One of the things I love about global trade shows is getting a glimpse of what’s around the corner. IFA in Berlin is no different, and this year it reminded me that the connected home of the future has well and truly arrived.

Imagine a home that helps keep your food fresh, streamlines everyday tasks and helps ensure the family stays organised. But just how smart can a home really be?

Samsung’s AI Home vision offers an interesting answer. By connecting appliances and services through SmartThings[1], the home becomes more than a collection of devices. It becomes an intelligent environment that learns, adapts and works in the background to help make everyday life simpler and more seamless.

What stood out to me at IFA wasn’t any single appliance, but how AI is bringing the connected home together in ways that feel genuinely useful. Rather than asking people to manage dozens of different devices, Samsung’s approach is centred on making technology work quietly in the background, anticipating needs and helping households stay organised.

One example is the kitchen.

Over the years, Samsung’s Family Hub fridges have evolved from simple digital noticeboards displaying calendars, notes and shopping lists into connected hubs that play a larger role within the SmartThings ecosystem.

Soon, that experience will receive another boost with Google Gemini[2] integration.

@trevorlong

Using AI to work out what ANYTHING in your fridge is so that you have an accurate list of what you have, and can make easy shopping lists as you grab things from the fridge! Simple and cool… Samsung adding Gemini AI to their Family Hub to enable this feature – soon for Australia we hope! #IFA2026 #Samsung #ai #fridge

♬ original sound – Trevor Long

While it’s impressive that AI can help recognise and manage the items in your fridge, the real story is what happens next. Through Samsung Food and SmartThings connectivity[3], AI can help households better understand what they already have at home, suggest meals, reduce unnecessary food waste and make everyday decision-making that little bit easier.

It’s a great example of how AI is moving beyond novelty and becoming genuinely useful.

Whether it’s helping manage food, supporting daily routines, improving energy efficiency or creating a more connected home experience, Samsung’s vision for AI Home is focused on practical benefits that fit naturally into everyday life. The technology isn’t there to replace decision-making, but to provide helpful support exactly when it’s needed.

That’s what makes the idea of a connected home so compelling. The best smart home experiences aren’t about individual devices becoming smarter. They’re about appliances, services and AI working together to create a home that understands your routines and helps simplify them.

And based on what I saw at IFA, that future isn’t around the corner anymore it’s closer than ever and is already beginning to take shape.

This article was written with support from Samsung, helping us bring you information you need by prioritising our time.

[1] To use SmartThings, download the App from the Galaxy Store, Google Play Store, or Apple App Store. The supported OS specification, required storage space, and other usage environment for the SmartThings app can be found on the app download page in each app store. SmartThings has compatibility constraints, and the compatible environment may be updated periodically.  Supported OS specifications and app screen configuration may change with app updates.

[2] Google Gemini requires a network connection and is provided by Google. Gemini is a trademark of Google LLC.

[3] SmartThings Connectivity requires all compatible devices to be signed into the same Samsung Account. Compatible models can be found at https://www.smartthings.com/products-list.