By Maisie Arnold-Barron
Digital Journalist | Kairīpoata Matahiko
Check out the coldest and coolest fridge features of the year.
1. Can AI organise your fridge?
Artificial intelligence seems to be creeping its way into all our appliances, and fridges are no exception. Samsung and Forbes released AI fridges last year that can reduce power consumption and manually change fridge temp based on usage.
Samsung’s extra-large French door Family Hub fridge-freezer can play YouTube, display calendars and make digital magnets.
A camera mounted inside the door can see what food you have and cleverly detect the expiration dates of products to let you know when it’s time to throw them away. Even cooler, it can plan meals based on the ingredients already in your fridge and tell you what you are missing! I’m just not sure if this is a feature I really need to think about when buying a big appliance for my tiny kitchen.
Need a new fridge?
Consumer NZ’s free buying guide will help you choose the best type and features for your lifestyle (and budget).
2. Eco-friendly fridges
I really hate how much power my fridge uses, so I’m very into the idea of reducing it.
Fridges typically use a 25W to 40W appliance bulb. While they’re energy-efficient, they’re not always very bright. Some new models are opting for LED lights instead, which are also great energy savers but a lot brighter (great for hunting for 2am snacks.)
The most eco-friendly fridge options are often written in the stars – check out our guide to reading them. The Energy Rating Labels aren't just there for decoration and can show you how much energy the fridge should consume. We also independently test fridges’ energy consumption and state whether they match their label claims – you can see the results on our fridge reviews page.
3. Fresh food tech
It's one of life’s great kitchen mysteries: can you put hot food straight into the fridge? The latest food tech feature is here to solve some of the unknowns, with smart fridge temperature controls to let you monitor and adjust the climate across different zones.
Mitsubushi Electric’s French door fridge-freezer uses inverter technology to manage the temp across multiple zones. The fridge compartment has two sections dedicated to different temps: a “supercool” chilling case set at a cooler temperature to keep meat fresh without freezing it, and a sliding chilled case to separate dairy products and dips from the high-traffic areas where temperature can fluctuate. For vegetables, there’s a humidity drawer at the bottom of the unit.
There’s also a “versa” freezer drawer with three settings, one of which lets you put hot food in to chill it down quickly without affecting the food or temperature in other zones.
But does the Mitsubishi Four Drawer WX470 really keep its cool? Consumer members can see how it performed in our tests.
4. The Smeg of it all
The prettiest fridge of them all, but the best? Hmmm, I'm not too sure about that.
This year, Smeg re-entered the fridge market with a bang through a line of vintage styles with two intricate Dolce & Gabbana designs. The bougie fridges definitely come with a high-fashion price tag – around $13,000 NZD.
We did a deep dive into looks versus performance of Smeg fridges to find out if the fashion-forward appliance is more than just a pretty face.
5. Nice ice makers
Ice makers are not new by any means but are they getting more popular? It seems so.
Some smart fridges take the iced beverage game up a notch, with multiple ice options – cubed, crushed or sphere – and while old school ice makers can take up valuable real estate in the fridge, we're seeing models in our testing labs where the unit is fit into the door, leaving more room for everything else.
On top of that, on some models there’s even a built-in UV light on the fridge’s water dispenser nozzle to help keep it clean and reduce the risk of germs while keeping you hydrated.
And one of the fridges we tested not only got our Consumer Recommended tick but also ticks off heaps of the tech features I’ve been looking at – remote temperature control, cooling down warm food, ice-making expertise and even a door you can knock on to see inside without opening it.
