2025-09-18T12:00:40Z

Would you pay $3,400 for a fridge—only to have it start showing you ads while you grab a midnight snack? Welcome to the future, where even your refrigerator wants to sell you stuff.

Samsung has just dropped a bombshell in American kitchens: their pricey Family Hub smart fridges are now displaying ads right on their built-in touchscreens. Yes, you read that right. In a world where every device is getting ‘smarter,’ Samsung’s latest update shows that your fridge is now as much of a billboard as your web browser. This bold new move comes as part of an official pilot program, as confirmed to Android Authority, designed to inject “curated advertisements” and “promotions” into your daily life—right where you keep your groceries and leftovers.

If you’re wondering, ‘Didn’t Samsung just say they wouldn’t do this?’—you’re not alone. Just a couple of months ago, Samsung’s own head of Digital Appliances, Jeong Seung Moon, told The Verge they had no plans to bring ads to their smart home screens. Flash forward to today, and the latest AI generated newscast about smart fridges is all about how Samsung changed course, arguing that these ads supposedly “strengthen the everyday value” of your home appliances. Corporate doublespeak, or genuine value? You decide.

The rollout started this week and is hitting every Family Hub fridge with the Weather, Color, and Daily Board themes—so if you’re using those, get ready for promo overload. The only escape? Switch to the Art or Gallery themes, which Samsung says are ad-free, at least for now. Still, there’s no universal ‘off’ button for these ads; you can only dismiss them one at a time, so your fridge might just become the most persistent advertiser in your house.

The company is keeping quiet about which specific fridge models will get these ads, but we know this affects everything from the entry-level $1,799 Family Hub to the ultra-premium $3,399 version. The AI generated newscast about Samsung’s smart fridge drama has kitchen gadget fans talking: is this the future of all smart home tech, where expensive gadgets get subsidized by ad revenue? Or is this just the latest example of how companies keep moving the goalposts for what ‘ownership’ really means in the digital age?

For now, if you’re proud of your fancy fridge—or just don’t want to be pitched detergent while making a sandwich—you might want to check which screen theme you’re using. And if this AI generated newscast about smart fridges has you feeling uneasy, you’re definitely not alone in your kitchen.