New Samsung White Goods Amp Up AI & IoT, Use Less Juice

Scheduled to land in Australia this year, Samsung has revealed its 2018 lineup of fridge and washers at its Southeast Asia & Oceania Regional Forum today. Featuring enhancements in artificial intelligence and IoT, Samsung claims its new white goods also boast decreased energy consumption.

Samsung WW7800M Washing Machine With QuickDrive

Coming in 2018, Samsung unveiled its “revolutionary” new washing machine – the WW7800M with trademarked QuickDrive technology.

The company will release three new washing machines in Australia this year – two standard watching machines (~8.5L capacity) at the end of March, and a combination washer-dryer product later in the year.

With its exclusive QuickDrive technology, the new washing machines claim to “dramatically reduce” washing times (by 50%), whilst offering increased performance and reduced energy consumption (by 20%).

The product claims to complete a standard load within 39 minutes in its ‘Super Speed’ setting.

Samsung states its QuickDrive technology was independently tested by Intertek, who reportedly confirmed its claims.

Detergent permeation is also increased, courtesy of its trademarked EcoBubble technology.

Just like its new Family Hub fridge (below), Samsung’s new WW7800M washing machine also features IoT integration.

The wachine machine features an AI-powered laundry assistant ‘Q-rator’, powered via an accompanying app – offering a customisable ‘Laundry Planner’, ‘Laundry Recipe’ for recommended settingsand ‘Homecare Wizard’ to provide alerts about performance problems.

Just like its former range of smart washing machines, Samsung’s WW7800M allows users to throw in additional items “at any time during the cycle”.

Local pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Samsung 2018 Family Hub Refrigerator (Australia)

Samsung Australia Head of Appliances, Jeremy Senior, informs ChannelNews the new Family Hub fridge will arrive in Australia in the “coming months”.

Having won a 2018 CES Best of Innovation Award, Samsung states new Family Hub fridge sets the “new standard for connected living”. The product aims to be more than a fridge but also; a remote control for IoT devices, entertainment centre with AKG speaker and communication portal with voice recognition.

The fridge features connectivity with Samsung’s IoT SmartThings app, SmartThings cloud and it’s smart voice assistant ‘Bixby’.

In addition to Samsung products, its new Family Hub fridge also connects with other third party compatible connected devices – e.g. Sonos, Bose and several others brands soon.

Mr Senior affirms that the number of partners incorporated within the fridge’s display (e.g. Woolworths shopping) is further expected to expand this year – e.g. possibly Uber and Ring home security cameras.

Food management remains essential to the Family Hub fridge, with the ‘View Inside’ app enabling users to see contents from anywhere. Added enhancements in managing food expiry dates are also included.

New for 2018, Samsung’s Family Hub fridge will offer a smart ‘Meal Planner’, offering recipes based on the contents of the fridge, expiry dates and a user’s dietary or food preferences.

Samsung’s smart voice assistant, Bixby, has also been enhanced to recognise different voices. Users can say ‘Hi Bixby, what’s new today?’ and the assistant will go through the schedule, weather forecasts and current affairs relevant to the recognised user.

Local pricing is yet to be confirmed.

Roma Christian travelled to Samsung’s Southeast Asia & Oceania Regional Forum 2018 in Italy, as a guest of Samsung Australia.