2 min read
Samsung has officially confirmed that its Family Hub™ smart refrigerators are getting advertisements on their touchscreens. The update comes as part of the 2025 Family Hub software rollout, which adds new AI and interface features. And, oddly enough, ads.
Ads on Your Samsung Fridge Door?
According to Samsung’s newsroom announcement, the new widget will appear on select Cover screen themes, showing news, calendar updates, weather forecasts, and yes, “curated advertisements“.
Samsung first piloted the feature last month. Now, it’s rolling out more broadly across Family Hub models. These fridges, priced between $1,899 and $3,499 in the U.S., are premium appliances, which makes the idea of seeing ads on their screens both unexpected and, frankly, a little ironic.
You CAN Turn Them Off! For Now At Least
Thankfully, Samsung isn’t forcing the ads yet. Owners can disable them in two ways:
- Dismiss ads manually on the Cover screen (they won’t reappear during the campaign).
- Go to “Settings” ==> “Advertisements” and toggle off “Cover screen ads” entirely.
Samsung also says that ads won’t appear when the screen is displaying art or album themes.
To its credit, Samsung clarified that these fridges are not collecting personal information or tracking users’ behaviour. The ads are contextual, not personalised.
Still, the move raises eyebrows. Especially since customers paying thousands of dollars for a fridge probably expect a clean display, not marketing reminders for water filters.
Beyond ads, the 2025 Family Hub update introduces a new One UI design, smarter AI Vision Inside™ for food recognition, Voice ID for Bixby, and enhanced Knox Matrix security.
Samsung described the changes as part of its effort to create a “unified experience across smart devices”. Whether users find that unification convenient or a little too commercialised remains to be seen.
Next up: Ads on your Samsung toaster!
