Introduction

Similar to Samsung's earlier Quatro Cooling fridge—which had four separate compartments, two of which could be adapted to intense cold for additional freezing or thawed out for additional fresh food storage—this particular model utilized a separate corner as an adaptable freezer compartment or beverage chiller. The idea of flexible storage is intriguing, but unlike the Quatro, which had balanced fridge to freezer proportions in its upper sections regardless of how the bottom two portions were utilized, it seems like using the alternative function here could result in marginalized freezer storage.

Front

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If a French door fridge and a side-by-side had a child, this might be what it looked like. It's got a traditional French door layout for fridge access, but the freezer is split down the middle into a left and right compartment on the lower portion of the product.

The exotic pattern ingrained into the steel was stunning to look at. We imagine it would actually act as a deterrent to fingerprints and smudges: the difference in color would make the odds of a hand print visually popping out at you decrease.

The relegation of controls to the inner portion of the door handle made for an unusually streamlined look. Typically this is achieved by placing the controls inside the fridge, but in this case you get the smooth exterior with the convenience of external controls.

Interior

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The wide-open fridge section is nothing we haven't seen before, with a traditional set-up seen in French door models. We confess...the massive number of waters bottles was pretty impressive, especially considering that bottled water sold for around €2 at the convention center.

There are two vegetable drawers in here, though they, too, were stuffed full of bottled liquid.

The freezer is broken up into two compartments, utilizing drawers for most of the storage.

The left side was being used as a traditional freezer compartment.

The right was housing water bottles, quickly chilling them to make them suitable for consumption. The freezer compartments have individually alterable temperatures, which results in assorted cooling possibilities such as defrosting items and the aforementioned quick chill.

Back

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Sides

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Ease of Access

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The fridge was very spacious; perhaps it was the ploy by Samsung to stock it full of bottles, or perhaps it was legitimately huge. Either way, it didn't seem like accessing fresh food would be a problem here. The freezers utilized drawers primarily, which slid and out with no fuss. Storage on top of the drawers, however, may be an issue: the freezer cavity seemed to extend pretty far in, so there's a risk of losing an item or two to appliance purgatory.

Controls

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The relegation of controls to the inner portion of the door handle made for an unusually streamlined look. Typically this is achieved by placing the controls inside the fridge, but in this case you get the smooth exterior with the convenience of external controls.

Have the controls on the door handle may seem like an awkward idea, but we liked it. The buttons themselves required a small degree of force to manipulate, so you don't have to worry about accidentally defrosting your freezer when you get a midnight craving for a cheese sandwich.

Water Dispenser

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Ice Maker

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Cleaning

Noise

Other Features

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Conclusion

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This Samsung refrigerator was, primarily, a visual delight. An unusual blend of French door, side-by-side, and stainless steel with exotic flair was a treat to just look at. Adding the concept of independently controlled half-freezers was the reason we stuck around, though. It wasn't a centerpiece at Samsung's IFA showing, but it had panache, pizzazz, and plenty of potential. While the innovation itself didn't have a huge impact on the fridge as a whole—two half-freezers won't effect moisture retention in the vegetable drawer, for instance, and may even have a negative impact on overall storage capacity—the idea behind it seemed quite promising.

The most disappointing thing about the fridge was not being able to find out where this particular model is available and when (or if) we may see something like it in America. Once you get past the sparkly exterior, it becomes clear that this may not be the most sensible of fridge designs. However, having the option to control two separate freezer compartments for enhanced storage versatility sounds quite nice...in theory, anyway.