Outwardly, Samsung’s 2024 new product theme is all about AI. But with the company’s latest slate of Bespoke AI premium appliances, it’s clear Samsung’s 2024 focus is also all about ecosystem – or, as the company phrases it, “convenient connectivity in the age of AI.”
At a pair of global events in Seoul and New York, Samsung unveiled a slew of new premium smart Bespoke AI appliances, many featuring LCD touchscreens and all equipped with Wi-Fi so all can be monitored and controlled via app or voice from other appliances and other devices such as your Samsung smartphone and Samsung TV equipped with the company’s SmartThings app and Bixby voice control. All Samsung smart appliances also receive automatic over-the-air upgrades when new features become available, such as a previewed conversation-level generative AI for Bixby, and include the company’s multi-layer Knox Matrix security and data encryption.
Most of all, all the new appliances are imbued with the company’s Bespoke AI to personalize and customize usage.
These new Bespoke AI appliances include:
- 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with AI Family Hub+ ($4,999), equipped with a 32-inch LCD touchscreen, an internal camera, and an Auto-Open Door for handsfree opening, available in either stainless steel and white glass, a choice of customizable door panels in 11 colors and two finishes, and in full- and counter-depth.
- 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Beverage Zone ($4,099), which features a glass door that automatically turns on proximity lighting that illuminates the interior, a separate interior cold-water Beverage Center behind the left refrigerator door, and dual sized auto ice maker behind the left freezer door, five customizable temperature zones, as well as the same Auto Open Door and the same panels, finish, and depth choices as the Family Hub+ model.
- Slide-In Induction Range with 7-inch LCD Touchscreen ($3,399), featuring Ambient Edge status and mood lighting, anti-scratch glass top, push-button or voice control door open, an interior camera, and available in stainless steel or white glass.
- Over-the-Range Microwave ($629), with 2.1-cubit foot capacity, glass touch controls that automatically illuminate and dim, and available in white glass, matte black steel, and fingerprint-resistant stainless steel.
- Laundry Combo Washer/Dryer with 7-inch LCD Touchscreen ($3,299), equipped with a 5.3-cubic foot capacity drum that Samsung says is the largest in its class, Auto Open Door when a cycle ends to allow humidity to escape, a Super Speed Cycle setting to wash and dry a load in 98 minutes, AI OptiWash & Dry that detects weight, fabric type, and soil level and determines the best wash and dry cycles, Flex Auto Dispense System that automatically dispenses up to 47 loads of detergent from pre-loaded chambers, AI Energy Mode to minimize energy usage, and is Tide Cold certified for using Tide pods in cold water.
- Laundry Hub Stacked Washer-Dryer ($2,999), a single unit stack with controls for both in the middle, with the same 5.3 cubic foot drums, the same speed cycle, detergent dispense, and energy conservation features as the combo washer/dryer, available in satin green, brushed black, and white.
- Jet Bot Combo Robot Vacuum/Mop ($1,699), which senses hard floors, high and low pile carpets, and both hot-water washes and dries the two mop heads. When low pile carpet is detected, the mop heads rise 20mm, but when high pile carpet is detected, the mop heads automatically detach and are left in the base station.
In addition, Samsung unveiled several smart energy and sustainability programs including Samsung Rewards that allow consumers to earn stamps based on their AI Energy Mode energy savings that can be accrued to earn points for spending on Samsung.com.
Bespoke Evolution
When originally unveiled, Samsung’s Bespoke concept was almost purely external design focused, allowing consumers to change the exterior look of appliances and give them a more European sleek built-in look rather than the more American standalone aesthetic. “How does that appliance change the look of your kitchen?” Shane Higby, Samsung America’s digital appliance head, asked rhetorically. “So it’s bespoke in the sense that maybe I don’t need to change all my cabinets and countertops. A brand new Bespoke refrigerator or range is going to elevate the look of my kitchen.”
But with the addition of AI, the Bespoke concept has evolved. “It’s still all about design,” notes Higby, “[But] AI is kind of the new evolution of now what’s going on on the inside.”
With AI comes an emphasis on Samsung’s SmartThing and Bixby voice control ecosystem. Bespoke AI helps customize devices inside, to adapt and change to consumer needs, and even learn and adapt to consumer usage patterns and preferences. All the new Bespoke AI appliances are designed to communicate with each other as well as other smart home devices, such as Hue smart lighting, with whom Samsung has partnered, either in concert or to monitor or control an appliance in another part of the home.
One sacrifice to the Bespoke aesthetic is the loss of some mainstream convenience features, such as handles on the range and especially in-door water and ice access, an unbroken design common to such higher-end appliance brands as Sub-Zero and Dacor.
“That was a big decision,” Higby admitted. “In the more premium luxury space, I know that was a conscious decision, or they just assumed consumers at that level don’t want to have the to see [in-door water/ice dispensers] on the outside. You get a very clean aesthetic on the outside, so that’s kind of what we brought more to the mass market, even though [Samsung Bespoke] is more of the premium level.”
Retail Support
Samsung recognizes that the idea of customizable electronics, both look and usage, is still relatively new, especially to American consumers, so the company is ready to lend Bespoke appliance retailers support to help explain the Bespoke concepts to their customers.
“We have a whole training team of over 100 individuals across the country,” Higby explains, “and they’re in retailers day-in, day-out, training and demonstrating the features of our products. One of the things we did with Bespoke was an actual demonstration of how to remove a panel. It takes less than five minutes, so it’s not as hard as someone may think.” Higby noted the Bespoke concept allows retailers to sell additional panels, and the company has offered promotions to offer consumers a free second set.
Samsung will also back the new Bespoke appliances with a wide marketing effort to coincide with product availability in the coming weeks, including a tie-in with the new Pixar Movie, “Inside Out 2”; the new appliances are already available for pre-order.
See also: Samsung Receives ENERGY STAR Certification For Eleven Cooking Products
