Families today are doing more laundry than ever before, and Samsung is introducing new innovations to make this age-old chore easier and more intuitive. With Samsung’s WF8800A Front Load Washer and DV8800A Front Load Clothes Dryer (the smart laundry pair), doing your laundry becomes a breeze, giving you more time to commit to the activities and people you care about most.

Samsung Newsroom sat down with Hyunju Lee and Taihyuk Jang of Samsung Digital Appliances’ Living Product Planning Group to find out just how Samsung’s new laundry appliances, including CES 2021 Innovation Award Honoree WF8800A washer, is overhauling the experience of doing laundry and changing users’ lives for the better.

Taihyuk Jang and Hyunju Lee of Digital Appliances’ Living Product Planning Group

A More Intelligent Way to Wash

Q. In what ways is Samsung’s smart laundry pair changing the experience of doing laundry?

When we were developing the smart washer and dryer, the focus was on how we could make them smarter in a way that would be truly beneficial to the user. The new smart washer’s OptiWash cycle, for instance, determines how much water, detergent and softener you need for each load and dispenses it automatically. The machine senses the load’s weight, as well as how dirty the laundry is with special turbidity sensors, and decides on the most efficient way to wash it.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s smart dryer utilizes heat and humidity sensors to optimize its drying cycles, letting you spend less time toggling through settings. You can just toss in the laundry and let the machine figure out the rest. The washer and dryer are also connected to each other, allowing the best drying cycle for your load to be automatically determined based on the specifics of your washer load.

The intelligent laundry pair also offers a broad selection of cycles, with 25 wash cycles and 19 drying cycles that users can modify, delete and save using the My Cycle feature. Add to that the Smart Dial feature, which learns which settings you prefer for your washing and drying, and moves those settings to the top of your cycle list.

Let’s say you wash your workout clothes every Monday using the “Activewear” cycle. After an initial period of routine use, your Samsung laundry pair will learn this habit and automatically display the “Activewear” cycle on Mondays. The more you use your Samsung laundry pair, the more it will be able to help you minimize the work that goes into doing your laundry.

Innovative Function and Control

Q. What features make Samsung’s smart washer and dryer easier to use?

The WF8800A laundry pair includes a function called Multi-Control, which allows you to control your smart washer and dryer from a single control panel. Your dryer’s settings are also automatically matched with those from your wash cycle as long as your washer and dryer are connected via cable or through the Auto Cycle Link feature in the SmartThings app. The SmartThings app also allows users to manage their cycles and laundry settings remotely. With the new smart laundry pair, we additionally paid special attention to accessibility. For those who require it, the new smart washer and dryer feature dials with audio assistance technology that provides easy-to-understand feedback sounds that correspond to different options within cycles.

Q. What distinguishes the appearance of Samsung’s smart laundry pair?

Both Samsung’s smart washer and dryer come in a sleek black design that is accented by silver controls, making the appliances a complement to any home environment. The products also feature elegant control panels that make the washer and dryer easier to use by displaying words instead of symbols, removing the need for the user to consult a manual if an error ever occurs.

Q. How is Samsung’s new laundry pair caring for the environment?

Both the smart washer and smart dryer are made almost entirely out of recyclable parts, meaning that they can be taken apart and disposed of when needed without having to worry about adverse environmental impact. Using the intelligent OptiWash function, which optimizes wash settings for each load, users can rest easy knowing they’re using just the right amount of water and detergent. The pair are also both compatible with the HomeCare Wizard, which, in addition to providing information on schedules and delivering error reports, allows users to monitor their energy usage over time.

Samsung’s new laundry pair delivers intelligent capabilities to learn about users’ habits and preferences and harnesses cutting-edge technology to bring real change to a traditional household chore. Making the washer and dryer a collaborative pair and delivering a sleek, modern design to set off the aesthetics of your home, Samsung’s smart laundry pair is the future of laundry care.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is exciting and vast, with researchers just starting to understand all the potential applications. However, one solution which users can tap into now, to experience how AI can make their lives more convenient and easier, is Samsung Electronics’ HomeCare Wizard. The unique AI-based service solution, available on Samsung’s 2018 smart home appliances, essentially enables devices to diagnose themselves for not only system errors, but to enhance efficiency and to help users use their appliances better.

To provide an example of how HomeCare Wizard works, just imagine if a refrigerator starts to provide less cooling than usual. HomeCare Wizard will immediately detect and provide an alert that something is off, as well as diagnose the cause of the problem without requiring the visit of a technician. Through analysis of usage patterns, HomeCare Wizard will also help users better maintain and utilize their appliances, like reminding them when it’s time to clean the washing machine tub or providing tips to ensure the best energy efficiency.

Let’s take a closer look at HomeCare Wizard and the intelligent benefits it is set to provide.

What is it?

HomeCare Wizard made its debut with the recent launch of Samsung’s QuickDrive washing machines, and utilizes AI learning to offer users benefits that go above and beyond the scope of similar diagnostic services. Whereas similar services’ diagnoses are typically limited to cut-and-dry system errors, HomeCare Wizard’s advanced algorithm also alerts users of less obvious factors that may be affecting their device’s efficiency, in particular non-system related errors. For instance, if the air conditioner’s breeze isn’t quite cool enough due to something like a contaminated filter, which a user can easily clean on his or her own, HomeCare Wizard can quickly diagnose such issues.

Therein lies another of the solution’s key benefits. If HomeCare Wizard determines that a particular issue does not require a service professional to be dispatched to a user’s home, it will provide simple instructions to help users solve the problem by themselves. This reduces the need for users to schedule such visits, and helps them find the solutions they need faster.

Identifying and explaining an issue’s exact source can also be difficult at times and in such cases a user will need to call a Samsung service center to get to the bottom of the problem. As HomeCare Wizard sends the device’s diagnostic data directly to the service center, the service center will be fully aware of the nature of the problem before the call is even made.

Why is it So Compelling?

More often than not, when appliances don’t behave the way users are supposed to and it is difficult to figure out why, the result is hours spent scouring the web or contacting a service center for answers. In other instances, users are forced to wait for a technician to visit their home. The promise of HomeCare Wizard, through AI, is the potential to change this paradigm as smart devices and appliances essentially diagnose, and even give solutions, themselves.

HomeCare Wizard’s technology also has the added benefit of making it easy for users to monitor energy use and usage patterns, and utilize their devices more efficiently. Users have the option to receive regular usage reports through the mobile app, which in addition to offering 24-hour troubleshooting and diagnostics, will provide customized tips based on users’ usage patterns to help them get more out of a particular appliance. This means that, for example, a washing machine with HomeCare Wizard can determine which laundry cycles are used most frequently, notify users of how often they’re doing laundry, and present them with the option to save their top three most frequently used cycles as ‘favorites’.

How Does it Work?

To provide such deep-level analysis, HomeCare Wizard compares a device’s previous operation alongside its current status in order to diagnose recurring problems.  Through the constant study and improvement of algorithms by Samsung’s Digital Appliance development team, HomeCare Wizard has been developed to analyze and study changes in sensor data at the industry’s most comprehensive levels, while the appliances are running. The more often users use their devices, the more precisely HomeCare Wizard can suggest solutions.

Where Can I Experience it?

HomeCare Wizard will be available on a wide range of products in Samsung’s 2018 smart appliance lineup, including the company’s latest washing machines, Family Hub refrigerators, air conditioners, cooking appliances, and robot vacuum cleaners.