LG is no stranger when it comes to consumer electronics, and this time around at Google I/O 2017, the South Korean company has announced a new range of smart appliances which will play nice with the Google Assistant on Google Home. This step forward will see LG usher in cutting-edge connectivity as well as convenience for the smart home of today. With Google Home compatibility arriving in May in the US, first appearing on LG's premium collection of connected smart devices, you can be sure that your home will never be the same again. In fact, the premium range of LG appliances will comprise of the LG SIGNATURE brand washing machine and dryer, refrigerator, oven range, air purifier and an LG air conditioner in addition to a robotic vacuum. Worldwide availability dates remain to be determined, so different markets in parts of the world will eventually see the same functionality arrive at their homes, perhaps from the second half of 2017 onward.
What happens when there is incorporation of Google Home in LG’s collection of devices and appliances? For starters, users will be able to gain access to the entire range and capability of the Google Assistant's features on the connected LG appliances. Playing nice with Google Home would offer some rather obvious benefits while increasing usability when it comes to connected devices. For instance, if you would like to know just how much time is left during the wash cycle on the LG SIGNATURE washing machine, speak to it. How about informing the LG SIGNATURE InstaView refrigerator that you would like to have more ice? If the room is too hot or cold for your liking, don’t worry about the remote control. Speak to the LG air conditioner, and as long as it is within range of Google Home, the necessary adjustments can be made and information obtained.
LG’s announcement at Google I/O would not gain much credibility if it were not accompanied by a live demonstration as well. This would definitely showcase the ease of use in connecting and taking advantage of the LG SIGNATURE air purifier within the confines of Google Home. Using nothing more than a simple voice command, users are able to perform adjustments to settings on the air purifier itself, while the Google Assistant on Google Home is capable of offering up-to-the-minute air quality readings in addition to verbal feedback where operational status is concerned.
Song Dae-hyun, president of LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company, shared, "Our partnership with Google demonstrates just how easy it is to smart-enable one's home with friendly, approachable products. You don't have to earn a degree in rocket science to design your very own smart home. We look forward to expanding our working relationship with Google and other innovators in this dynamic market in the years to come to make the smart home a reality for all."
Other than the LG SIGNATURE home appliances, what will follow suit from LG? We can expect this cutting edge technology to filter down to other LG products in the near future, when Google Home and Google Assistant becomes more commonplace, and the smart home ends up as the norm. Just in case you were wondering, Google Home happens to be an AI-based speaker, which is powered by Google Assistant. It is Google's equivalent of the Amazon Echo and its Alexa AI, what with the recently released Amazon Echo Show upping the ante in the smart home department by including a touchscreen display that will enhance its usability among users.
As Google intends to include the Korean language to the Assistant before 2017 comes to a close, consumers in South Korea would most likely be able to get hold of the Google AI-powered Signature series by then. LG themselves own a deep learning algorithm for home appliances that is known as “Deep ThinQ.”
