Thread

1. sandworm101 · 1790169670 · focus · HN ↗

   The fridge compressor answers to software? Idiocy. It need be nothing more than a relay attached to a thermocouple. I can see having a smart screen to deliver aps/ads and to collect data on people in the home, but why on earth would that need to actually manipulate temperatures?

   1. Grombobulous · 1790172902 · focus · HN ↗

      My non-Samsung fridge lets me change the temperature settings from my phone.

      That’s why the compressor answers to software. How else would I change the temperature remotely if it didn‘t?

      I find that the anti-smart device brigade among tech enthusiasts is very detached from the reality of what consumers want. The general public does demand smart features and they want them to work well.

      The sin here isn’t that the fridge is smart, the sin is that bad software was pushed out.

      My particular refrigerator also has a purposefully limited set of features. You’ll notice that real luxury brands like Sub-Zero don’t pack their refrigerators with crazy feature lists and touch screens. Their smart apps are basic and focus on essentials like “door left open” or “change filter” notifications and remote temperature adjustment. They don’t have complicated features like craft cocktail ice and even basic stuff like water dispensing is an optional extra (since it’s assumed that luxury clients may have a separate dedicated reverse osmosis and sparkling water machine for that). They don’t push out frequent updates and they keep their smart functions as modular components since it’s assumed that the refrigerator will remain installed permanently for decades (e.g., you can add a newer control system with touch screen and WiFi to your older Sub-Zero fridge).

      It would be nice if non-luxury brands followed some of these philosophies a little more.

      1. cesarb · 1790173153 · focus · HN ↗

         > How else would I change the temperature remotely if it didn‘t?

         ...why do you need to change the fridge temperature remotely?

         1. Grombobulous · 1790173236 · focus · HN ↗

            I paid $11,000 for my luxury built-in refrigerator, I expect that functionality to exist since it’s trivial to implement.

            I could implement that in a weekend on an ESP board.

            1. crtasm · 1790174678 · focus · HN ↗

               When you had an offline fridge did you ever find yourself in a situation where remotely setting the temperature would have been useful?

               1. Grombobulous · 1790178290 · focus · HN ↗

                  I’m away on vacation and weather reports say there might be a thunderstorm at my house with high probability of power outage, so maybe I lower the temperature setting to try and extend the life of the contents.

                  Kids/nanny/housekeeper changes the temperature against my wishes.

                  I’ve left the house for a long vacation with the fridge emptied and I’d like to change the temperature to consume less power while I’m gone, forgot to do it before I left.

                  And again it’s trivially simple functionality that costs almost no money or development effort to I implement.

                  1. crisnoble · 1790183051 · focus · HN ↗

                     So you spend 11k on a smart fridge, have a nanny, but maniacally control the temperature depending on contents, possible weather scenarios and and if you are vacation. Makes sense. Maybe that is why I'm still poor, imagine all the money I've wasted never once adjusting my fridge temp remotely (or even manually) in the last 14 years.

                     1. Grombobulous · 1790183711 · focus · HN ↗

                        I’m just listing examples, not saying I engage in them.

                        The smart functions that have been very useful to me have been water filter reminders and door left open reminders.

                        In the case of one of the door open reminders the person who was at home didn’t realize the door was left open.

                        1. tocs3 · 1790216992 · focus · HN ↗

                           I said it above but I will say it again, if your fridge has a door open sensor it should have a close the door function. This is especially true if you spent $11k on it.

                           1. Grombobulous · 1790342189 · focus · HN ↗

                              I think you misunderstand the built-in luxury appliance market a little bit. They are meant to be permanent appliances that are easy to repair and replace parts for, and they are built to higher quality standards (depending on the brand, of course, but Sub-Zero has a good quality reputation and builds their appliances in Wisconsin).

                              Because they are designed to be installed for decades, they also evolve at a slower pace than typical consumer appliances. If something breaks 15 years down the line, the manufacturer either still makes the same part or makes a compatible replacement. They are sold under the assumption that they are installed long-term.

                              Sub-Zero explicitly markets their refrigerators as being designed to last at least 25 years.

                              They have fewer features than Samsung feature checkbox fridges on purpose.

                              An automatic door close function would also be potentially dangerous with a built-in custom panel refrigerator like mine. My fridge has more pinch points than a normal fridge because the cabinetry is designed to be seamless.

                              A temperature control is a dead-simple and basic smart function that’s easy to implement. Automatic door closing would be a complicated mechanical mechanism prone to failure.

                              I will also note that I didn’t choose this fridge to be a snob, I chose it because my home already came with a custom panel refrigerator that needed to be replaced (a garbage piece of shit from Viking that wasn’t worth repairing, side note, I hate that company even more than Samsung). If I replaced my refrigerator with a normal one I would have had to do additional carpentry work on my house to avoid the area looking gutted so to speak, and I would also devalue my home since luxury built-in custom panel appliances are features that show up on real estate listings and they are a “luxury” indicator to buyers.

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