Besides keeping your food cold, there’s not much more we need from a fridge, but that doesn’t stop manufacturers from cramming new features in there in the endless pursuit of “innovation.” The latest example from LG is the MoodUP, a fridge that sports speakers and LED doors that can change color on demand.
The MoodUP fridge seems to work like a giant Nanoleaf set – each door packs a big LED panel that can be dressed up in different colors through the LG ThinQ app. According to the company there are 22 colors available for the upper door panels, but only 19 for the lower panels for some reason. Users can customize their own color schemes or pick from built-in themes like Season, Place, Mood and Pop.
They’re not just for show either – LG says the LEDs can be put to work in a few ways. The panels will flash if the door is left open, for example, or blink gently when the fridge senses someone approaching. The freezer door even glows brighter at night, like a beacon for snackers and diet cheaters.
If the light gets to be too much, the panels can be switched off, reverting to a neutral Lux Gray and Lux White finish. But honestly, that doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the MoodUP – if you’re buying a fridge with light-up panels, you better be using them. What is in the spirit is the built-in Bluetooth speaker, and the light panels can be set to pulse in time with music.
While LG has been a bit light on the details (no pun intended), it looks like the MoodUP comes in a double-door model or a single-door with two freezer drawers. There even seems to be a “transparency” mode on at least one of the doors, letting users see what’s inside before they open the door.
Whether users will keep those LEDs lit up remains to be seen – the fridge is already the biggest energy-guzzler in the kitchen, and adding big bright lights won’t help that. If touchscreens on fridges didn’t exactly catch on, we’re not so sure that garish, colored LEDs will, but that’s not going to stop these companies from trying.
LG has also been quiet on details like pricing and availability, but the company is showing off the MoodUP fridge at IFA in Germany this week.
Source: LG newsroom
