Gadgetory

the Samsung family hub is the most high-profile smart fridge on the market and this year Samsung released new models that don't cost quite as much I've got the least expensive of these new family hubs here with me in the C net smart homes kitchen unlike the luxurious four-door family hubs of last year which cost five thousand dollars enough this one is just a basic French door build in plain stainless steel the retail cost here $2,900 pretty much par for the course when it comes to fancy French door fridges the odds are also good that you can get it for even less than that I've seen refurbished models selling from outlets like Sears for as low as fifteen hundred dollars this cheaper family hub has all the same smarts as the original you get the same twenty one and a half inch touchscreen with the same slate of fridge apps and yes you can still see what's inside the fridge using a trio of fridge cameras that snap a photo whenever you close the doors that touch screens operating system got a nice update from year one to year two the overall design is a little more refined and you also get some new apps like this nama coo cooking app that'll connect with your smart sous vide cooking gadget one other feature that I like is here in the recipes app you can pull up something that you want to cook say this shrimp scampi cheesecake appetizer and then customize exactly how many servings you want to make it'll automatically adjust the ingredients and tell you how much you need and if you don't have any of those ingredients you can just select them and then send them straight to your shopping list the big sacrifice is designed it doesn't look nearly as nice as those top-of-the-line family hubs from last year and you don't get the very nice flex zone feature that lets you split off one half of the freezer and use it as extra fresh food storage space the inside feels cheaper than before - like these rattling crisper bins still you get a reasonable 24 cubic feet of storage space plus adjustable shelves and a temperature adjustable cool select pantry drawer performance was steady - with accurate temperatures in the body of the fridge and only minor hot spots in the door shelves the new more affordable family hub fits right in among fancy yet generic French door models and it has that massive touch screen to help set it apart from the crowd at less than $3,000 or even less than $2,000 if you catch a nice sale it's a perfectly justifiable pick for a kitchen upgrade