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Samsung is using AI to predict break down in appliances – but there’s a catch

Samsung 4-Door Refrigerator 2025
Samsung 4-Door Refrigerator 2025 Digital Trends / Britta O'Boyle / Digital Trends

Samsung is infusing AI into a whole range of products, including its domestic appliances. We’ve previously brought you the news of AI in Samsung washing machines and in its Bespoke AI Jet Ultra – but the company is also using AI to monitor your appliances to predict if there’s about to be a break down.

The service called AI Pre-Care Notification and it’s part of the AI Subscription Club that Samsung launched in 2024. This system uses AI to monitor your appliances, checking the usage and condition – as well as things like consumables – to highlight a potential problem.

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The example given by Samsung, is that if an air conditioner has lower refrigerant than expected or if a fridge’s internal temperature is lower than expected, then the AI service will give you a diagnosis, as well as suggest what might be happening. Appliances have to be connected to the SmartThings platform for this to work and then a customer service representative will be in touch via phone.

It doesn’t just stop there: an on-site repair can be booked to have the problem fixed before there’s a significant break down. The AI Pre-Care Notification is available for: air conditioners, air dressers, dishwashers, dryers, induction cookers, kimchi refrigerators, microwaves/ovens, refrigerators, robot vacuum cleaners and washing machines.

That sounds like a good use of AI, because you don’t want your appliance to break, causing more damage, when preventative maintenance could be faster and more cost efficient. Samsung also highlights that early diagnosis means that you can deal with air conditioning problems before you get into the summer months and there’s higher demand for engineers.

However, I said there’s a catch and the catch is that you have to be part of the AI Subscription Club to get access to the service. Currently, the AI Subscription Club is only available in Korea. The AI Subscription Club lets you rent AI appliances with maintenance as part of the package, so this latest AI Pre-Care Notification is designed to make the whole thing more seamless – and put AI to good use.

Interestingly – and as an aside – the AI Subscription Club also lets you rent Ballie, Samsung’s domestic robot, which we know is planning a wider release later in 2025. Perhaps Samsung will also expand the horizons of its AI Subscription Club too at the same time.

Chris Hall
Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just…
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