Samsung says its ‘Screens Everywhere’ approach won’t mean ads everywhere, for now

Almost a decade after launching the first smart fridge with a giant Android tablet built in, Samsung is leaning hard into the idea that we need tablets in all the things.

At CES this year, the company announced its Screens Everywhere initiative, which essentially means putting 7- and 9-inch full-color touchscreens, called “AI Home screens,” in its large home appliances, such as washers, dryers, wall ovens, and cooktops.

Last month, Samsung launched the first products sporting these new AI Home screens, including its Bespoke AI Home washer and dryer and a new model of its Family Hub smart fridge, the Bespoke Four Door French Door with AI Home. This one has a more modest 9-inch screen, compared to the 31-inch whopper on the Bespoke Family Hub Plus.

But what is the real value of having a tablet embedded in your home appliance? Isn’t it less of a fuss to just use your phone for more advanced control of connected appliances or some sort of central smart home control interface, such as the Samsung Home Hub that the company announced in 2022 but never released in the US?

These screens aren’t the basic touch control panels that have been slowly replacing good old-fashioned knobs on almost every appliance we own. These are Android tablets that, in addition to controlling the appliance, can run full apps, including Samsung’s SmartThings home control platform and its Samsung Food cooking app, as well as do things like control music, display the weather, and even let you answer phone calls directly from your washer.

I asked Jeong Seung Moon, EVP and head of the R&D team for Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics, why Samsung thinks we need screens everywhere. He replied via email, stating that the key benefits they see are “reducing inefficiencies in household tasks, enabling more intuitive use of appliance features, and improving accessibility.”

“First, carrying out household tasks often involves the use of multiple appliances located in different areas of the home,” he said. ”Managing these different tasks across multiple devices can waste time, but the screen resolves these issues by acting as a central control hub that seamlessly connects the home’s appliances. For users, this means they get to control their home environment from wherever they are, saving time and effort.”

He also said that the screens can provide specific experiences for each appliance. “For example, refrigerators that have the AI Vision Inside feature can suggest recipes directly on the screen, and automatically set the optimal temperature and cooking time for the oven,” he said. ”Similarly, washing machines provide a clear and intuitive display of information, including water and detergent usage, and energy usage reports.”

Additionally, the “larger screen makes it easier for individuals with visual impairments to access and use more features, improving accessibility,” he said.

I’ve long been a proponent of better, more intuitive controls for the smart home, but Samsung’s “Screens Everywhere” initiative concerns me for two reasons. First, replacing reliable dials and buttons on appliances you use daily raises questions about longevity. And second, “screens everywhere” may eventually mean “ads everywhere.”

In terms of control, Moon believes that touchscreens will eventually become the default control interface for most things, as they are more intuitive to use and let you control multiple connected appliances from a single interface, he says.

It’s true that for more complicated appliances with multiple settings and options, controlling them from a screen rather than with knobs can be easier. (For example, it’s simpler to program a thermostat from a smartphone app than on the device). However, I’m not convinced that I’ll ever need to control my vacuum cleaner or oven from my washing machine; I just don’t see a practical use case there.

One area I do see potential benefit is that the AI Home screens also serve as SmartThings Hubs, allowing you to control any smart home device connected to SmartThings from them, not just Samsung appliances.

This means I could turn on the lights in the laundry room from the washer or answer my video doorbell from the fridge. Yes, it sounds as weird as running the oven from the washer, but it could be a useful alternative way to interact with your smart home, without carrying your phone everywhere or relying on voice control.

In terms of obsolescence, Moon notes that Samsung has a software update program called Smart Forward, which will bring new features to the screens “for years to come,” he says. But that won’t be much use if you drop a heavy pan on the screen in your cooktop, or if the one in your washing machine becomes unresponsive and you can’t run the spin cycle.

Ultimately, the payoff between the convenience of multifunctional touchscreens in your appliances versus the longevity you expect from household appliances will come down to just how useful Samsung can make its AI Home screens.

When it comes to ads in our smart homes, Amazon has already poisoned the well with its Echo Show smart displays, which regularly offer unsolicited ads. While Samsung hasn’t put ads on the screens in its appliances yet (I’ve had a second-generation Family Hub fridge in my home for five years and have never seen an ad), the company’s track record with new, obtrusive ads on its Smart TVs is not encouraging.

I asked Moon if Samsung plans to put ads on its new appliance screens, and he confirmed that they currently don’t have ads and have “no plans regarding the inclusion of advertisements on AI Home screens.”

“No plans” isn’t exactly a promise that your weekly wash day will remain ad-free, and he did follow that up by adding that “any future policies will be guided first and foremost by what best serves our customers’ needs.” Whether serving the customer ultimately means serving ads remains to be seen.