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LG launches new smart appliances featuring HomeChat

LG launches new smart appliances featuring HomeChat
LG's HomeChat service allows users to send messages to control and monitor their appliances
LG's HomeChat service allows users to send messages to control and monitor their appliances
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LG's HomeChat service allows users to send messages to control and monitor their appliances
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LG's HomeChat service allows users to send messages to control and monitor their appliances
HomeChat can be used on mobile devices and sends messages via the Line messenger
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HomeChat can be used on mobile devices and sends messages via the Line messenger
The new premium appliances with which HomeChat can be used are the LG Smart Refrigerator, Smart Washing Machine and SmartLightwaveOven
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The new premium appliances with which HomeChat can be used are the LG Smart Refrigerator, Smart Washing Machine and SmartLightwaveOven
LG Smart Refrigerator has a wide-angle camera that can show users the contents from when it was last opened
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LG Smart Refrigerator has a wide-angle camera that can show users the contents from when it was last opened
The LG Smart Refrigerator can also track expiry dates and provide tailored recipe suggestions
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The LG Smart Refrigerator can also track expiry dates and provide tailored recipe suggestions
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LG has announced that three premium appliances featuring its HomeChat service are being readied for launch in South Korea. With HomeChat, the contents of the new smart fridge can be viewed remotely, washing machine cycles be started from afar and an oven set to pre-heat.

Similar to Samsung's recently launched Smart Home service, HomeChat lets users control and monitor appliances remotely. HomeChat works with LG's most recent smart appliances and sends messages via the Line messenger service.

Users can send simple messages, such as "start washing cycle," in order to control their washing machine. The aim, explains Seong-jin Jo, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Appliance Company, is to simplify the process for setting up and using smart appliances.

"Today’s intelligent home appliances offer a variety of useful functions, but many consumers still find setting them up an extremely complicated process," he says. "Not only does LG HomeChat help simplify and enhance our products, they also deliver a unique user experience, adding even more value to our customers’ lives."

The new premium appliances with which HomeChat can be used are the LG Smart Refrigerator, Smart Washing Machine and SmartLightwaveOven
The new premium appliances with which HomeChat can be used are the LG Smart Refrigerator, Smart Washing Machine and SmartLightwaveOven

The new premium appliances with which HomeChat can be used are the LG Smart Refrigerator, Smart Washing Machine and SmartLightwaveOven. The Smart Refrigerator has an internal wide-angle camera that takes a photo each time the door is opened. Users can pull up an image from when the refrigerator was last opened using HomeChat on a mobile device to see what food they have at home. The Smart Refrigerator also allows users to keep track of expiration dates and can recommend recipes based on a user's health requirements.

The Smart Washing Machine allows users to send text messages via HomeChat to control it or to monitor its progress. Users can text "what are you doing?" to find out where the washing machine is up to on its cycle. Appropriate wash programs can also be selected.

HomeChat can be used on mobile devices and sends messages via the Line messenger
HomeChat can be used on mobile devices and sends messages via the Line messenger

Finally, with the SmartLightwaveOven, users can say what meal they want to cook and the oven will pre-heat to the appropriate temperature. Recipes can also be suggested based on user preferences.

Following a successful launch in South Korea, the new premium smart appliances featuring HomeChat are expected to roll out elsewhere, including with the US.

Source: LG

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3 comments
3 comments
Kris Lee
I am wondering that what would happen in very short time frame after 5 years when there is already +10th generation of smart phones but the appliances still have (at least should have) at least 10 years of lifetime.
Also what about appliances from other manufacturers? Nobody with some sanity would not expect that consumers would buy all the appliances from the same manufacturer.
I think that Siemens initiative is on the right track.
The Skud
I can already hear world-wide 'hackers' rejoicing ... Stories abound aready of house devices being hacked, including - of all things - baby monitors! The backlash from buyers who find their oven empty but roasting merrily away or washing machines using power and water all day will be tremendous. Hopefully this will become a short-lived "trendy" idea.
StWils
In the Good Old Days you had to actually go over to the neighbor's livingroom window to quietly hold up a tv remote to screw with them. Now pretty much any middle-schooler, mean girlz, neibuhood punk, etc., can toy with people they do not even know. This a largely worthless innovation.