Why Samsung’s 20 Year Warranty Doesn’t Mean 20 Years of Use

Samsung has announced a new industry-leading 20-year warranty on its Digital Inverter Technology (DIT), the patented motors and compressors that are key components in its washing machines, dryers and refrigerators. This doubled the warranty period for these parts from ten years.

You may start to see labels on Samsung products advertising it. But does that mean you can buy a Samsung refrigerator or washing machine and expect it to last 20 years? The answer is, in fact, no. That’s why.

smart problem

At the same time that Samsung announced its 20-year DIT warranty, it also promised that 100% of its new devices will be online by 2023.

Thus, all of its new devices with a 20-year DIT warranty will also have smart features. And this creates a problem.

Smart features mean software updates. And as anyone with a cell phone knows, they are limited to a few years. In most cases, Samsung phones will receive Android OS updates for three or four years, and security updates for four years. After this time, your phone will not receive any new features, may lose compatibility with some applications, and may be vulnerable to security threats such as hacking.

This is a similar problem when it comes to home appliances. The addition of smart features means its overall lifespan will be shorter than the potential lifespan of its hardware.

Samsung hasn’t confirmed exactly how long it will support its devices with software updates, for the simple reason that it can’t. There is no way to know what advances in smart technology will be in ten years, let alone include everything that will be required to support these features in the model being released now.

Instead, the brand released the following statement: “Software updates for Samsung Smart Appliances are available to all customers not only during the warranty period, but as needed outside of the aforementioned period.”

This does not mean a 20 year warranty on digital inverter technology. This is the (up to) five-year warranty you get when you buy a Samsung smart refrigerator or other Samsung device.

So what does the 20-year warranty mean?

What does a 20-year warranty really mean?

Samsung has a lot of confidence in its hardware. He says that if you buy one of his devices, it will be reliable and efficient. It won’t fail after a couple of years, slow down, or start making strange noises. You won’t need to call someone to fix it or fork out for spare parts.

While the company will not replace a 19-year-old refrigerator if the ice machine stops working, it will replace the failed motor or compressor after that time.

But most importantly, the long warranty indicates that the device will continue to provide the same power-efficient performance as it does now.

Samsung’s digital inverter technology is the reason why the brand thinks its devices are so good. Inverter technology means that a motor (in a washer or dryer) or a compressor (in a refrigerator or freezer) has more than just turning on and off. Instead, he can choose the optimal trigger point based on, say, the amount of laundry in the wash or the amount of food that needs to be stored in the refrigerator.

This is why new machines are more energy efficient than old appliances. And the latest machines use sensors combined with artificial intelligence to determine how much power they need to use to run most efficiently. For example, Samsung’s new Bespoke AI washing machine will weigh the laundry you load and use that information to select the temperature and run time that will save you the most energy.

This is much more efficient than trying to guess which program to use. In fact, Samsung claims it can save up to 70% of the energy used in a normal wash with AI Energy Mode.

Samsung is betting on energy saving initiatives. Sustainability was the motto of the IFA press conference, and according to Samsung’s vision, making the homes of the future greener requires making them connected.

But that brings us back to a clever problem: Connected features are shortening the life of appliances. So why has Samsung decided to go all-in on connected devices if we can’t use them in 20 years (or even less)?

Samsung

How connected = energy saving?

The appliances we use now are much more energy efficient than those we used ten years ago. And Samsung is betting that the technology will continue to improve. At the same time, it can use updates to keep the inverter software up to date and work efficiently.

But it’s not just about updates. Samsung represents the sustainable home as a smart home. Home appliances learn how you use them and adapt to save energy. Instruments and devices interact with each other to minimize power consumption and precisely direct it to where it is needed.

Samsung’s vision includes many of the same connected features that smart thermostats use to (try to) save people money.

The smart thermostat can use geofencing to turn off the heating when you leave the house or change the temperature according to the weather forecast. Similarly, the Samsung dryer can communicate with the washing machine to find the best drying program to download. And the bespoke AI oven knows what foods you have left in the fridge, so it can suggest recipes to use them and save on waste.

Samsung is not alone in its vision for the connected home. Home appliance giant Haier, which owns Candy and Hoover, has announced a similar move to connected devices, except instead of using Samsung SmartThings, all devices will of course connect through its hOn app.

But although these companies promise energy savings, which is now the focus of most people, their initiatives do not solve the problem of waste and landfill or the cost of replacing large household appliances every five to ten years.

As more brands follow suit, you will see more connected devices on sale. But if you buy it now, just don’t expect these smart features to be usable ten years from now.