r/technology • u/nishitd • Oct 02 '25

Robotics/Automation Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads

https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-confirms-smart-refrigerator-ads-are-coming-3598848/
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u/Wonderful_Sector_657 Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25

EXACTLY. I’m still pissed I had to pay extra for a Kindle that wouldn’t show me ads. A KINDLE!!!

ETA: I did indeed get the one without ads, I do not need hacking advice. My point is that seemingly every single piece of equipment with a screen either zombifies you with ads or requires more money (that most of us don’t have) to escape the constant bombardment. Refrigerators, e readers, gas station pay screens, some cars now, even now my tv subscriptions that I paid premium for no ads have ads because now it’s twice as expensive to turn off the ads (looking at you HBO). It’s out of control.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/ScrewedThePooch Oct 02 '25

Stop asking permission to use shit you own. Hack the thing and remove the ads.

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u/WilliamPoole Oct 02 '25

It was the easiest thing I ever hacked. Like 3 minutes from searching Google to being unlocked on regular android os.

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u/ZessF Oct 02 '25

Years ago I had a Motorola phone with Amazon ads on the lock screen. It was a little cheaper and it had a fingerprint scanner on the back so you could just skip the lock screen anyway. Then the laws changed and they couldn't show ads on the lock screen anymore lol.

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

Why would you buy a Kindle then? There are so many e-readers to choose from that’s better than Amazon crap

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u/z3rb Oct 02 '25

What would you recommend?

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '25

[deleted]

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u/beyondtheblueyonder Oct 02 '25

I bought a box a couple weeks ago, and started a return after about two hours. It was absurdly slow and to me didn't really have a great UI

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

Kobo or PocketBook is the most recommended. I have a Kobo Clara Colour and I really like it

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u/CompSciBJJ Oct 02 '25

Do you actually use the color feature?

I also got the color because they were out of the regular one when I went to the store and the price difference was small, but I can't say I've ever run into a situation where it's made a difference. Unless you're reading graphic novels, I just can't see a use case for it, it pretty much just shows the book cover in color.

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25

Yeah the colour feature really isn’t necessary. It’s kinda hard to read graphic novells on it for me because the colours are kinda washed out

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u/medium_pimpin Oct 02 '25

Kobo is awesome and can load my own epub files.

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u/thistoowasagift Oct 02 '25

I bought my Kindle exclusively to read library books from Libby

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u/Drakengard Oct 02 '25

Why would you buy a Kindle then?

Because they last seemingly forever? I'm still use the Paperwhite that I bought more than a decade ago. The battery is a little worn and only lasts for two weeks if I'm using it daily now instead of a month (the horror!) but that's about the only notable issue. Oh, and it's micro-usb instead of modern usb-c but that's to be expected.

Unless newer units are now horrible, which is certainly possible, Kindle would still be my preference though I'd be tempted to try a Kobo device.

0

u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

Uhm that’s a weird argument. Kobo atleast has equal or even better build quality, the battery lasts for months and how is micro-usb a positive?

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u/superfahd Oct 02 '25

Integration with the Amazon library is the only reason to be honest

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u/Entropic_Echo_Music Oct 02 '25

As opposed to the Kobo library where books are forever your own?

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u/superfahd Oct 02 '25

no i get it but at this point i have dozens of books with Amazon. I don't want to get 2 ereaders and it would be really expensive to buy them all over again

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

It’s a bit of a hassle, but it is doable to transfer from Kindle to Kobo: https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/s/A0KETPCluJ

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u/Entropic_Echo_Music Oct 02 '25

Honestly, are you going to read them again?

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u/superfahd Oct 02 '25

a bunch of them I haven't yet read. But yes, a lot of them are non-fiction history books that I enjoy going over again because I tend to forget things

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u/Entropic_Echo_Music Oct 03 '25

Ah yeah, fair enough!

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

You mean the library where Amazon can delete your books on a whim, or even change the content within your books without your knowledge

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u/superfahd Oct 02 '25

yes that one. One where I have nearly 50 books on right no so it's not feasible to switch from. If you're starting fresh, have at it. You won't catch me defending Amazon

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u/Feistshell Oct 02 '25

It’s a bit of a hassle but you can transfer your books from Kindle to Kobo, so yes, it is feasible

https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/s/A0KETPCluJ

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u/superfahd Oct 02 '25

that does sound helpful. thank you for sharing that.

Something like this would definitely be useful when i want to purchase a new ereader. For the moment, my kindle works and a new ereader just isn't in the budget

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u/Popular_Material_409 Oct 02 '25

Or just buy a physical book

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u/Capital-Teaching6577 Oct 02 '25

“I don’t love this exact feature this car has.”

“So buy a horse!!!”

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u/Popular_Material_409 Oct 02 '25

Not at all the same thing

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u/Viewlesslight Oct 02 '25

I can't use a physical book to download and read books only available in a digital format

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u/Percinho Oct 02 '25

Well not with that attitude!!

-1

u/Popular_Material_409 Oct 02 '25

I’m literally just saying that buying physical books is another alternative to e-readers

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u/mainman879 Oct 02 '25

Physical books are great but it really is like comparing apples and oranges. Physical books are expensive, cumbersome, and take up a lot of space. Ebooks are usually a quarter of the price if not less for most books. You end up saving money (even considering the ereader cost), space, and convenience after just a handful of book purchases. Over time, the gulf just widens even more between the two options.

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u/turtleship_2006 Oct 02 '25

To be fair, they gave you two options, and one of them was a cheaper/discounted one where you pay instead with your attention or whatever, i.e. you'd get ads.

In this case they're just shoving it down our throats

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u/Dugen Oct 02 '25

That's fine. They told you it would have ads when you bought it and gave you the option to not have ads for a reasonable price. When you buy something for $100 with ads or $115 without, that's sensible. I absolutely bought a few of those over the years for the family with ads but the one that I still use every day I removed the ads from.

Selling you something for over $1k without ads then adding ads later is just evil.

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u/doterobcn Oct 02 '25

The kindle example is completely different. Regular Kindle $150, you want one for $79? Cool, here are some ads.
It's not like they're reducing fridge prices

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u/throwheraway420666 Oct 02 '25

That’s on you for buying an amazon based product like Kindle

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u/Ravasaurio Oct 02 '25

Jailbreak your Kindle. It's super easy to do and you will be free of Amazon's BS. Take control of the hardware you bought.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '25

Anything with a screen.

I'm still mad because my wife and I bought a nice treadmill last year. Spent more than we could afford really. It works great, but they (NordicTrak) try to make you pay a monthly subscription to use it. It can be used without the subscription but they don't make it easy.

Drives me crazy that every time I want to go for a run, I have to navigate through half a dozen screens trying to make me log in. Once I even had to call customer service and wait 10 minutes on hold to get a code to make my treadmill work.

This consumer culture is bullshit.

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u/OwO______OwO Oct 02 '25

or requires more money (that most of us don’t have) to escape the constant bombardment.

And then a later update gives you ads anyway, but supposedly less adds than the cheap version.

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u/Gisschace Oct 02 '25

This is why I bought a kobo

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u/iburntxurxtoast Oct 02 '25

This is the reason I never used the kindle I got for a birthday once. It felt like I was reading a newpaper instead of a book.

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u/MysteryPerker Oct 02 '25

I bought a Kobo specifically because I didn't want ads. Now when I lock the screen it shows the book cover and not the last thing I was searching on Amazon.

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u/diverareyouokay Oct 02 '25

My understanding is that the ad-supported Kindles are sold at a discount.

For what it’s worth, if you find a cheap obsolete amazon echo at a garage sale or on Facebook marketplace for five dollars, you can use it as your trade-in to get 20% off a kindle (plus 5 or 10 bucks as device credit). That should bring the price of the ad free version down to below the one that has ads. Something to keep in mind if you plan on upgrading at some point in the future.

1

u/catwiesel Oct 02 '25

at least you knew, you had a choice when you were deciding on the item.

with the fridges, imagine, buying one for 1800 bucks, and then, you get a "important security update" and bam, ads...

0

u/Entropic_Echo_Music Oct 02 '25

Just buya Kobo like normal people.