Samsung shows off its futuristic kitchen appliances

Kitchen appliances haven’t always been the most exciting products. They’re typically not something people will upgrade unless they absolutely have to, normally around the 10 year mark when appliances break down.

However, Samsung told us up to two thirds do in fact replace their existing products before they actually stop working, which comes as a surprise, but this might be more of an indication of the type of consumers it targets with its lavishly-equipped Chef Collection range.

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Regardless, we came away impressed by Samsung’s new range that provide both a combination of connected functionality as well as more analogue improvements over traditional appliances.

The new range is now releasing to the UK market and Samsung has partnered with London department store, Harrods, to showcase the new range, which includes ovens, induction hobs, refrigerators and dishwashers. All products a budding home-chef might need. We popped along to take a look.

RB8000 Kitchen Fit Refrigerator

The free-standing RB8000 is designed to be easily integrated into your kitchen thanks to the ability to place it flush with the rest of your kitchen furniture. Smart features like hinges that remain flush even when the doors are opened mean you don’t have to provide clearance on either side of the fridge or leave the door exposed. This means it’s easier to create a seamless kitchen design.

The handles have attractive blue LED under-lighting that complements the refrigerator’s brushed metal design. It also provides a secondary function as lighting into the freezer compartment. As the RB8000 is part of the Chef Collection range, we were unsurprised it had functions geared towards culinary exploits including a Chef Zone tray. This is a special section used to keep meat fresher. Another removable Chef Pan tray can be used for marinating food and also for cooking. It also works seamlessly with Samsung’s Chef Collection dishwashers, which the company hope you purchase alongside the RB8000.

A twin cooling metal black plate helps to maintain the fridge and freezer sections separately, with independent evaporators and cooling and ensuring odours between the two sections don’t mix. As far as refrigerator’s go, the RB8000 is certainly attractive.

DW9970 WaterWall Dishwasher

The main differentiator for the DW9970 from other dishwashers is in its name. Its WaterWall technology is supposed to help provide cleaner results by ensuring no missed corners. A moving waterfall-like jet of water moves across the inside of the dishwasher, which is designed to improve coverage.

You can also target specific zones with two separate zones so you can put your dirtier dishes on one side and target them for a deeper clean. Other nice touches include a flexible removable tray you can use to wash and remove cutlery easily and a door that automatically opens when a wash is finished, allowing for steam to escape and better, smear-free drying. The top-end DW9970 model will set you back around £900.

Chef Collection Vapour Electric Oven

The top-end Chef Collection Vapour Electric Oven has a number of interesting features, some you may well find more useful than others. Some models are Wi-Fi connected, working with a smartphone or tablet app allowing you to adjust settings as well as automatically inputting settings based on recipes in the app. You can also receive notifications from the oven, keeping you updated on cooking progress. Some recipes are also pre-programmed into the oven itself.

Most interesting is the gourmet vapour technology on the higher-end models. This injects vapour that helps to distribute heat and moisture, allowing meats to be cooked crispier on the outside while juicy and soft inside. A meat thermometer is also included with readings on the touch-based LCD screen so you can check on the cooking progress without ever having to open the door. Other nice premium features include a soft-close door although this isn’t included on the entry models. The range starts at £999, although the model with vapour technology will be around £1,200.

Chef Collection Virtual Flame Induction Hob

Rounding out the Chef Collection is Samsung’s new induction hobs. A problem with induction hobs, compared with gas cookers, is that it’s not always easy to get an indication of the hob’s temperature. With a gas cooker it’s easy, you have a very visual flame to judge. Samsung’s taken this concept and applied it to its new induction cookers, providing a ‘virtual flame’ using LEDs that illuminate your pots and pans to show you the temperature. It’s a simple, but very effective, visual flourish and we’re surprised it hasn’t happened been used already.

Other useful features of the new hobs include a magnetic removable knob that make it easy to wipe down the entire surface once you’re done making a mess. As well as the magnetic knob there are touch-based controls. 

All of the Chef Collection range is available to view at Harrods.