If you didn’t know already, Samsung and LG are the two biggest companies in Korea which leads to plenty of corporate pissing contests. For instance, if LG were to release a 100-inch 4K TV, you can be damn sure Samsung will follow up with a 101-incher a few weeks later. It should come as no surprise to anyone, then, to see that a few months after Samsung launched a fridge with a built-in tablet, LG’s got a version of its very own.
While Samsung’s Tizen-powered Family Hub was packing a 21.5-inch display, the LG Smart InstaView Door-In-Door Refrigerator comes with a 29-inch semi-transparent touchscreen. That display is hooked up to one of Intel’s USB-connected compute sticks, turning the device into a fully-featured Windows 10 tablet, complete with Cortana. You’ll be able to do anything you’d normally do
Much like LG’s earlier door-in-door products, the Smart InstaView’s display will turn semi-transparent, letting you see what’s in your fridge without opening it. In this mode, you can use a software tweak to add overlays to the view, like modern-day post-it notes. You can use them to identify which portion of the space is to be used for gluten-free foods, or where you’ll keep the dairy products. There’s also a built-in Bluetooth speaker that sits above the main compartment, although it’s not yet clear if you’ll be able to hear it when the doors are closed.
LG, naturally, couldn’t comment on price or availability but we can guess that it’ll arrive in the near future and cost a lot. Considering Samsung’s Family Hub will set you back around $4,000, we imagine it’ll be far too pricey for most of us. But that doesn’t mean everybody couldn’t roll their own with an off-brand Windows 10 tablet, a hot glue gun and the existing refrigerator.