South Korea's two technology titans, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, are locked in an unprecedented battle for AI-powered smart home supremacy, unveiled at the world's largest technology exhibitions in 2025. At both CES 2025 in Las Vegas and IFA 2025 in Berlin, these conglomerates have positioned artificial intelligence as their primary weapon against Chinese competitors' low-cost strategies, showcasing visions of fully automated homes that learn and adapt to user behavior.
For American readers unfamiliar with the scale of Korean technology influence, it's worth noting that Samsung and LG collectively ship over 1.7 billion connected devices globally each year – roughly equivalent to providing two smart devices for every American household. This massive installed base gives them a unique advantage in the emerging AI home ecosystem that neither American tech giants nor Chinese manufacturers can easily replicate.
Samsung's Bold AI Home Vision
Samsung Electronics' Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee made a striking declaration at CES 2025, stating that the company aims to move "beyond simply increasing the number of AI-enabled products to implementing 'Home AI' that automatically and seamlessly adjusts everything through organic connections between products." This ambitious vision comes with an equally bold target: deploying 1 billion Samsung AI devices in homes worldwide within the next three years.
To put this in American context, Samsung's AI Home system operates without requiring separate user configurations – imagine if your iPhone's "Do Not Disturb" mode could automatically turn off your TV, dim your lights, and switch your air conditioning to silent mode across different brands and device types. Kim Chul-ki, Executive Vice President of Samsung's Device Experience division, expressed confidence that "Samsung AI Home experience will become part of customers' daily lives at unprecedented speed."
The Korean approach differs fundamentally from American tech companies' strategies. While Google focuses on voice assistants and Apple emphasizes ecosystem integration, Samsung is betting on predictive automation that requires minimal user input – a philosophy deeply rooted in Korean corporate culture's emphasis on anticipating customer needs before they're expressed.
LG's Counter-Strategy with ThinQ ON
LG Electronics is responding with its own AI hub called 'ThinQ ON', scheduled for launch within 2025. This generative AI-powered device can understand conversational context with users and make independent decisions – essentially functioning as a home's central nervous system. LG's strategy leverages data from approximately 700 million home appliances distributed worldwide, creating what the company calls "optimized customer experiences based on global usage patterns."
For American consumers accustomed to smart speakers like Alexa or Google Assistant, ThinQ ON represents a significant evolution. Rather than responding to commands, it proactively manages lighting, air conditioning, air purifiers, and other connected devices based on learned behavioral patterns. This shift from reactive to proactive AI assistance reflects Korean technology companies' focus on seamless integration over explicit user control.
Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Innovation
The semiconductor technology underlying these AI home systems showcases another area where Korean companies maintain global leadership. Samsung Electro-Mechanics unveiled 'Glass Core Package Substrate' technology at KPCA 2025, reducing thickness by 40% compared to existing substrates while addressing warping issues common in large-area applications.
Meanwhile, LG Innotek demonstrated 'Copper Post' technology for mobile substrates, placing tiny copper pillars on substrates to connect with mainboards. This innovation can reduce substrate size by up to 20% while increasing circuit density – critical improvements for AI computation performance and power efficiency in home devices.
SK Hynix, Korea's memory semiconductor specialist, announced development of next-generation low-power NAND flash called 'LPW NAND'. By increasing input/output channels while lowering individual channel speeds, this technology reduces power consumption specifically for on-device AI applications – addressing a key concern for battery-powered smart home devices.
Security-First Approach to Connected Homes
Addressing growing concerns about personal information leaks and hacking risks in connected homes, Samsung Electronics has prioritized security as its top concern. Vice Chairman Han emphasized that "security is the top priority in implementing Home AI," noting that SmartThings-connected products are protected by industry-leading multi-layered security systems 'Knox Matrix' and 'Knox Vault'.
This security-first approach reflects lessons learned from American cybersecurity incidents and European privacy regulations. Korean companies are applying defense-in-depth strategies that would be familiar to American enterprise IT managers, but implemented at consumer device scale.
Targeting Europe's Premium Market
Both companies are aggressively targeting Europe's 150 trillion won ($113 billion) premium market through these AI innovations. At IFA 2025, Samsung presented 'AI Home - Future Living, Now' theme while LG highlighted ThinQ ON's capabilities in integrating control of lighting, air conditioning, and air purification systems across multiple device brands.
This European focus represents a strategic shift away from competing solely on price with Chinese manufacturers. Instead, Korean companies are betting on premium AI features that justify higher prices – similar to Apple's strategy in smartphones but applied to the entire smart home ecosystem.
Market Implications for Global Competition
Industry experts predict that Samsung and LG's AI home competition will fundamentally reshape global smart home market paradigms beyond simple product differentiation. The success of Korea's technology-based premium strategy against Chinese low-cost approaches will have significant implications for American tech companies considering their own smart home strategies.
For American consumers, this Korean AI home revolution could arrive sooner than expected. Both companies aim to complete their AI home ecosystem construction within three years and establish global market leadership. The resulting competition promises to accelerate innovation while potentially reducing costs for advanced AI-powered home automation systems.
As Korean technology giants continue their AI arms race, American consumers may soon benefit from the intense competition driving rapid advancement in home automation technology – making the science fiction vision of truly intelligent homes a mainstream reality.
Original article source: https://trendy.storydot.kr/tech-samsung-lg-ai-home-sep09/
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