X

Sharp offers its own take on the smart fridge

The Sharp 4LifeHub is a Wi-Fi-enabled French door refrigerator with a 21-inch LED display. Can it match the hype of similar products from Samsung and LG?

Ashlee Clark Thompson Associate Editor
Ashlee spent time as a newspaper reporter, AmeriCorps VISTA and an employee at a healthcare company before she landed at CNET. She loves to eat, write and watch "Golden Girls" (preferably all three at the same time). The first two hobbies help her out as an appliance reviewer. The last one makes her an asset to trivia teams. Ashlee also created the blog, AshleeEats.com, where she writes about casual dining in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ashlee Clark Thompson

Sharp is the third company at this year's IFA trade show here in Berlin to debut its own take on the smart refrigerator. First, Samsung announced a smaller, European version of its Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator. Then LG debuted its LG Smart Instaview Door-in-Door Refrigerator. Sharp joined the fray Thursday with the 4LifeHub smart refrigerator.

All of these manufacturers have equipped these appliances with Wi-Fi, large touchscreen control panels and apps designed to make domestic life easier.

IFA 2016: All of the gadgets from Europe's biggest tech show

See all photos

But the Sharp 4LifeHub looks to set itself apart by connecting to other large appliances in the kitchen. According to Sharp, you can use the 21-inch control panel built into the refrigerator to manage the settings of your other Sharp appliances such as the dishwasher, oven or washing machine.

The Sharp 4LifeHub will be available only in Europe from early 2017, and the company hasn't announced the price yet. But the Japanese manufacturer's entrance into the smart fridge race shows that these appliances aren't going anywhere any time soon.