Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
LG ThinQ is key for consolidating LG's home appliance leadership: LG Electronics
Lyu Jae-cheol, center, head of the H&A Division of LG Electronics, speaks during a press conference held on the sideline of IFA tech fair in Berlin, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
BERLIN ― LG Electronics' ThinQ smart home platform will play a key role in solidifying the company's home appliance leadership, as ThinQ-included artificial intelligence (AI) devices will continue to be upgraded to make customers' lives smarter and more convenient, according to the head of its home appliance business, Thursday.
“LG ThinQ is a smart home platform that makes customers' daily lives smarter and convenient as they use it,” Lyu Jae-cheol, head of the Home Appliance and Air Solution (H&A) Division of LG Electronics, told reporters on the sidelines of the IFA tech fair in Berlin.
“We will keep evolving the platform to be the best solution to upgrade the overall customer experience beyond product use experience,” Lyu said.
The LG ThinQ platform serves a key role in what the company calls its UP home appliance upgrade system, which constantly updates the features of its gadgets in terms of both hardware and software. LG began releasing UP home appliances earlier this year.
“So far, we have launched 18 UP home appliances and are providing about 100 features as upgrades. The UP home appliances have not only dramatically increased the number of LG ThinQ users, but also provided differentiated customer value so that around 50 percent of the users use the upgradable features,” the home appliance head said.
“There are more than 5,000 ideas that our customers have proposed for our upgradable home appliances. Through LG ThinQ, we will continue to upgrade functions and services that customers really need,” he added.
Lyu Jae-cheol, head of H&A Division of LG Electronics poses with the company's Dios Objet Collection MoodUP refrigerator during IFA fair in Berlin, Thursday. Courtesy of LG Electronics
Lyu also unveiled the company's premium refrigerator, the LG Dios Objet Collection MoodUP, which enables users to change the exterior color of the appliance by simply using the LG ThinQ app.
He said that the new product can solve the frustrating experience of getting tired of the color of the refrigerator. “The LG Dios Objet Collection MoodUP was created after thinking thoroughly about it from a customer's point of view,” Lyu said.
LG said customers can adjust the colors of the refrigerator's doors. When it comes to the LG Dios Objet Collection MoodUP, which has four doors, it can create more than 170,000 color combinations. The product also features a Bluetooth speaker function enabling users to play songs they want to listen to by connecting the gadget to a streaming platform or listening to the 69 songs it already has on it.
Elaborating on the company's strategy in Europe, one of its major markets, Lyu said the company has seen the growth of its devices such as the premium built-in kitchen appliances and the Signature Kitchen Suite. For the European market, LG also unveiled a new two-door refrigerator with higher energy efficiency at IFA.
“We are seeing business growth thanks to not only the Signature Kitchen Suite but also the increased lineup of energy-efficient and space-utilized products suitable for the European market. Demand for new types of appliances such as the Styler steam closet and dishwashers continues to increase. Also, compact appliances such as cordless vacuum cleaners are becoming one of our growth axes in the region,” he said.