from the pray-i-don’t-alter-it-further dept
If I had to pick one iconic line spoken by Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, it would be this one.
The confident evil of a villain who calmly acknowledges that the deal struck with him is changing and there is nothing that can be done about it strikes a chord. What’s odd is that we don’t seem to want to acknowledge that this is precisely what is going on across the world of IoT devices that are updated and changed after the purchase of a device has been made.
Weeks ago, we discussed a pilot program from Samsung to inject advertisements onto the screens of its smart fridges. Based on public feedback, the pilot program went over like a fart in church, with many people complaining that this was a material change to a purchased product with consumers having to jump through hoops to not have to suddenly suffer an advertisement barrage. This wasn’t the deal that customers made when they bought their fridge.
Samsung’s response has been Vader-esque: “I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further.” What was a pilot program is now an official update from the company, with the ad program going live this week.
The ads will be shown on Samsung’s 2024 Family Hub smart fridges. As of this writing, Samsung’s Family Hub fridges have MSRPs ranging from $1,899 to $3,499. The ads will arrive through a software update that Samsung will start issuing this month and display on the fridge’s integrated 21.5- or 32-inch (depending on the model) screen. The ads will show when the fridges are idle and display what Samsung calls Cover Screens.
The software update will also introduce “a Daily Board theme that offers a new way to see useful information at a glance,” Samsung said. The Verge reported that this feature will also include ads, something that Samsung’s announcement neglected to state. The Daily Board theme will show five tiles with information such as appointments and the weather, and one with ads.
It will be interesting to track sales of these fridges over time. I don’t believe that most people want ads showing up on their fridge. I believe that if people are informed that their fridge will advertise to them to generate revenue for Samsung, most will be less likely to buy the product. Sales numbers will demonstrate whether I’m right or wrong.
Which is entirely besides the central point here: if I exchange money for a product, the product ought to be mine. I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops and lose out on product features simply because I don’t want to be your product for advertisers.
Samsung fridge owners can also opt to avoid the latest software update altogether. However, they would miss out on other features included in the software update, such as a UI refresh and the ability for the internal camera inside some fridges to identify more fruits and vegetables inside the fridge.
The changes are part of a frustrating trend among smart home products to change the user experience in unwanted ways after people have already made their purchases. It also shows Samsung’s growing reliance on ads with its smart home products, even after downplaying the idea that that would happen.
Is there any doubt that the ability to opt out of this will eventually be pared back as well? And is anyone going to do literally anything to protect the consumer from this sort of trespass into already-bought products.
Or are we just going to let Vader alter the deal and pray he doesn’t alter it further?
Filed Under: ads, family hub, fridge, ownership, refrigerators, smart refrigerators
Companies: samsung
