(Yonhap)
South Korea’s leading home appliance makers Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are targeting the domestic market with new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered products, as rising oil prices and semiconductor costs dampen consumer sentiment.
Samsung Electronics held a media day event on Thursday in Seoul where it unveiled its all-in-one washer-dryer, the Bespoke AI Combo.
According to Samsung Electronics, sales of the Bespoke AI Combo – a combined washer and dryer – rose by about 40 percent on year as of 2025, establishing it as a must-have appliance. Its convenience of handling both washing and drying in one unit, along with efficient space usage, has made it especially popular among newlywed couples.
The newly unveiled 2026 model offers a washing capacity of 25 kilograms and a drying capacity of 20 kilograms, the largest among all-in-one washer-dryers in Korea. It also reduces washing and drying time to 69 minutes under quick-wash settings.
The Bespoke AI Combo includes various AI features. It is equipped with Bixby, an AI agent based on a large language model (LLM), allowing users to control the appliance through conversation, as well as receive answers to everyday questions and guidance on product usage.
Additional features include AI Custom+, which detects fabric weight, type, and level of soiling to optimize washing and drying, and an AI vibration and noise reduction system that adjusts performance based on floor conditions to minimize noise and vibration during high-speed spinning.
The product is priced between 3.2 million won and 4.3 million won, depending on specifications.
(Courtesy of LG Electronics)
LG Electronics, meanwhile, introduced its 2026 TV lineup at a media day event on Thursday.
The lineup includes the LG OLED evo series with OLED displays and the LG Micro RGB evo series using LCD panels.
The new models feature Hyper Radian Color technology, achieving brightness up to 3.9 times higher than standard OLED TVs – the brightest among LG’s offerings to date.
Equipped with the third-generation Alpha 11 AI processor, they support AI Dual 4K Upscaling, which optimizes color, contrast, and picture quality to convert low-resolution content into 4K quality.
Additional AI features are also included.
Through LG Gallery+, the company’s art content service, users can create artwork and background music for their TVs using generative AI.
LG’s proprietary smart TV platform, webOS 26, will include not only Microsoft Copilot but also Google Gemini.
Pricing for the OLED lineup starts at 3.29 million won for a 65-inch model and rises to as much as 13 million won for larger premium versions.
LG Electronics also showcased a 9mm-thin wallpaper TV, the OLED evo W6, which uses wireless transmission technology to eliminate most cables, along with its micro RGB LCD models.
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