Samsung smart fridges gain voice control and AI-powered food recognition at CES 2026

Voice control comes to Samsung's smart fridges

Samsung's latest update to its Family Hub smart fridge line adds a feature I've always wanted -- voice-activated door opening and closing. Using the device's built-in Bixby voice control, you will soon be able to say "Shut the fridge door," or "Open the door," and your machine will obey. According to a press release from Samsung at CES 2026 this week, the voice commands will open the door fully, not just a smidge -- over 90 degrees. You can also tap the door with the palm or the back of your hand to activate the movement. This could be super helpful when cooking, say when your hands are dirty and you want to get the milk out. It's also a major accessibility upgrade. Along with voice control for the doors, the Family Hub line is also getting a Gemini injection. Its built-in AI Vision that powers the fridge's ability to recognize what you're putting into and taking out of your fridge will now use Google's LLM. This enables it to "instantly identify unlimited fresh and processed food items," according to Samsung and is designed to help with meal planning and cut down on food waste.

Samsung's Bixby is set to open some doors... literally

Timi is a news and deals writer who's been reporting on technology for over a decade. He loves breaking down complex subjects into easy-to-read pieces that keep you informed. But his recent passion comes from finding the best discounts on the internet on some of the best tech products out right now. It's that time of year again when press and tech enthusiasts descend on Las Vegas for CES, one of the largest tech expos in the world. It's an exciting time if you love tech like we do, and there are plenty of new things to try out and see if you're at the show. Naturally, there are also plenty of press events too, with brands looking to deliver a huge impact through new announcements. Samsung's CES event wasn't what we'd hoped for, but it did talk about the company's future and how it will harness AI to make its products and services better. Is this what people want? Now, we know that Samsung has been making advancements when it comes to its appliances, adding screens, connected functionality, and even voice controls. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the brand is utilizing the power of AI in order to bring even more features to its products. According to Samsung, these new products will make use of Google Gemini in order to recognize more food items within your refrigerator. This even applies to food items that haven't been previously registered, making the process more seamless. As you can imagine, this can become pretty handy, especially if you can get a shopping list based on what's missing or what needs to be restocked. Perhaps even more interesting is that some of its new refrigerators will have the ability to open their doors using voice commands (via The Verge). So, just in case your hands are full, or you can't exactly gain access to the doors, you'll now be able to open them just using your voice. While it's probably not completely necessary, if it can do it, we say why not. Naturally, Samsung's smart refrigerators can do more, like steam music and movies, provide recipes, control connected smart home products, and more. This feature doesn't come cheap As you might expect, not all of Samsung's refrigerators will come with these more advanced features in tow. And the one that's highlighted in the CES press release costs over $3,000. So, if you're looking for something like this, you can expect to pay quite a bit. Subscribe to our newsletter for deeper CES and AI appliance coverage Want smarter context on CES and smart appliances? Subscribe to the newsletter for curated coverage and analysis of AI-driven consumer tech, offering deeper perspective on product trends, privacy considerations, and industry shifts. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Of course, with all of these modern connected devices, there's always the other side of the coin as well. Just a few months back, we saw Samsung introduce ads for its top-end fridges, and as you can imagine, the response from customers wasn't great. Samsung realized this and made it possible to disable the ads, but it's easy to see brands pushing the limits of what's possible and tolerated going forward. Stay tuned for more coverage from CES that's going on all week.