LG, Samsung unveil new air conditioners in winter
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are introducing new air conditioners, which may seem an unusual move for the middle of winter, to target the growing number of consumers interested in air purification features and artificial intelligence (AI).
Company officials said rolling out new air conditioner models in January may seem out of the ordinary, but now is the right time because air conditioners have become an essential household item for all seasons amid growing concerns over the worsening fine dust pollution.
“Since the fine dust issue has become a major public concern, there is growing demand for new air conditioners that have an air purification feature. Also, we have seen more consumers buy air conditioners at the beginning of the year as it is difficult to buy new air conditioners in the middle of summer,” an LG official said.
Both home appliance makers have emphasized that their products support an upgraded AI feature to enhance user experience.
LG said it will begin selling 26 new LG Whisen ThinQ air conditioners on Thursday.
Priced between 2.85 million won ($2,540) and 5.75 million won ($5,126), 24 out of 26 new products have an purifying feature to meet consumers’ growing demand.
“Of the 2018 models, there were only 15 air conditioners equipped with an air purifying feature. Due to growing consumer interest, we now have 24 new models that support the feature,” the LG official said. By using improved motors and air filters, the 2019 editions can cover rooms of up to 66.1 square meters, an increase of about 6.6 square meters compared to the 2018 models.
The biggest difference of the new Whisen ThinQ air conditioners from previous models is updated AI assistant ThinQ, LG said.
“The new ThinQ becomes smarter as it learns about its surrounding environment and user preferences,” an LG official said.
“For instance, when a user turns on the air conditioner in the heat of the daytime, it automatically increases fan speed and delivers a voice message saying ‘I set the fan speed to high.’”
Users can turn on the Whisen ThinQ air conditioner by saying “Hi, LG, turn on the AC.” Also the air conditioners initiate conversations with users to share information on air quality inside their home and when to replace filters.
LG equipped its air conditioners with a dual inverter compressor for improved energy efficiency. With its dual inverter compressor, users of the Whisen ThinQ need to pay about 17,000 won ($15) for electricity when using the device eight hours a day.