Josh Hendrickson
LG is already well-known for its see-through smart refrigerators. Knock on the door, and you can get a peek of what’s inside. Ahead of CES, the company announced a follow-up that makes the viewing area even bigger so you can see more of your fridge’s innards. But it also adds a new voice command: “open the refrigerator door.”
You might think that’s a useless command at first; after all, how hard is it to open a refrigerator? But think back to every time you had a handful of groceries and had to set it all down, to open a door, and pick it all back up. LG thinks a voice command will solve that annoyance. Ask your voice assistant to open the door, and the refrigerator can take care of the rest.
Voice commands are a boon to anyone with disabilities; if you already have trouble opening the refrigerator door in the first place, the help will be welcome. LG says the see-through glass panel you activate by knocking (dubbed InstaView) is now 23% larger, so you can see more of the inside of the refrigerator. And it added a UV-light based disinfector to the water taps.
How much the new smart refrigerators will cost remains to be seen. It will likely cost at least the same as the current generation of InstaView refrigerators, which often run for $2,000 or more. When LG announces pricing, we’ll let you know.
Source: LG
