Upgraded Samsung Family Hub Features Aim To Strengthen Family Bonds

At Samsung’s CES 2018 booth, visitors can check out the upgraded features of the Family Hub refrigerator. The smart cooling and food storage appliance has apparently just gotten smarter with the integration of Samsung’s Bixby digital assistant into its system and its compatibility with the SmartThings IoT platform.

Yesterday, Samsung announced that it is rolling out Bixby to its connected devices, especially to its revamped Smart TV lineup and its latest Family Hub refrigerators. Today, Apple’s biggest rival is shedding light on how Bixby is going to change the way consumers use their Family Hub fridge and how the system’s upgraded features are designed to bring the family closer together.

Samsung said in a press release that its new Family Hub refrigerators sit at the center of the wide ecosystem of the company’s products and services. The firm also noted that with the enhanced Bixby support, consumers may now take advantage of the refrigerator’s features and its personalized approach to connecting families.

One of the standout features of Family Hub is the Morning Brief function. Just like what its name suggests, this feature informs users about the latest in the fields they usually follow. The Morning Brief can present news updates, weather forecasts and even information on the personal schedule of family members.

With Bixby around, asking the Family Hub fridge for the Morning Brief is as easy as saying a the command, “Hi, Bixby. What’s new today?” The assistant can also recognize each family member on its own, so this means it can serve up information that’s relevant to the specific family member who had said the command for the Morning Brief.

Samsung also explained that the Memo app serves a special purpose for Family Hub owners. In this app, users can type messages or record voice notes and have them sent from their smartphone to the smart refrigerator and vice verse. Kids who do not have smartphones yet can use the Family Hub’s screen to write a message to their parents. Samsung says the Memo feature and app provide a means for families to communicate through a digital family bulletin board that each member has access to thanks to Family Hub and the SmartThings IoT platform.

The tech giant is also proud to share that its upgraded Family Hub now has several intuitive tools including the View Inside app, which simply allows users to check the content of their fridge remotely. This way the family can keep track of the food items they have inside their refrigerator without having to personally open the door to check.

The most important feature of the new Family Hub is, of course, its ability to seamlessly monitor and control all of Samsung’s products that are also compatible with the SmartThings platform. With just a few taps on the Family Hub’s screen, users can turn on the vacuum, adjust the thermostat and even keep an eye on the little ones through connected cameras.