samsung refrigerator lcd screen manufacturer

For a few years, Samsung has been hoping to make the fridge more than just a fridge by adding touchscreens on the front. The model we tested out in 2014 had Wi-Fi capabilities and an 8-inch LCD display. It had calendar and weather widgets and worked with the Epicurious app, allowing you to find recipes. Fun and useful but not necessarily something that everyone was going to go out and buy — especially with its $3,000-plus price tag. Now Samsung is hoping its 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub, with its larger 21.5-inch HD LCD screen — will make a bigger impact.

Debuting at CES 2016, the fridge is meant to bring more than a little convenience to the kitchen. Samsung says it has improved the calendar app with the help of startup Sticki. You’ll be able to sync it with your other calendars, and you’ll also be able to choose what shows up (dinner with the neighbors instead of your noon work meeting, for example). Whereas typical stainless steel fridges, with their non-magnetic faces, don’t really have a place for photos and other paraphernalia of familial life, the Family Hub can display your phone’s pics or a memo (“dinner at 8”). “There isn’t that public space anymore,” said Justin Reinke, Director of Refrigeration Product Marketing at Samsung, in a call with reporters. He says the screen lets you add a bit of personalization back onto the silver surface.

These features aren’t so different from the older touchscreen fridges, but the large display makes it a little more suitable for entertainment. It can mirror your Samsung TV, so you can keep watching the game if it comes back on while you’re still making your snack. If you walk out of the kitchen, the screen will go to sleep, and will then turn back on when you come back in, thanks to proximity sensors. While it has a browser and some third-party capabilities, the fridge, which runs on Samsung’s Tizen platform, also has a lot of features that are controlled through the appliance’s app.

Some of those third-party functions include grocery ordering. The Instacart app will be available on the touchscreen, as will a new offering, Groceries by MasterCard. Through FreshDirect or ShopRite, users will be able to get food delivered from the app when the fridge rolls out in the northeast in May. The advantage there is that you can compare between the stores; if one doesn’t have your favorite brand of almond milk, the other might.

With a price of over $5,000, Samsung wanted it to be more than just a smart fridge combined with a tablet. “We don’t want to take a tablet and glue it to a refrigerator,” said Reinke. “We want to make this useful and have a reason to be on the refrigerator.”

Samsung announced a refresh of their flagship smart fridge today, debuting a brand new four-door model with built-in Wi-Fi and an integrated LCD touchscreen. Most noteworthy about the new smart fridge is that Galaxy S5 and Note 3 users will now be able to mirror their devices straight onto the LCD screen, and even make calls right from the fridge.

This new level of functionality will come at a cost of $3,600 -- roughly the same high-end price point as the last model, which initially retailed for $3,700. (International pricing and availability has yet to be announced.) The pricing isn"t all that"s similar. Both models feature the same general design, the same 28 cu. ft. capacity, the same adjustable shelving, the same "Twin Cooling Plus" system, the same "FlexZone" drawer with variable temperature control settings, and the same 8-inch LCD touchscreen.

In sum, there"s not a whole lot that"s new here, aside from those new Galaxy S5- and Note 3-specific smart features. Essentially, that makes those features the refrigerator"s chief selling points -- a potentially risky strategy, given the fact that those features only apply to consumers who happen to use the right kind of smart phone. Still, the idea of essentially letting the user determine how they want to use their smart appliance has us a bit intrigued.

Aside from the addition of phone mirroring and kitchen calling, Samsung"s new fridge also boasts a new "Kitchen TV" feature. Owners of connected TVs capable of transmitting to external devices will be able to share their antenna"s signal with the smart fridge, and play the broadcast from the kitchen. That sounds like a neat feature for anyone who wants to follow along with a recipe on their favorite cooking show, but it doesn"t let you send a signal from a set-top box, which makes it feel pretty limited.

Other apps from last year"s model are still front and center, too. You can still browse morning headlines from the Associated Press, or search for a new favorite dish on Epicurious. You"ll also still be able to stream music from your favorite Pandora stations -- the refrigerator"s built-in speakers are still far from ideal, but they"re good enough for casual background listening.

All of these smart features are largely dependent on the quality of the LCD screen, which, much like the speakers, I would classify as "good enough." I was a little disappointed to see that it isn"t any bigger than the last model, which debuted three years ago. The resolution isn"t noticeably better, either.

As for the touch controls, they"re responsive, but basic, with no support for things like pinches and swipes. Compared to the touchscreens on Samsung"s own tablets and smart phones, the screen on the smart fridge feels dated, and that"s really the problem -- we"ve been trained to expect more when it comes to touch controls, especially from an appliance that costs thousands of dollars.

Of course, you"re not just spending that much money on smart features -- you"re spending it on the fridge itself, too. With this particular line, there"s a lot to like, from the rearrangeable in-door shelving to the compactly-designed "Ice Master." Still, there aren"t quite as many of the sort of small, subtle design and usability touches that I like to see in a high-end refrigerator, like the kind we saw in the less expensive

You can currently find Samsung"s new smart fridge listed on their website, though you can"t place an order just yet. Samsung tells us that the model will be hitting retail floors soon.

I love this refrigerator!! I would love to have this refrigerator in my kitchen. I love all the gadgets and I would be able to listen to music while I cook and clean. It"s very spacious too. Love it!!!!!

My dream appliance would be a refrigerator like this one, but that also inventories everything inside and keeps track of expiration dates of everything! =) I"d love my fridge to tell me via text when we"re out of something while I"m at the store or would let me check the contents remotely!

By the way, this refrigerator in this post is AMAZING! Love that it"s multi-purpose and offers busy moms and dads some perks to make working in the kitchen a little more fun and easy.

My dream refrigerator would be one that had a camera inside and a screen outside, so you didn"t have to open it to check out what was inside- no more kid"s standing with the door open for 15 minutes while they "can"t find anything to eat".

This refrigerator looks so awesome! I just moved into a new house and need to get new kitchen appliances in the not too distant future, as the ones we inherited are old and on their "last legs." Oh how I would love to get this one! Wish it was just a bit more affordable... I suppose winning a gift card from Best Buy would help! Thanks for sharing!