a while but eventually everything wlil have AI crammed into it, like this stupid shaver with AI built right in: usa.philips.com/c-e/pe/face-shavers/shaver-s9000.html)
When I can't buy a product like a refrigerator without AI crap, that's when I'll be taping over the sensors and cameras.
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I suppose it depends on how hard you look. These days, if you want a dumbphone, you can still get them. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=fli... [amazon.com] And you can still get "non-smart" TVs. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=non... [amazon.com] You can *even* still get cars with manual transmissions, and some of them are *not* bargain-basement models! https://www.caranddriver.com/f... [caranddriver.com]
I'm counting on the market for "dumb" refrigerators to stay healthy for quit some time to come.
Ooooh, I'm TELLING (Score:3)
***
This is the third time in seven minutes that you have opened the refrigerator.
Your average time with the door open is 45 seconds.
You stared into the fridge for 80 seconds and did not remove or replace any items.
You access the refrigerator every 73 minutes.
YOUR ENERGY PENALTY SCORE: 175.
(The state recommendation is 45. You will be assessed.)
***
You consumed 800 unapproved calories today.
Overall, you over-consumed: Fat (29%), Carbohydrates (55%).
YOUR FOOD HEALTH SCORE: 19
(Your insurance company will asses a rate penalty.)
***
ALERT:
Your daily steps, sleep hours, screen time,
and health scores have exceeded approved limits.
In addition to fines and penalties,
the following actions are being implemented:
1. Your DRIVING PRIVILEGES have been suspended
for 2 months. Do not attempt to operate your vehicle.
It has been disabled.
(You may still walk or use public transit.)
2. Your SOCIAL BURDEN SCORE has been updated.
This has been reported to your employer,
who may reduce your pay accordingly.
3. Your INTERNET PRIVILEGE has been restricted
to REMEDIAL content for the next 6 months.
Your VOTING privilege will be suspended for one year
if your score averages below 77 for the 9 month window.
You can review your scores at any time by voice query,
or visiting the public disclosure site at:
www.checkanyonesscore.gov
NOTE:
Ambient Conversation Monitoring (AMC) has been
enabled at your premises by The Ministry.
Energy Star? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Energy Star? (Score:4, Informative)
So we've been pushing for years to make power-hungry appliances like washer/dryers, dishwashers, and *refrigerators* more energy efficient. We put stickers on them with Energy Star certifications telling you how much power they use on average. But now we're going to run power-hungry AI for...reasons? And I guess it won't affect the efficiency rating, because that excess power is consumed at a data center somewhere, not your home. Humanity deserves to die off.
Seems the Trump administration is looking to reduce, kill, or privatize the Energy Star program, though companies are (generally) in favor of keeping it (probably for marketing reasons as certification is third-party). Google: trump energy star [google.com]
Re: Energy Star? (Score:2)
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No, the companies that already exist that want it do so for the same reason oil companies push to regulate refineries. It makes the barrier to entry much tougher for someone new. If they cared about it for environmental reasons they would never ad AI.
I'd buy that as an additional argument to an Energy Star certification being an independent assessment - that (other) companies can't lie about. Having to pay for the certification is part of the equation, and not having one would be a detriment when comparing a product to one that does, as well as the various values among those that do.
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But now we're going to run power-hungry AI for...reasons?
No. AI for the end user simply isn't power hungry. The primary development of models is, the end user application paired with a rudimentary processor designed for the job is a metaphorical piss in the ocean of the power consumption of a fridge.
Not ever getting this, but ... (Score:2)
If I did get it, the first thing I'd do is put a roll of electrical tape inside and let it think about that for a bit (for my amusement), then I'd tape over the camera. Or tape a picture of an arrangement of some really weird food items in front of the camera. Seriously, while all these surveillance "features" are crap, there's got to be a way to fuck with them for, at least, amusement.
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Just put a picture of some severed human body parts into your fridge when bored.
Wrapped in plastic with a hand-written "Use By" or "Best if used by" date. :-)
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SWAT raid cometh your way, plus arrest for wasting police time (presuming you survive the raid).
Vote with your money (Score:2)
I absolutely need this! (Score:2)
I doubt that (Score:2)
MY refrigerator is from Miele.:-)
Samsung Smart Home (Score:2)
I have an induction range and oven from Samsung. It has some wifi and smart bullshit in it. And it did indeed detect and work correctly when I first got it. But after a few phone upgrades the old app no longer works and the new version sort of detects my oven but won't add it.
Turns out, adding layers of complexity to your appliances makes the appliances less reliable. Luckily I can safely ignore the smart home features, although the time keeps resetting itself, I manually set it but somewhere internally it
Good luck with that. (Score:2)
Waste of time and money, but we all know that. (Score:2)
Someone needs to tell appliance manufacturers that NOBODY WANTS THIS SHIT. We have a 2025 Samsung fridge with the "AI Vision Inside" and it's useless. First, it only has cameras in the doors so it really only 'sees' what is in the door pockets. Anything else is a motion blurred image of what went in or out, coupled with some pretty laughter inducing product identification. How many times has any of these features helped us? Perfect zero. No camera in the freezer, and no camera in the middle drawer so you'
Will the refrigerator be free? (Score:2)
A little round sticker goes a long way (Score:2)
Slap it on the camera, and all Samsung will see is a big juicy dick.
I'd only buy it if... (Score:2)
...it comes with an AI Richard Simmons Deal-A-Meal
FTFY, HTH, HAND (Score:2)
Because, of course you don't need it, just like you don't need all this other slop they're so very determined to shovel down our throats.
ORLY (Score:1)