The refrigerator may be the most important device in our kitchens—and today’s fridges can do a lot more than just serve as cold closets for consumables.
From creating shopping lists to coordinating schedules to playing your favourite song and mirroring your TV shows, these high-tech fridges are smarting up our kitchens.
Do you necessarily need one and is it worth the hefty price tag?
We cut through the jargon and gimmicky features to share the useful reasons to buy one – from the features to look out for, to the main contenders on the market, to help you decide if a smart fridge is for you.
What Is A Smart Fridge?
This may sound like some corny 70s movie imagination of the future, but a smart fridge really packs quite a punch. Here are some of the coolest functions that a smart fridge can have:
- Look up recipes online and have the smart fridge read it out
- Monitor expiry dates of groceries
- Display photos, to-do lists and notes
- Create and recommend grocery list based on what you have left or what is about to expire in your fridge
- Connect and control other smart devices at home (certain models only)
- Automated fridge doors open with a light touch instead of having to tug at it
- Schedule mealtime and plans based on personalised calendars for each family members
- Smartphone compatibility also allows you to:
- Sneak a peek inside the fridge (great when you are out doing grocery shopping!)
- Customise compartmental temperatures
A Smart Fridge, as with all other smart devices, aims to aid in your common day-to-day life. This means not having to worry about expired food or fret over the grocery list that you left at home; it is all accessible via the quintessential smartphone.
Price Is Right?
Building an autonomous smart device is never cheap, and that is reflected in their retail prices. A smart fridge typically cost three to five times more than a normal fridge. The price will also depend on the brand, size and capabilities as well.
It will be difficult to justify your decision to buy a fridge this expensive, especially when the ‘normal’ fridge you’ve been using for the past few decades is still working fine. So why upgrade now?
The Rise Of Smart Devices
With a projected 14.7 per cent year on year growth (until 2023) on the adoption of smart devices in Singapore alone, it is undeniable that smart devices will be commonplace in the near future. With more tech and appliances company looking towards making smarter products, it won’t be long before every appliance in your house has a ‘smarter’ version. By investing in such smart devices, you can interconnect all of your house appliances to one another, enabling a truly smart home.
Smart devices also have the advantage of being connected to the Cloud and the internet via Wi-Fi. This means that your device will not become obsolete as long as it stays updated. The software provides most of the features and by updating it, your device gets some banging new features regularly.
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However, being ultra-reliant on smart devices has its pitfalls too. For instance, with Wi-Fi capability, your smart fridge may become vulnerable to hacking or get infected by a virus, risking exposure of your personal data. Of course, you can implement security measures to prevent this from happening.
Ultimately, smart devices are here to stay. As more companies adopt the trend and create their own smart fridges, prices will naturally go down. So if you’re considering of upgrading your home, here are four top fridge models to consider: