[Mania] "No Disinfectant X, No Security Issue X"... Trying Samsung Bespoke AI Steam, Completely Different from China

Samsung Electronics Robot Vacuum Cleaner Experience Review

Many people purchase robot vacuum cleaners to reduce the burden of cleaning in their busy daily lives, but recently, anxiety among consumers has been growing rapidly. This is due to revelations that some robot vacuum products from Chinese manufacturers were hacked to spew profanity, or contained cleaning agents with ingredients that were controversial during the humidifier disinfectant incident in the past.

As consumer trust in Chinese-made products, which had dominated the domestic robot vacuum cleaner market, began to erode, local companies quickly increased their market share by emphasizing their differentiating factors. Among them, Samsung Electronics' 'Bespoke AI Steam' has caused a significant market shift with its differentiated hygiene functions and secure security system. Released in April, this product surpassed 10,000 units in cumulative sales within 25 days of launch and raised its market share to the 30% range within four months, receiving positive feedback from consumers. To uncover the secret behind this success, I rented and used the product for a month.

Samsung Electronics 'Bespoke AI Steam'. Photo by Han Yeju

The most satisfying aspect was undoubtedly that it sterilizes using only steam mop without using any cleaning agents. Unlike other products that require special cleaning solutions, it cleans using only water and steam, making it safe to use in homes with young children or pets, which is its greatest advantage.

In particular, the 100-degree steam spray sterilizes 99.99% of the mop surface, and after cleaning, it performs a first wash with steam and water, followed by hot air drying at 55 degrees, allowing use without any musty mop odor. According to an experiment by Samsung Electronics, it can eliminate three types of bacteria?E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa?with a mop sterilization effect of 99.99% and a deodorization effect of 95%.

Samsung Electronics' 'Bespoke AI Steam' sterilizes the mop surface by 99.99% with 100-degree steam spray, and after cleaning, it performs a first wash with steam and water, then dries with hot air at 55 degrees, allowing use without any damp mop odor. Photo by Han Yeju

In August, a software update introduced the 'Steam Concentration Mode,' further enhancing sterilization and deodorization performance. The steam spray time for the mop was extended from 160 seconds to 240 seconds, an increase of 80 seconds. This feature meets the needs of consumers concerned about mop hygiene and odors even in humid weather.

The Steam Clean Station also underwent verification for its effect in suppressing bacterial growth on the dust surface collected in the dust bag through UV LED sterilization, making users feel no concern about hygiene while using the product. Since it automatically empties the dustbin, the only tasks for consumers are to empty the dirty wastewater tank and occasionally refill clean water into the water tank.

Samsung Electronics' 'Bespoke AI Steam' is secured against hacking through its proprietary security solution, 'Samsung Knox.' Samsung Electronics

In terms of security, it was clearly superior to Chinese robot vacuum cleaners. There are concerns that if the camera installed on a robot vacuum is hacked, videos can be illegally collected and distributed, and if the remote control function is hacked, the robot vacuum can be manipulated to move arbitrarily.

However, Samsung Electronics made it safe to use even against hacking through its security solution 'Samsung Knox.' It protects the robot vacuum from attempts to alter data caused by malware and unauthorized access attempts to the device. Streaming videos are not stored in the cloud, and recorded videos are kept in the cloud for only 24 hours before being immediately deleted, so there is no need to worry about data leakage. This completely eliminates fears of chasing pets or the possibility of profanity and racist remarks. It is also encouraging that it was the first in the industry to receive the highest IoT security rating, 'Diamond,' from the global certification company UL Solutions.

Stable after-sales service (AS) is another difference from Chinese companies. Samsung Electronics offers a one-year warranty for new robot vacuum models and provides a lifetime warranty on the digital inverter motor and the dust suction motor of the Clean Station. The AS centers, responsible for home appliances, operate nationwide at 113 locations and have specialized robot vacuum engineers. They also provide on-site visit services, which are important because after-sales care must be tailored to the home structure, such as thresholds, due to the nature of robot vacuums. Since robot vacuums are among the most frequently malfunctioning home appliances regardless of the manufacturer, Samsung's AS is expected to be a definite advantage over competitors.

Samsung Electronics offers a 1-year warranty for after-sales service on its new robot vacuum cleaner model, and provides a lifetime warranty on the digital inverter motor and the Clean Station dust suction motor. Samsung Electronics

Of course, there are some drawbacks. First, the height of the main body is somewhat tall, making it a bit difficult for the robot vacuum to enter under furniture such as sofas or beds to suck up dust and hair and clean. Cleaning narrow gaps between furniture or objects is also challenging, requiring the use of a stick vacuum or manual cleaning, which ultimately reveals the limitations of robot vacuums.

The mop cleaning time was also longer than expected. After mop cleaning, the high-temperature steam cleaning and drying took over two hours. Considering that it sterilizes thoroughly and reduces hygiene concerns, this is understandable, but the device noise was quite loud during this time, interfering with watching TV or having conversations in the living room. Therefore, either a function to sterilize and dry the mop faster or a way to reduce device operating noise should be developed?improving at least one of these functions seems necessary.

Samsung Electronics 'Bespoke AI Steam' product image. Samsung Electronics

It would also be nice to have a feature that allows users to specify the cleaning order of rooms or clean desired areas immediately. Even when running the robot vacuum to clean a contaminated area, it took a long time before that area was cleaned, which felt incompatible with the 'quick and efficient' Korean mindset. Currently, there is only a function to select the room to be cleaned, but if features are improved to prioritize cleaning among multiple rooms or clean contaminated areas first, it would be much more convenient.