Most, if not all, are available on my family hub fridge. Smartthings app (new one) notifies when fridge door is open. Ice maker can be turned on/off from app. Family hub app shows filter status, temperatures for fridge and freezer. Music - I don’t think I can control it from phone, it’s controlled from the fridge. Entering and tracking grocery lists, this is working well, can enter/edit from both fridge and phone. Recipes, deals from grocery stores, notes, to-do lists, memos, food expiration are all shared between phone and fridge. There are different 3rd party apps that I haven’t installed. At least here Samsung developers seem to have done a good job.
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Yes I do.
By one that is compatible with Home Automation… They are available.
Oh, cool! So the OP is wrong, and high-end Samsung fridge’s connect to SmartThings, despite the fact that Samsung is going around directly contradicting you. See here and here.
The new “SmartThings” app isn’t SmartThings. Maybe Samsung deliberately misleading marketing of naming it “SmartThings (Connect)” is what’s confusing you. Again, this goes back to the original issue. Not only is that only available on a few select models, but it’s still not SmartThings. It’s a half-baked rebrand of Connect.
That is the HUb and NOT what he bought!
Samsung gives choice, buy one with or without. OP could have bought with, decided he didn’t want a fridge with a tablet (he wants to keep his fridge for 15 years, but tablet may be dead by then). It’s his choice. So why complain now?
By the same logic SmartThings may be dead in 15 years, why to worry about it too?
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Totally agree!
I have both classic and new apps installed. This weekend I switched from classic to new one. All the connected devices (multiple sensors, lights, cameras, thermostats, fridge, vacuum, garage door opener) work. I miss Core but “half-baked” Connect has built-in automation, not as powerful as Core but good enough for me.
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I understand you have this expectation, and therefore you feel disappointed, but it’s just not how most multinational multidivision companies design their products, so there are going to be a lot of people who have different expectations.
GM invented OnStar, and OnStar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GM, but it was over 10 years before it was available on most GM product lines in the US, and it still isn’t available on all.
Consumer technology is getting more and more complicated. If there are particular features which are critical to you, you will need to do deeper research before you make a purchase.
I don’t in any way question the degree of anger that you feel, I just think you’re going to find that not that many people share it, particularly on a forum of power users like this one.
If you feel you were misled because the refrigerator has a SmartThings logo on it somewhere, then get in touch with the company and arrange for an exchange. Or lodge a complaint with the FTC for false advertising.
Samsung has discussed a long-term strategy for SmartThings and Internet enabled devices, but they never promised to deliver it, even in the most optimistic presentations, before 2020, and then only in the smart device lines, which in refrigerators are the “family hub“ models.
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My take is that it’s unreasonable to expect everything to be built in there, just because “it’s an expensive thing”. I mean Samsung makes cellphones too. Do people expect the refrigerator to have a built-in Galaxy S9?
I agree with the other posters here, if you want Smartthings in your refrigerator, then buy one that has it built-in. Regarding the empty slot for Smartthings, Samsung may have marketed it as “Smarthings capable” or something to that effect. But we don’t know the model in question here.
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Show the model number of the fridge that was bought. Show the box or the sticker on the fridge that clearly states it is a smart fridge.
Otherwise, you bought a very nice high end fridge that is not smart capable.
Just FYI, Samsung announced in January that they will be adding support for the Bixby assistant pre-loaded to Samsung phones to SmartThings. Granted, that raises the question of why the hell they didn’t do it sooner, but… that’s going off-topic.
(Well, that and who the hell actually uses Bixby except by accident, or in an effort to get the thing off their phone.)
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I’m not sure if you intended that as a joke, but I am going to assume that you are unfamiliar with Samsung’s recent corporate history.
In the last year, their vice chairman “and presumed heir” was found guilty in a huge corruption scandal and sentenced to five years in prison.
6 months later the CEO resigned abruptly.
1 month after that, Samsung announced the creation of three silos in the company, each with its own CEO.
There’s been a lot of churn at the top.
As far as announcing a unified strategy, they did, at CES 2018 A few months ago. It’s going to take some time, but the consolidation of all the existing apps into one is underway.
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The fridge is called the HUB… wow! crazy kooky people these days
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I admit to a certain ignorance regarding Samsung history or corporate structure. I just Googled “Samsung CEO”.
I saw some hints about it in the search results, but didn’t pay attention. I may read up on that, but to be blunt, I’m pretty much done with SmartThings (and Samsung in general), aside from the most excellent community they’re built around it.
edit: I didn’t fall for it, but the debacle with the smart tvs has left me more than cautious on buying into Samsung. /edit
So maybe my concerns about the lack of focus (or extreme dysfunction) at Samsung is both spot on and misguided. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I hope I’m wrong [and Samsung are NOW getting things in order and on track]. It’d be good for everyone in home automation, even if using other platforms.
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FAMILY Hub.
Sort of like with “SmartThings (Connect)”, you can’t leave off a word and expect everyone else to know wtf you’re talking about. Maybe you haven’t heard, but SmartThings is a hub.
LOL, now your just trolling.
Good day!
I say… Good day sir!
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Good.
(By which you, and no one else, will know I mean “Good bye”.)
In the refrigerator context, “Family Hub” means
- there is a family calendar
- family can play spotify
- leave notes to each family member
- etc.
Family Hub != Smartthings Hub
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@Ex70s See above. When you’re on https://community.familyhub.com site, then “hub” would refer to the Family Hub. And on https://community.smartthings.com, “hub” would be the SmartThings hub. Because Samsung has like a half-dozen different “smart” platforms that don’t [currently] integrate.
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The smart refrigerator line is called “the Family Hub.”
The home automation controller is “the Samsung SmartThings Hub.”
https://shop.smartthings.com/products/samsung-smartthings-hub
And the app on the very expensive smart televisions used to be called “Samsung’s Smart Hub app.”
Three different devices, three similar names. So it goes.
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