Samsung has made significant progress in the development of its connected kitchen technology with the introduction of Samsung Food at the IFA 2023 tech show. This new app integrates recipes, food ingredients, and kitchen appliances, bringing together the different aspects of smart cooking. Samsung Food is essentially a rebranded and enhanced version of the Whisk app, which has been around since 2013. While not initially groundbreaking, Samsung Food represents the culmination of the company’s efforts in the connected kitchen space since its launch of the smart fridge with an Android tablet in 2016.
During a demo at IFA, I had the opportunity to experience the features of Samsung Food. I scanned a piece of salmon and a pot of basil, and the app provided several recipes from its extensive database of 160,000 recipes that used those ingredients. The app also allowed me to customize the recipe by adjusting factors such as sugar or fat content, making it “quick and easy,” vegan, or even adding a “Mexican twist.” The app then provided a step-by-step cooking guide that wirelessly synced with a nearby Samsung oven. I found myself easily using these features in my own kitchen, and the convenience of simply taking a picture instead of typing in ingredients was a major advantage.
Samsung Food serves as a central hub for managing recipes, meal plans, and shopping lists. It also integrates with the SmartThings smart home platform. While it currently works with the Samsung Bespoke wall oven, Samsung has plans to expand compatibility with multiple devices from different appliance brands. This is made possible through Samsung’s involvement as a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA), a group dedicated to making major appliances from various manufacturers interoperable. Interoperability has been a critical missing component in the smart kitchen space, and Samsung Food aims to bridge that gap by allowing any recipe to be easily connected to any smart appliance.
One of the most exciting aspects of Samsung Food is its use of generative AI, which represents a practical application of the latest wave of AI technology in the smart home. The app can take care of the tasks involved in creating meal plans, building grocery lists, and even shopping. The process involves collecting recipes for the week from various sources, such as websites or cookbooks, or choosing from options provided by Samsung Food. The “Food AI” then analyzes the recipes, standardizes their format, and generates shopping lists based on the ingredients. Users can conveniently order the required ingredients from their local grocery store with just a few taps.
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Meal planning is known to save both time and money for families, but it can often be time-consuming itself. Personally, it takes me at least an hour each week to prepare meals for my family of four, not including the time spent grocery shopping. If Samsung Food can consistently save me that hour, it would be a significant achievement.
Initially, Samsung Food will work with SmartThings to send cooking directions to the Samsung-connected oven, adjusting temperatures during the cook cycle, and setting the correct time. However, Samsung plans to add other cooking devices to the app later this year, including the cooktop, microwave, Family Hub refrigerator, and connected water filter. Additionally, through its involvement with the HCA, Samsung aims to integrate non-Samsung appliances into the app in the future. Initially, this will include appliances from LG and Vestel, with more to follow.
The kitchen has historically been limited to appliances from a single manufacturer or restricted to a single device. However, there is now a growing trend toward interoperability between different brands and devices. The various components of the smart kitchen, such as planning, shopping, prepping, and cooking, are finally coming together, revealing the true potential of the smart kitchen.
Generative AI has the potential to further enhance the smart kitchen experience. According to Jaeyeon Jung, head of SmartThings, there are more AI-powered features in the works, including an integration with Samsung Health to help tailor meal plans based on factors like BMI, body composition, and calorie consumption. In the future, Vision AI technology will enable Samsung Food to recognize food items and meals photographed through the app’s camera, providing detailed information about them. For example, the app will be able to identify the ingredients in a dish when dining out and suggest ways to recreate the meal at home, even offering healthier variations.
The progress made in the smart kitchen space is quite remarkable. We have transitioned from simple gimmicks like cameras in fridges to an app like Samsung Food that can analyze the contents of a smart fridge and generate shopping lists and meal plans automatically. The convenience and efficiency that such technology offers are truly mouthwatering.
