Even on $3,000 refrigerators: Samsung puts ads on smart fridge displays

For years, Samsung has been selling refrigerators with large touchscreens, such as the Samsung Bespoke 29, which retails for over $3,000 at Best Buy. The display can be useful for showing a weather forecast, a calendar or family photos, among other things. However, anyone who owns such a Samsung fridge might soon see ads on this screen.

Owners of some Samsung refrigerators reported on Reddit that the company has rolled out an update to select models that introduces ads. Consequently, Samsung confirmed to Android Authority that a test run is currently underway and that ads will show up on so-called "Family Hub" smart fridges in the United States. It is not yet known if or when customers from other regions will see ads on their refrigerator displays. During this test run, ads are shown whenever the display is not being actively used, except when "Art Mode" is enabled, which displays artwork or photos.

Individual ads can be removed so that it doesn’t appear again, but it's not possible to completely disable advertising. Since Samsung puts ads on such large smart home devices after purchase, caution is advised when buying Samsung products. The technology behemoth's lineup contains hardly any household appliance that is not offered with a large touchscreen, including washing machines and ovens.