Samsung unveiled its new IoT-enabled Family Hub refrigerators at CES 2018 earlier this year. At the time of the announcement, the company said these premium refrigerators would be available for purchase in the spring this year. It finally started selling the Family Hub 3.0 models in the US and few other markets recently. More than six months after the official unveiling, these high-end refrigerators are now available in India as well.
The Family Hub 3.0 lineup is packed with technology and boasts a long list of smart features. On the hardware side, it sports a 21.5-inch touchscreen, an AKG speaker, built-in cameras, and a host of sensors. Like most other IoT-enabled devices from Samsung, Family Hub features Bixby and SmartThings integration to enable smart capabilities. The Bixby assistant on Family Hub can recognize individual voices and provide personalized answers.
The smart fridge comes with a laundry list of features such as remotely checking what’s inside through the built-in cameras, leaving digital notes on the screen, recipe suggestions, shopping recommendations, digitally labeling the food, streaming music, watching videos, monitoring and controlling smart appliances, etc.
A free Galaxy S9 on all pre-bookings
Of course, all of this tech comes at a steep price. It appears, at least as of now, Samsung is bringing only one variant of the Family Hub 3.0 to India. The ‘One French Door' model with triple cooling, 810-liter capacity, ice and water dispenser, etc., is priced at INR 280,000 (~$4000). It is already available for pre-booking on Samsung Shop and Amazon India portals. Samsung is offering a free Galaxy S9 on all pre-bookings to soften the blow if you are interested in buying this super-expensive refrigerator.
“Family Hub offers a wide range of smart features that allow consumers to do what they could not do before. These include syncing up food storage, keeping family members better connected and organized, and providing enhanced entertainment. Family Hub is also more intuitive and intelligent with the addition of Bixby voice control and its integration with Samsung’s SmartThings IoT ecosystem,” said Mr. Saurav Katyal, Director, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jcclMDjb_8
