Samsung will launch a fridge with a built-in Android tablet and an internet-connected washing machine by the end of the year.
By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor
The Samsung refrigerator with built-in Android tablets will help people keep track of ingredients, order groceries and act as baby monitors using built-in cameras. The company’s flagship washing machines can be controlled remotely using mobile apps.
Speaking at the manufacturer’s European Forum in Monaco, Russell Owens, Samsung’s head of sales for digital appliances, said the T9000 refrigerator and the 12kg washing machine will be available in Britain later in the year.
Samsung’s flagship web-connected home appliances have previously been available in North America and Asia, but have not been available in Europe.
The T9000 refrigerator was launched at CES in Las Vegas in January, with Samsung suggesting that the built-in Evernote application could allow busy couples to share shopping lists as soon as they ran out of something.
Although pricing has not yet been announced, a T9000 refrigerator without the touchscreen is sells in America for around $4,000 (£2,500).
Mr Owens said that Samsung would concentrate on developing its premium appliance range in the UK, and that consumers increasingly associated the brand with connected appliances because of the “halo effect” from the company’s phones and TVs.
He described the category as “a major growth area” for Samsung. Consumers in the UK currently replace appliances because they are broken in two thirds of cases, but only replace them every ten years, or every 15 if they are built-in. Rival manufacturers including LG are also focusing on similar products, but have not announced UK availability.
Samsung also announced in Monaco that its S9 ultra high definition television would retail in Europe for 40,000 euros (£35,000).
-Telegraph
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