LG’s upgradable home appliances to make global debut next year

LG Electronics introduced the new and improved version of its home appliance brand Tuesday to offer "hyperpersonalized" user experiences, raising connectivity and offering new subscription services to make doing household chores easier.

Presenting the enhanced plan for the brand UP Appliance 2.0 to expand its business portfolio into nonhardware services and subscription services in Korea, the tech giant said it will be launching the upgraded brand overseas from next year.

"UP Appliance 2.0 is the starting point for us to expand the portfolio of our home appliance division based on services," Lyu Jae-cheol, the head of the Home Appliance and Air Solution Co., said at a press conference at LG Sciencepark in Seoul.

"Leading the world's home appliance industry, LG Electronics will work to direct the trend in the home appliance industry toward the idea of 'Home as a Service.' We will present innovative solutions that will redesign the lifestyle of customers with our home appliance products."

LG first introduced the "upgradable" home appliance brand UP Appliance in Korea in January last year. With the new label LG ThinQ UP, the company launched the brand for overseas markets in December in the same year.

The UP Appliance 2.0 lineups adopt a new artificial intelligence chip dubbed DQ-C, which the company developed after three years of research, and a new operating system specially designed for home appliances, LG said.

The new chip and operating system will allow users to upgrade the software of their home appliances, and also allow users to adjust the usage of the appliances based on their personal preferences, Lyu explained.

"Our goal is for customers to reduce the burden of house chores and enjoy quality time at home, using our UP Appliance 2.0 products," Lyu said.

The new technology would also allow users to delete the functions they do not use often. In addition, because the chips would also cut cost for LG, the users would not have to pay more to enjoy the enhanced functions, Lyu said.

It will first be applied to the premium models of washers and dryers launched from Tuesday.

According to LG, the home appliances under UP Appliance 2.0 will also come with an expanded range of services. For instance, the users would be able to order detergents and meal kits directly from their washing machine and refrigerators.

The company has forged partnerships with home care and grocery delivery services, including Laundrygo, a same-day laundry service startup and Daeri Jubu, a home cleaning service, and plans to expand the list.

With UP Appliance 2.0, customers can rent the home appliances to use for three to six years.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as LG previously announced to transform into a "smart life solutions company" to further expand the scope of customer experience to services, utilizing the household appliances and gadgets as the platform.