LG Electronics said it was redefining the connected kitchen at last month’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas.
 
The South Korean company showed industry-first appliance features supporting the brand’s vision to make the smart kitchen work harder for homeowners. These included an artificial intelligence-powered customer service platform, connected apps, voice control, and partnerships with smart-cooking platforms.
 
Using the free LG Thinq smartphone app, LG smart appliances owners can receive alerts and keep track of maintenance schedules for their appliances. Users can remotely power appliances on and off, adjust oven, freezer and refrigerator temperatures, and monitor cycle and usage status with the touch of a button. Key features are also voice-enabled when connected to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
 
Maintenance and service are made easier with LG’s customer service platform – LG Proactive Customer Care – a personalised customer care offering powered by AI for product user support. It immediately alerts owners of compatible LG smart appliance models to potential problems before they occur, expedites repairs when needed, and offers maintenance tips to keep the appliances performing at their best.
 
The AI-powered service is available for more than 70 wifi enabled LG smart appliance models, including refrigerators, ranges, washers and dryers. Further enhancements and expanded models including dishwashers will be announced in the coming months with plans to make Proactive Customer Care available on more than a million LG smart appliances in the next year.
 
LG’s luxury brand Signature Kitchen Suite is launching a similar programme for its portfolio of built-in appliances, as part of its concierge service.
 
Smart functionality extends to LG’s partnerships with gourmet smart cooking platforms including Innit, SideChef, Tovala and Drop. These smart cooking applications create home-cooking experiences by allowing users to access step-by-step video tutorials, automatically preheat their oven or adjust time, temperature or cooking mode based on the recipe, and send cooking instructions directly to their smart range or oven.
 
As smart kitchen partnerships continue to expand, LG’s wifi enabled ranges, refrigerators and dishwashers will work together to simplify the task of food preparation and meal clean up.

Another smart appliance highlighted at the show, the True Sommelier app – available exclusively on Signature Kitchen Suite’s integrated wine column refrigerators – helps wine aficionados manage their at-home collections. Powered by Wine Ring’s patented machine learning, this is smart software that learns preferences and makes wine recommendations, including food and wine pairings, for individuals and groups based on the wines stored in the user’s cellar.