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Gone are the days of using a refrigerator for the sole purpose of keeping your food fresh.
What could you possibly do to a fridge you ask? Well, let us explain.
The Consumer Technology Association is showcasing the latest of fridge innovation in Las Vegas.
- Originally published by news.com.au
Let's start with LG's fridge powered by Amazon's Alexa - an intelligent personal assistant.
By including Alexa, users are able to automatically adjust the fridge's power settings, play music or even order groceries with their voice.
In addition to personal assistant, the fridge has also been fitted with touchscreen display, which measures 29-inches and contains all the capabilities of the company's webOS operating system.
The fridge also has a panoramic camera built into its interior, which users can sync with an app to view inside the fridge while at the shops or at work.
Even more impressive is the way the camera works with the touchscreen for a feature known as Instaview.
When users double tap the fridge's display it makes it translucent, allowing people to see the contents of their fridge without having to open the door.
One last standout feature of the fridge is the "fresh tracker" that is able to keep track of the expiration dates of the food.
LG weren't the only company to take fridges into the future, with Samsung also announcing changes to its own smart products.
The Family Hub 2.0 refrigerators offer slight improvements from their predecessors, with the internet-connected devices offering some new features.
Samsung's View Inside Cameras have designed to detect when food items inside the refrigerator need to be replenished, along with their images.
There is also the added ability to purchase groceries via MasterCard and recipe browsing powered by AllRecipes, with instructions shown in text or read aloud.
The new smart platform also allows for customisations, with members of the household able to create individual profiles - each person able to design their own profile picture/avatar.
The 21.5-inch display also doubles as digital bulletin board, where users can hand write notes or shopping lists seamlessly.
If you're reading this and a getting a little envious knowing you will never be able to afford a new smart fridge anytime soon, there is a solution.
A product known as the Smarter FridgeCam is working to bring "dumb" fridges into the future.
The gadget is a small camera that is placed inside a fridge and takes pictures whenever the door is open or shut.
The images are sent to the cloud and can be viewed on the user's smartphone, making it easier when they next hit the shops.
The device also uses object recognition technology to understand what is in the fridge and will send push notifications when the user is running low on stock or when their food is about to expire.
The app also uses geolocation technology to send notifications when the user is near a shop and needs to pick up items.
Furthermore, the app can recommend recipes based on what ingredients are in the fridge.
Smarter FridgeCam will be launching in the US early this year for $A205, with more countries to follow later in the year.
What do you think of these products?
• Continue the discussion on Twitter @mattydunn11.
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