this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2026
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I feel like the problem here is that you get people who are curious or like the other features the fridge has and just get what they can when theirs goes out. And while, sure, those people learn not to do that again, by that point the industry used that sales data as a "they must like it, lets do it across the board!" Instead of asking people or taking anything else into account when figuring out what products to continue making.
In 10 yrs when those fridges die and people who "learned their lesson" go to buy a new fridge, there will be zero fridges without AI because marketing thought thats why they bought it and no one has any ability to buy a non-AI fridge anymore.
That's more like two years for Samsung fridges, where the designers and builders spend all of their time on fancy horseshit and ignore basic requirements like "keep the food cold".
I think you are giving people too much credit. Lots of people have a budget they can spend on appliances (like a credit line) and they get the best (most expensive) one they can get on that budget. Others will do the opposite and get the cheapest but only people like you find on Lemmy (Linux users for instance) in my experience will make a choice in the middle based on feature set.
I went with the middle dish washer and it has tuned out to be a series of planned obsolescence repairs. I’m handy enough to do them all, but I know it’s just a matter of time.
We’re on year six (it had a 5 year warranty). I’m determined to make it last until 10 at least.
Part of what makes us intelligent is learning from others. I guess I would expect buyers to do even the most basic research on a large dollar figure purchase which would likely expose them to the headlines about Samsung putting ads on fridges after the sale.
Do people actually just walk into an appliance store and just drop more than $1k on what they see on the floor without researching reliability, warranty, or other features from articles and news sources?
I did buy a replacement refrigerator based on "no ice dispenser, fits in available space" on a Saturday when mine let out the magic smoke that morning. It was delivered the next day and worked out ok.
I would not get something fancier without doing research. This one was literally the only refrigerator that fit the bill at the store (weird-sized refrigerator alcove)
Was that the only refrigerator store close to you, so even if there were other choices that fit manufactured you wouldn't have been able to lay your hands on one?
There was Home Depot, Best Buy, and Lowes. I looked at their in-stock offerings online and only one of them had something that would work. I tried out a floor model, it seemed fine. I couldn't spend too much time on the decision because I was playing host and didn't want my house guest to worry about her food spoiling. (She has dietary restrictions and enough food anxiety as it is.)
Well sure, if you're in a time crunch that makes sense. Additionally, you did attempt to shop elsewhere, but in your case it was such a specialized opening you only had one choice from all the retailers available to you. I imagine, had there been multiple to choose from, you would have examined the choices more closely, right?
Probably, yeah. Tbh, it was not wanting an ice maker that was the biggest hang-up. We didn't have a water line to the old refrigerator and I was tired of visitors trying to use the non-functional door ice maker on the old model.
Apparently a large percentage of people buy cars without test driving them... so probably.