Samsung's Beverage Center is the best fridge feature competitors can't copy
In case you haven't noticed, Engadget has been expanding our smart home and kitchen coverage. However, we don't get to test out as many fridges as we like simply because they're large and difficult to move around. That said, now that Samsung has been putting AI inside of its fancy iceboxes for a few years, I wanted to do a long-term review of one of its latest models — the Bespoke AI 4-door refrigerator — to see firsthand if adding machine learning to an appliance improves its performance. But what I quickly learned is that my favorite thing about the fridge isn't AI but instead an innovative twist on the traditional water pitcher.
Samsung calls it the Beverage Center and it's actually been around since 2021. It started out as a feature exclusive to the company's top-of-the-line model, but more recently, it's become so popular that Samsung began adding it to a wider range of products. Instead of having a basic water dispenser on the outside of a fridge (which is frankly kind of an eyesore), Samsung moved it behind a thin door. It then added another station right next that big enough to hold a water pitcher that automatically refills itself every time you use it.
My biggest gripe with traditional water dispensers is that they're too slow. If you're only filling up a single glass, it's not a big deal. But if you're trying to top up a water bottle or get water for the entire family before dinner, you're often forced to stand in front of the fridge for a few minutes, blocking others from getting in and generally being in people's way. With the Beverage Center, you still have the option to fill a glass individually, or you can pull the entire pitcher out, carry it over to your table and fill everyone's cup with haste like a waiter at a restaurant. Sure, this might only save you a few minutes, but when you're rushing to get dinner done before your kids start getting hangry, every second is precious. After all, six o'clock is dinner time — not 6:05 or 6:10.
I'd also argue that a pitcher is slightly more elegant than waiting for the weak stream from your water dispenser to lazily fill up a cup. But more importantly, because the whole pitcher is sitting inside a chilled fridge, all of the water is cold — not just the first 12 or 16 ounces you typically get from that little spigot. Also, because there's a strainer basket, you can even use it to make infused water just by throwing some fruit or herbs in there. And once again, you never need to refill it manually because when the pitcher is empty, you just put it back in the fridge and the next time you grab it, it's already full again. But don't just take it from me, there are numerous threads where other users acknowledge the greatness of Samsung's Beverage Center.
Of course, this feature isn't perfect. Samsung's pitcher isn't dishwasher safe, though that's not a huge deal because it's quick and easy to clean with warm soapy water. The bigger issue is that sometimes I wish the pitcher had more capacity or that Samsung offered the option to upgrade to a bigger one. In my experience, 48 ounces is just enough for my family of four, but I wouldn't be surprised if people with larger households might want something with more volume.
Honestly, Samsung's Beverage Center feels like one of the ingenious inventions that makes you wonder why another company didn't think of this sooner. But none did, and because Samsung holds some patents related to its automatic water pitcher, you probably won't see a similar feature on any of its competitors' fridges anytime soon.
As for the rest of the fridge and its AI Vision technology, I'm still testing those out, but stay tuned for a full review soon.
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