“As artificial intelligence (AI) is being actively introduced into the increasingly competitive home appliance industry, a battle of imagination is unfolding. Who can faster conceive and implement the AI features necessary for consumers' lives will be the key to victory.” (Brian Komiskey, senior director and futurist at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA))
The world’s largest IT exhibition, “CES 2025,” kicked off on the 7th in Las Vegas, U.S. CES is a showcase where innovative corporations from around the world gather to present cutting-edge technologies. This year’s theme, ‘DIVE IN,’ reflects a determination to solve global issues through more advanced AI technologies, with the core keyword also being AI applied across industries.
Every year, a crowd of visitors gathers as South Korean, Chinese, and Japanese electronics corporations compete in AI home appliances at CES 2025. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are the key players, while in China, TCL and Hisense represent their country, and in Japan, Sony and Panasonic lead.
◇ Samsung and LG, AI home appliances analyze user speech and behavior
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics chose ‘AI Home,’ where all appliances are connected through AI, as the theme of this exhibition. Amid a downturn in the appliance market, their strategy is to find a breakthrough with personalized AI services that analyze users' everyday speech and behavior.
Samsung Electronics, which has pledged to equip all appliances with AI chips, emphasized that AI home appliances will take care of family members' daily lives. The ‘SmartThings Ambient Sensing’ feature, based on spatial AI, which was unveiled by Samsung Electronics at this exhibition, automatically detects user activity states like sleep, controlling functions of surrounding appliances such as air conditioning intensity and TV volume. LG Electronics also showcased technology that uses sensors in AI home appliances to analyze users' heart rates, breathing, and coughs to automatically adjust the home environment.
The AI home competition also continued in TVs. Samsung Electronics revealed new products equipped with personalized AI technology at this CES and received an innovation award. The ‘Vision AI Companion’ technology, initially applied to this product, analyzes when a user states interests, such as ‘places to visit near Seoul,’ and presents restaurant maps and itineraries in a user-friendly format on the TV screen. LG Electronics introduced the LG OLED evo, a new TV product enhanced with personalized AI search capabilities, which won the Best Innovation Award at this CES.
◇ Chinese Hisense and TCL join the ‘AI Home’ competition
Hisense and TCL also promote an AI-based ‘smart home ecosystem.’ The Chinese appliance corporations, which threaten Samsung Electronics in the premium TV market, plan to target the global market by integrating AI technology not only into TVs but also into various products such as refrigerators and air conditioners.
Hisense developed AI technology in partnership with Microsoft (MS) and applied it to the ‘smart kitchen.’ They analyze the ingredients in refrigerators to provide recipes optimized for family members' eating habits and also plan meals reflecting individual preferences. TCL connects appliances using its own AI platform and showcases a smart home that uses AI to analyze the surrounding environment and control home conditions such as temperature. Additionally, to enhance smart home security, they introduced a locking device that recognizes palm veins instead of keys or passwords to unlock doors. TCL also unveiled the industry’s first modular AI companion robot, 'AI me,' during a press conference on the 6th, stating, “It will someday become the center of every home.” This robot, which integrates the latest AI technologies, has a detachable mobile platform with wheels and a robot body.
Hisense, which dominates the market for ultra-large TVs over 100 inches, plans to showcase a 136-inch Micro LED TV and a 116-inch Tricolor LED TV equipped with AI processors at this exhibition. TCL is also set to launch ultra-large AI TVs one after another. Last year, TCL unveiled the world's largest 115-inch Quantum Dot Mini LED TV at CES and plans to showcase another ultra-large Quantum Dot Mini LED TV this year.
◇ Japan evolves beyond home appliances to B2B business
Once leading the global appliance market, Japanese corporations are now shifting their focus from B2C (business-to-consumer) to B2B (business-to-business) operations. Sony, which used to prominently display its own TV brands like BRAVIA OLED TV at CES, is now focusing on AI-based entertainment products and infotainment technologies. Sony’s products, which won the Best Innovation Award at this year’s CES, are also extended reality (XR) devices and a wireless AI audio system. Additionally, they will unveil the commercialization version of the electric vehicle ‘Aphila’ equipped with Sony’s next-generation infotainment system in collaboration with Honda for the first time at this exhibition.
Panasonic, too, has shifted focus from consumer products to AI industry solutions and infrastructure business. Yuki Kusumi, Panasonic’s CEO, will present eco-friendly energy technologies and advanced solutions under the theme ‘WELL into the Future’ during the CES 2025 keynote address. Gary Shapiro, CEO of CTA, commented that “Panasonic is a prime example of the transition from consumer products to B2B business, and CES is gradually evolving into a B2B-centric exhibition.”
The transformation of these corporations is bringing a fresh breeze to the industry. The CEO of LG Electronics, Jo Joo-wan, who dreams of transitioning into a B2B enterprise, noted last September at Europe’s largest appliance exhibition, IFA 2024, that Sony is a role model. He stated, “Sony, which used to focus on hardware in the TV and mobile device businesses, successfully turned around by shifting towards software (SW) and the entertainment sector,” adding, “LG Electronics must also evolve from just a TV manufacturer to a TV platform company.”