By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

The appliance innovation legacy of Samsung Electronics extends from microwave ovens with TVs and talking refrigerators to IoT-enabled refrigerators. These appliances have steadily evolved into today’s Bespoke AI lineup — products that understand users and provide personalized solutions.

Under the theme “AI Home: Future Living, Now,” Samsung will present an advanced AI Home experience1 at IFA 2025, Europe’s largest home appliance exhibition, taking place in Berlin from September 5-9.

As the event draws nearer, Samsung Newsroom is taking a closer look at the company’s innovation trajectory and how its appliances have advanced into the future.

Samsung marked the beginning of voice-enabled appliances in 1985 with the debut of its Talking Refrigerator. Later equipped with early speech synthesis technology in 1989, the product went beyond simple voice guidance by offering scheduled playback of recordings, a family memo feature and door-open alerts — laying the foundation for AI-enabled voice interaction.

This early innovation eventually evolved into Bixby,2 Samsung’s AI voice assistant introduced in 2018. Bixby has since become the intelligence and control hub of the company’s home appliances, enabling voice control across refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and more. With Voice ID,3 the AI assistant can now even recognize individual users to provide customized information.

Samsung was an early pioneer of the concept of “screen appliances,” presenting a vision for the future of connected homes. In 1982, the company introduced a multi-purpose microwave with a screen, which not only allowed users to check cooking instructions but also watch TV and even monitor home entry with surveillance camera functions. Later, Samsung expanded the role of the screen to refrigerators, transforming them from simple storage units into the hub of daily family life.

In 2016, Samsung launched the Family Hub refrigerator — an IoT-enabled fridge. Equipped with a 21.5-inch touchscreen and internal cameras, it allowed users to check the status of their food items and manage grocery shopping online, opening up a completely new kitchen experience.

Since then, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and other appliances have been connected through SmartThings,4 with screens that have evolved into control hubs that let users monitor and manage smart devices throughout the home at a glance.