Why There's Simply No Need For A Smart Refrigerator

With the world rapidly creating new technology, it's no surprise to find old classic appliances and devices being turned into something "smart" with added bells and whistles. After all, certain high-tech kitchen appliance trends have dominated the recent years. For some devices, these features are pretty useful, like your washer sending messages to your phone when your load is done. However, other devices aren't as useful and really do nothing more than increase the cost of the appliance, without offering much practical benefit in return. I'm talking specifically about smart refrigerators. 

Before you just assume I am a smart home hater, let me be clear. I have embraced some of these appliances, including my washer, dryer, and oven, all of which include smart features I enjoy and use regularly. Are they necessary? Not at all, but it does help a forgetful person like me ensure my oven is off, and that I didn't forget to take out a load of laundry before it starts smelling musty. I can even preheat my oven without getting out of bed.

However, smart fridges just don't offer the same benefits. Sure, they have some neat features that sound helpful at first, but when you really start to think about it, they just aren't necessary. They feel like they're more of a cash grab or companies jumping on the "smart" bandwagon than appliances that actually offer useful and practical features — especially when they cost upwards of $2,000. 

Some of the notable features of many smart fridges include things like tracking how much food you have and what might need to be replaced, learning your habits, offering recipe ideas, and having cameras so you can see what's inside even when you're not home. Some are even smart enough to track expiration dates and tell you to use something before it goes bad. 

Initially, these features do sound neat — but the question is, how necessary are they really? I think, for the majority of people, there is no point in getting them. Sure, it sounds super helpful to have a device that can create your shopping list for you. But it really only makes you a partial one, and that goes for how it helps you find recipes. It does this based only on what you have in the fridge, and not in the cabinets and pantry, making it pretty unhelpful at times.

Additionally, having a fridge make a list or track habits to determine what you might want wouldn't be helpful unless you're someone who buys the same items week after week. At that point, you probably don't need your fridge to make a list. And for anyone who freezes items and pulls them out as needed, warnings for expiration dates might not be all that helpful, either.

Not only are smart refrigerators not necessary for most people, but they are also just plain impractical. Outside of personal preferences, there are a few reasons to avoid buying a smart fridge over a traditional option. To buy one means you're going to spend roughly double the price. And that's just one of the downsides to smart refrigerators. 

Additionally, like with other devices, companies often discontinue software, which means this very expensive fridge might lose many of its features in just a few years. I don't gripe (much) about paying a lot of money for smart devices and their software being suspended if I use those features all the time. But for a device that gets used sporadically, the cost for such a short lifespan isn't practical, especially when you can buy a reliable fridge for under $500 that will last a long time. And don't even get me started on ads.

I do think some smart refrigerators are making progress towards being more functional, such as the ones you can open with just your voice if your hands are messy or full. Of course, I know not everyone is the same, and a few of these features might be ideal for some people. However, at the moment, the little bit of help that these smart refrigerators might offer isn't worth the extreme upfront cost, the shortened lifespan, and the headache that comes with these appliances.