Cho Joo-wan, LG’s chief executive, emphasized that LG pioneered the AI home appliance market with its UP line of smart home products. (Image courtesy of LG Electronics)
SEOUL, Mar. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The battle for market dominance between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in AI-powered appliances and OLED televisions spilled over into the companies’ annual shareholder meetings this week, as top executives touted their firms’ technological prowess.
At LG’s annual meeting on March 26, Cho Joo-wan, the company’s chief executive, emphasized that LG pioneered the AI home appliance market with its UP line of smart home products. His comments came as Samsung has been aggressively marketing its AI-enabled “Bespoke AI Combo” washer-dryer as defining the AI appliance category.
“The origin of AI appliances was created by us with our UP appliances,” Cho told reporters after the shareholder meeting at LG’s Twin Towers headquarters in Seoul’s Yeouido district. He added that LG’s washing machine product line demonstrated its market-leading position, enjoying premium pricing from customers.
Cho said LG was focused on delivering superior user experiences with its AI-powered washer-dryers rather than simply touting technical specifications. “We’re aiming for more concrete communication highlighting how customers can have excellent experiences,” he said.
Samsung Electronics Bespoke AI Combo (L) and LG Electronics Trom Wash Combo (R) (Image courtesy of Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics)
Earlier this year at CES, the world’s largest tech trade show, Cho had redefined AI as “empathetic intelligence,” predicting that the technology would evolve to truly understand users’ behaviors and emotions in daily life. At the shareholder meeting, he reiterated this vision, saying AI capabilities infused with empathy would increasingly be built into LG’s product lines.
The clash over appliance supremacy has been matched by an escalating battle in the premium TV market. After years of avoiding the OLED display technology pioneered by LG, Samsung re-entered the OLED market last year and has rapidly expanded its product lineup in 2024.
Samsung Electronics OLED TV (Image courtesy of Samsung Electronics)
At LG’s shareholder meeting, Park Hyoung-sei, who oversees LG’s home entertainment division, welcomed Samsung’s renewed competition. “Our competitor badmouthed our OLED for 10 years saying they wouldn’t enter the market, but now they’ve come in,” he said. “We see this as an opportunity, as the entire industry is now involved in OLED, which will help expand the market.”
Park vowed that LG would maintain a market share above 50 percent by leveraging its product competitiveness. His comments follow a recent claim by Samsung’s display chief that the company had surpassed LG in large OLED screen sizes of 77 inches and above.
Both Samsung and LG have touted powerful new processors and enhanced AI capabilities as marquee features in their latest 2024 TV model lineups, setting up a showdown in the premium TV segment.
Han Jong-hee, the vice chairman overseeing the company’s device experience division. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
At Samsung’s annual shareholder meeting on March 20, Han Jong-hee, the vice chairman overseeing the company’s device experience division, highlighted its AI prowess. “Samsung has the world’s best on-device AI capabilities,” Han told shareholders, adding the company would bring generative AI and on-device AI innovations across its entire product portfolio.
“We will open an unprecedented era of device AI by imbuing each Samsung product with distinctive AI capabilities,” he said. He also outlined plans to expand AI deployment to smartphones, wearables, extended reality devices and home appliances to deliver enhanced media experiences and intelligent home ecosystems.
Han portrayed AI as a critical enabler for Samsung’s future growth arenas like next-generation electronics, robotics and digital health solutions. “We will bolster company-wide AI capabilities to actively explore opportunities in these emerging domains,” he stated.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
