'I tried Samsung’s new AI washer and dryer. The results were surprising.’

When Samsung invited me to spend the day at their ‘smart apartment’ to try their new AI-driven laundry appliances I’m pretty sure I fired back ‘YES!’ in about 0.06 seconds. A whole apartment to myself with no kids, no dogs and intelligent appliances! When can I move in? 

I do not own a dryer, and my washing machine is about 90 years old. It floods my kitchen and makes a rude knocking sound every spin cycle that leaves me in fear it may be its last. I packed up my twins’ copious quantities of filthy daycare clothing with gusto, then marvelled at the bottom of my laundry basket – a sight I’d not seen in about four years. 

Laden with bags of tiny avocado smeared t-shirts and paint-splattered leggings, I strode into that smart apartment like I was checking into a five-star hotel. With my clunky antiquated appliances and reliance on the weather to dry all things, tackling the washing usually takes me a whole weekend. 

The thought of Samsung’s shiny new machines quite literally taking a load off me was thrilling. Yes, this is what my life has come to. 

My first thought was how sleek the laundry room looked. The Bespoke AI Washer and Dryer stack seamlessly on top of each other (the Bespoke Laundry Stacking Kit to thank for that, which is sold separately), and I LOVE them in black. So modern and stylish, making my vintage whitegoods look even more archaic. With 12kg capacity I could fit what would undoubtedly be two loads in my machine into one single wash. I’m already impressed and I haven’t even turned it on.

HOW SLEEK IS THIS. Image: Supplied.

I shut the door, picked up the Galaxy smartphone, and opened the Samsung SmartThings app (it's also compatible with iOS). From the list of devices connected to the Wi-Fi, I selected Bespoke Wash, Clothing Care, then AI Wash, and pressed start. That was it. 

There was no need to add washing detergent or fabric softener, since the machine holds enough of each for 32 washes (based on normal concentration). The auto dispense feature uses AI to monitor the soil level of the load, and continually adjusts the detergent dose for optimum results. 

At least twice a week I accidentally put fabric softener in the detergent drawer or vice versa, so having to only focus on getting it right once a month when the tanks needed refilling really spoke to me.

Something else I appreciated was not having to squint at a dial of cycle options and try and guesstimate which one was best. Fiddling about with pre-wash, spin and cycle length buttons is pretty annoying, and I was more than happy to delegate that task to AI.

Not only does the AI Wash Cycle figure out the best wash setting for your clothes, it detects the weight and softness (!!!) of the fabric in each load to choose the most efficient way to clean them. 

With the load already in the machine, the app notified me that it had determined the wash would take 1 hour and 16 minutes, which was plenty of time for me to skip out and grab some oysters and a cheeky cocktail. AI was already doing my chores, may as well continue to live like a Queen, right?

Setting the Washer. Image: Supplied.

Something that I think is truly revolutionary is the Bespoke AI Washer’s Less Microfibre Cycle technology. Developed with support from Ocean Wise and Patagonia, it works to help reduce the amount of microplastic pollution that enters our waterways by pairing a lower agitation rate with high-functioning cold-water cycles. 

With a 5-star energy rating too, I can say I've ever done the washing with this level of sustainability in mind. Ever.

The trademarked BubbleWash turns detergent into bubbles that quickly and readily penetrate the laundry at even cool temperatures, meaning AI is the one monitoring and controlling the machine's energy expenditure. You can even watch the energy consumption of your appliances via the Samsung SmartThings app, which is so handy given the cost-of-living pinch.

While I was at lunch, a notification that my laundry was done popped up on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. I’ve always wondered what an actually helpful use for AI might be, because as a writer who’s often encouraged to use it to help with copywriting, that’s not it.

Having it in my back pocket basically as my home’s personal assistant suited me just fine, though!

When I returned from lunch all I needed to do next was pop everything into the Bespoke AI Dryer, select AI Dry in the app and press start. The beauty of this lies in the washer and dryer’s Auto Link function, where they essentially talk to each other and recommend the best end-to-end solution for the type of clothing you’re laundering.

If you wash towels, the washing machine tells the dryer to dry towels when it's paired with the compatible Bespoke Dryer, and so the cycle is automatically set to make them extra fluffy.

Setting the Dryer. Image: Supplied.

The dryer is extremely energy efficient (a solid 9-star energy rating), using Digital Inverter Compressor Technology to dry loads quickly with the heat that's already in there, instead of electricity.

My favourite thing about this dryer is its ability to eliminate 99.9 per cent of common bacteria. This is due to the Hygiene Care+ cycle, which infuses both dry and wet items with a high-temperature steam to sanitise them. For the kids' bedsheets and soft toys (and accident undies), this is life-changing.

Huge shoutout to the Wrinkle Prevent technology too, which prevents clothes from resting, and subsequently, creasing. Once the drying cycle ends, the dryer will continue intermittently turning the drum without heat for up to 3 hours, ensuring your items don’t settle and come out looking all crushed.

There’s also the Silent Dry feature which uses sound absorbing materials and a smart algorithm to optimise the spin speeds to reduce noise. This is perfect for laundry spaces close to bedrooms, or just for people like me that want to go and lay on the balcony in rare, blissful silence.

Now, I’m going to have to watch the word count here because I could RAVE about this one, but the unsung hero is absolutely the Bespoke Mirror AirDresser. I went from not having a single clue what it was, to deep feelings of needing to have it.

Inside the Bespoke Mirror AirDresser. Image: Supplied.

On the outside it looks like a compact, mirrored closet, but on the inside, it's an extremely intelligent steam cleaning and sanitising cabinet (Samsung's biggest capacity yet) that fits five suits, and also has a space for long dresses and coats. 

Designed for things that aren’t suitable to wash often (think tailoring, uniforms, wools, silks, things with beading, delicates, denim you don’t want to fade, or favourite leather jackets), the AirDresser can remove certain viruses, bacteria and odours from cotton, deodorising and refreshing them in as little as twenty minutes.  

The AirDresser can remove certain bacteria from cotton, deodorising and refreshing them in as little as twenty minutes. Image: Supplied.

It’s perfect for clothes you need to wear all the time but don’t need a wash like suits, coats and uniforms – there’s also a removable rack for killing bacteria and dust mites in things like pillows and beloved baby toys.

Even though I spent my afternoon in the apartment doing my laundry, I felt like I’d had a holiday, and I credit the calm experience created by Samsung entirely. 

The simplicity of app-controlled appliances, and the use of AI to reduce the amount of decisions I had to make completely streamlined my day. It felt luxurious and convenient, two things I never thought I’d say about housework. 

I’m a big advocate for working smarter, not harder, and Samsung delivers.

Explore Samsung's Bespoke AI Laundry range online, or in-store at Harvey Norman and The Good Guys.

Each device must be connected to Wi-Fi or other wireless network. For interoperability through SmartThings, all the devices should be registered with a single Samsung Account. 

Bespoke AI Washer to hold up to 32 washes based on normal concentration. Number of cycles will increase to 16~20 times when softener of 2X / 3X is used. Auto Dispense holds detergent for up to 1 month's washing based on the average of 4 loads per week. May vary depending on the washing load and settings.

Bespoke AI Dryer eliminates 99.9 per cent of common bacteria, based on independent testing carried out by Intertek, by testing samples of applicable models to Samsung defined test protocol. Individual results may vary.

AirDresser can remove bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, MRSA, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophilia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, klebsiella pneumoniae, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, and Enterococcus faecalis. 

Feature Image: Supplied.