1 min readAt IFA Samsung has announced a slew of over-the-network updates for older home appliances, which is good news for anyone who has ever wanted to take a phone call on their fridge. Updates include new features like Fridge Call, Quick Share, and upgrades to Bixby, with some available in devices from as far back as 2017.
The widest reaching Smart Forward Update (as Samsung is calling it), is Fridge Call which allows you to take phone calls on your Family Hub refrigerator. It is only available on connected Galaxy phones, but will come to fridges from 2017 with the necessary hardware. Fridge Call uses the microphone and speakers in the refrigerator in order to accept phone calls, so any Family Hub model seven years or younger, with these features should benefit from the update. You can't make a call from it though.
Other connected features include Quick Share which lets you send photos from your connected Galaxy phone directly to the fridge screen, and Buds Auto Switch which will let you quickly pair your Samsung Buds with the fridge.
More broadly a handful of appliances will benefit from changes to Bixby. These upgrades enable Bixby to understand commands with multiple intentions, and recall your most recent conversation with it. It will also ditch the “Hi Bixby” wake-up command in fridges made in 2024 onward. These updates will come to 2024 Family Hubs, the 2024 Bespoke AI Laundry Combo, and the Bespoke Jet Bot Combo AI.
In their current iteration these updates are mostly frivolous. It is likely they won’t make a tangible difference to your day-to-day, but Samsung releasing software updates for old appliances is inherently a good thing. Home appliances tend to have a longer life than our other gadgets. You only really replace your fridge, or your washing machine, or your vacuum cleaner when they break down, so having updates that breathe new life into these is good for consumers. Today, phone calls on your fridge, tomorrow who knows?
