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Samsung’s 2021 QuickDrive washers save power, water, time, and may even bring about world peace

By Zachary Chan - on 21 Mar 2021, 10:55am

Samsung 2021 QuickDrive

Samsung’s first QuickDrive washers were launched in 2018, featuring something called the Q-Drum, an independently rotating drum body and backplate. This design creates different spinning forces that are able to wash clothes up to 50% faster using 20% less energy; It came with a 39-minute Super Speed wash cycle.

With the newly launched 2021 QuickDrive washers, Samsung didn’t really improve on Q-Drum and it still features the same 39-minute Super Speed wash cycle. So, what’s new?

Well, there’s now something called Q-Bubble, which is a nozzle built inside the washing machine that sprays additional jets of water. A simple device, but according to Samsung, this helps create and maintain “more powerful and abundant detergent bubbles” during the wash cycle. This feature of course works in conjunction with Samsung’s proprietary EcoBubble technology—a dedicated bubble generator that mixes water, detergent and air to create smaller, fluffier soap bubbles— that’s able to better penetrate fabric for a deeper, gentler clean even at low temperatures.

The 2021 QuickDrive washers also have AI upgrades with a host of new sensors designed to take the guesswork out of washing clothes and provide a higher level of personalisation.

AI Wash has multiple sensors to detect your laundry load by weight and apply the optimal amount of water to be used for the wash. It also has soil level sensors to determine how dirty your clothes really are. According to Samsung, these are lights within the drum that measures the murkiness of the water during the wash cycle. AI Wash can then optimise the amount of detergent used. So if your clothes are soiled badly, the dirt sensor would feedback to the AI Wash system that it needs to extend the wash cycle and add more detergent until the turbidity of water is acceptable. Conversely, the opposite also holds true where it can shorten your wash time and use less detergent if the water is clearer a lot sooner than anticipated.

In conjunction with the above mentioned, Samsung’s also introducing an auto liquid detergent/fabric softener dispenser, one more step of automation you no longer have to worry about. Based on average consumption, Samsung estimates the auto dispenser can hold enough detergent to last for about a month before refilling. The entire thing can be removed and washed though, so no worries about built-up detergent grime or mould.

All these new smart features mean being more energy and water-efficient, and the entire range of 2021 QuickDrive washers carry a 4-tick rating for PUB's water efficiency labelling scheme.

There’s also a new AI Control panel that’s able to learn your laundry patterns and individual preferences over time. It is then able to reorder the default menu to show your most used wash cycles and even your preferred custom settings (like spin speed, rinse cycles, temperature, etc.) in just after 25 washes (or so Samsung says). In Singapore, there’s apparently bilingual English/Chinese language support too. And it’s more highly integrated with Samsung’s SmartThings app, where you can setup the washer over Wi-Fi on your phone and invoke commands and get a routine going, even if you're not with the washer all the time. For example, you could pack the clothes into the washer before you leave for work in the morning, but set it to start washing based on your expected arrival time home; the washer will then estimate when to start the wash cycle based on your laundry load/type and your preferred arrival time. This way, your laundry would be cleaned and ready before you arrive home and just in time to put it out to dry. Clever, yes?

Other features that also made it into the 2021 QuickDrive washer series include Hygiene Steam clean (now standard on all models), an all-digital display panel, Drum Clean+ to keep your washer's innards like the drum and door gasket area free of grime build-up, the AddWash secondary door and Samsung’s Digital Inverter Technology for the motor, which comes with an oddly specific 11-year warranty.

During a press launch event, we were told to "paint" on pieces of cloth using common foods and condiments such as soy sauce, red wine, mustard, ketchup and chocolate milk.

Which were then thrown into a QuickDrive washer using its 39-minute Super Speed cycle while we sat through the usual PowerPoint presentation.

Every single piece of cloth came back out white. Whoa!

At this point, the only thing the 2021 QuickDrive washers don’t seem to be able to do is load your laundry for you. There are about a dozen different models and load configurations to the 2021 QuickDrive washer series, with Washer/Dryer combos as well as a super large capacity model (21kg). Prices start from S$1,049 with full retail availability from April 2021 at the Samsung Online Store as well as most consumer electronics chain stores in Singapore. Some models are already available now, so do check out the lineup.

Now you might be wondering if you would have to spend a fortune for a model that has all of the features discussed. Surprisingly, the lowest entry point to have it all is the 8.5kg QuickDrive with Q-Drum washer (WW85T954DSH/SP) that will cost just S$1,249. So there you have it, great features without the usual big price tags.

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