Now, where did I put that 2019 pinot noir? A new AI-powered wine fridge might be able help.
Samsung on Monday launched the Infinite AI Wine Refrigerator, an appliance that the company says uses artificial intelligence to give you all the vital information you want to know about your inventory. But wine connoisseurs in the US will have to wait for it — it’s only available in South Korea for now.
The product uses an “AI Wine Manager” that can “manage wines that require careful storage for a long time more easily and efficiently based on ‘AI Vision’, a camera mounted on the top of the product.”
There’s an AI camera — synced to an AI Wine Manager app — at the top of the refrigerator. The camera can detect which bottles you add, which you remove and where bottles are located in the fridge. The AI can also analyze each bottle’s label to identify the name, variety and vintage of the wine. If you move the bottle to a different spot in the fridge, the AI Wine Manager will take note.
Whatever wine you choose for the evening’s dinner, the app can recommend food recipes that might go well with it, Samsung says.
The fridge is large enough to store 101 bottles and has an area where you can store edibles such as cheese, fruit, nuts and cured meats. This “multi-pantry” has five temperature settings.
Samsung said the refrigerator has three areas — upper, middle and lower — and that temperatures can be set from a minimum of 37°F to a maximum of 67°F, depending on what’s needed for the wines and food inside.
The wine fridge is a new addition to the surge in the smart kitchen appliance market, which is expected to grow by an estimated 18% globally over the next few years, according to market analytics firm Grand View Research.
CNET took a thorough look at smart kitchen appliances and tools that were useful, like smart composters and coffeemakers, and those that weren’t, including buggy meat thermometers and overly smart countertop ovens. For the purposes of this definition, smart appliances are loosely defined as those that are either Wi-Fi-enabled or AI-powered, or both.
Doug Croll, membership wine educator at the Chateau Montelena winery in Calistoga, Calif., said he didn’t find the Infinite AI Wine Refrigerator’s features “compelling,” given that it can only hold 101 bottles.
Read more: Hey Samsung, Please Stop Forcing AI on Me
Croll said the fridge AI would be more intriguing if “the software starts providing purchasing assistance, like an in-home sommelier,” he said, speaking for himself and not officially for the winery. He said it would be useful if the AI could recommend wines, knowing that you like a certain kind, or if the AI could let you know when there are sales on your favorite wines and even buy them for you.
Austin Evans, a tech tester whose YouTube channel has 5.75 million subscribers, said that when it comes to home tech, it seems like the term “smart” is being replaced by “AI” for no great reason.
“I’d almost take the opposite view of a lot of this stuff,” Evans told CNET. “It feels like companies are pushing AI everywhere for the buzzwords more than the actual functionality. My washing machine is ‘AI-powered’ and, as far as I can tell, all that actually means is it has Wi-Fi, which is what we called ‘smart’ a few years ago.”
Moon Jong-seung, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ DA division, said in a news release that the company “will continue to introduce premium home appliances that innovate users’ lifestyles based on advanced AI technology.”
The Infinite AI Wine Refrigerator costs $4,300. The company did not give a timeframe for when it will be available outside South Korea. A Samsung representative did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.
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