Backbytes: Samsung doubles-down on ghastly internet-connected fridges

Taking no notice of us, Samsung introduces connected refrigerators you can talk to

At last year's annual tat-fest in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Samsung showed off the truly awful internet-connected refrigerator, which could do fabulous things like take pictures of the inside of your fridge, and display your favourite vids from Pornhub over your morning cornflakes.

This year, not to be put off by cynical write-ups by the likes of us, it has doubled down with an "anniversary update" of last year's models, instead of withdrawing them and apologising profusely for ever introducing it.

At the hear of the update is Family Hub 2.0, which will hopefully be more secure than Family Hub 1.0. Bearing a touchscreen interface that will be familiar to Samsung Galaxy users, Samsung has also stuffed it with apps from the same source.

There's also apps from Spotify, YouTube, GrubHub and iHeartRadio built in, as well as a bunch of others you've probably never heard of and will almost certainly never use more than once (like all those mysterious channels built-in to smart TVs).

Perhaps most ghastly of all, though, is the Family Hub Calendar so that control freaks can keep an eye at all times in what everyone else in the household is either up to, or supposed to be up to. Even worse, with Family Hub 2.0, you can actually talk to your fridge and make purchases there and then.

Imagine the joy when 100 tubs of Ben & Jerry's, 200 pints of milk and a packet of paracetamol turn up the day after a particularly drink-fueled night out, or the fun that gatecrashers can have with their host's internet connected refrigerators at parties.

It's not entirely clear, though, who else will be listening in to the always-on microphone, but we do look forward to the first refrigerator to be called to give evidence in a murder trial in the UK.