I recently had the pleasure of spending time with Samsung’s new laundry range. I spent a night dirtying a wide variety of fabrics, and then washing and drying them while staying in a very nice apartment. While it’s impossible to do a full review of a washing machine, dryer or styler in just one night, it did give me useful insight into how the new features of the Samsung Bespoke laundry appliances have changed the experience, given I happen to own last year’s models and am very familiar with them.
Bespoke AI Front Load Washer machine
The washing machine is really at the heart of any laundry set-up, and this year’s model looks sleeker, prettier, and generally nicer than last year’s the upgrade to tempered glass looks really good. It also looks sleeker because the add wash door has been removed. At first, I was horrified at such a useful feature being removed, and then I tried to think back to the last time I really used my add-wash door and failed. After asking Samsung’s reps, it turns out it was removed because, while people like the idea of being able to add an extra sock in the first five minutes after pressing start, not many people actually use that feature.
The other big thing is that the washer now has two more sensors to tell how dirty your clothes are after the initial soaking by using lights to see how gross the water is. This is to help with the “AI Wash” setting. Last year’s models also have AI wash settings, but I haven’t found them to be as helpful as just picking the correct setting, or filling out the little quiz in the app to determine the correct settings.
The biggest thing, though, is that now more of the range has auto-dosing detergent options. Last year, only the biggest and fanciest models had that option, now they’re on all models. This means that you can just pour in liquid detergent every 30 washes, and the machine will calculate how much it needs.
That new AI Wash setting worked quite well in most of my tests. I poured coffee on some white sheets, and most of the stain came out. I would have liked to have seen more of the coffee come out, but it’s really hard with washing machines to work out if it’s the machine, the detergent, the lack of stain treatment, or if the fabric is just like that. That kind of insight only comes with time.
However, on my soft toy rabbit test, where I stomped dirt into it, poured coffee over it, and then massaged coffee grounds into its fur, it came out of the AI Wash looking like nothing had ever happened to it. This is definitely a point in favour of the AI Wash.
The other wash settings were pretty much unchanged from last year, and they receive my wholehearted endorsement after using last year’s model for well over 100 washes without complaint.
Samsung Bespoke AI Dryer 9kg
The dryer included in the Samsung Bespoke laundry range also has the same new aesthetic, and uses the same extremely energy-efficient heat pump as last year’s model.
But here, the focus on AI settings really let the team down.
The regular, non-AI settings work great, they’re just like last year’s model (which I could write love songs about). But, on AI Dry, which was the big new feature for this year that the Samsung reps were pushing, I just could not get anything to dry. I put the sheets through on AI Dry twice, and both times the sheets came out wet after a long time in there. I similarly had to put the rabbit, a puffer jacket and some other items in there twice with the same results.
This can probably be fixed with a software update, or you could just never use AI Dry and instead focus on using the regular settings. If you use the washing machine on a setting (like towels, or colours), then the dryer will automatically know what the washer did and suggest using the same setting. The AI Dry may suck, but the other settings still work perfectly. It’s just something worth keeping in mind.
Samsung Bespoke Mirror AirDresser
It’s the Samsung AirDresser that received the biggest upgrade of the Bespoke laundry appliances, which is very exciting. The AirDresser is a product I never expected to love, and now I can’t imagine living without it. It now has a lot of new, extra settings, to better take care of a wider variety of clothes that you might not want to or need to put in the washer, but still need to be refreshed.
The new settings include Outdoor, Bedding, Daily Care, School Wear, Denim, Babywear, Toys, Suits, Wool/Knit, Down Jackets, Blouses/Dresses, Winter Coat, Fur/Leather, Accessories, Mask Sanitise, and Self Cleaning filter. This is clearly a huge leap over last year’s list, which was limited just to Normal, Quick, Delicates, Drying, Sanitize, Room Care and Delay End.
There are also more accessories included, and it holds five hangers instead of the three from last year’s mode. My biggest complaint about last year’s model is that it has a place to put a shelf, and you’re encouraged to put shoes in there on a shelf, but it didn’t include the shelf and Samsung didn’t sell one separately. The new AirDresser now comes with a shelf.
However, it still lacks the features of the LG Styler, which also has a section of the door that allows you to press pants with a crease, if that’s your jam.
The new mirror finish looks much nicer in a room than the old matte brown door, and overall this is the AirDresser growing into the product it always should have been, and I’m excited for more people to get to experience it. It’s not an essential, but it is such a nice luxury that I want to be a part of every wardrobe set-up I have from now on.
I tried it on a range of outfits that either just needed a light refresh, or would be utterly murdered by a normal wash, and all of them came out looking fresh and smelling good (or at least better).
AirDressers aren’t an essential item, but my love for them knows no bounds, so if it’s in your budget and you think you might use it, I recommend checking out the category to see which model works best for you.
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Alice Clarke flew to Sydney as a guest of Samsung Australia to test out the Bespoke laundry range.
The post Samsung Bespoke laundry AI tech washes well, dries poorly appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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