Samsung, LG to challenge Chinese rivals with 'all-in-one' robot vacuums

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are stepping up efforts to carve out a share of the burgeoning robot vacuum market, which has been dominated by China's Roborock, with new machines designed to remove the pain points of existing products.

This week, LG Electronics is rolling out its first all-in-one robot vacuum and mop machine in 21 years, since the company introduced its first such device in 2003. Samsung Electronics has also released a robot vacuum and mop combo machine adopting advanced technologies including artificial intelligence and lidar.

While Korea is home to the world's leading home appliance giants Samsung and LG, the robot vacuum market here has been dominated by China's Roborock, which also leads the global market.

For three consecutive years, Roborock has topped the Korean market, securing a 46.5 percent share in the first half of this year. Looking at 2023 numbers, more than 80 percent of Korea's domestic robot vacuum market was taken by Chinese suppliers, including Dreame and Ecovacs.

Set to debut Thursday, LG's new product, the Roboking AI All-in-One, has adopted the "all-free" solution, requiring only minimum intervention from users. With one press of the "start" button, the machine automatically scrubs away dirt and mops the floor, then also washes and dries the rag by itself, LG said.

Samsung Electronics released the Bespoke AI Steam robot vacuum in April, with all of the dust suction, mopping and automatic rag cleaning functions. The number of units sold surpassed 10,000 units within just 25 days of the launch, and the company's sales in robot vacuums increased by 60 percent on-year in the following months.

The Korean tech giants have been introducing robot vacuums that serve singular tasks of vacuum or mopping. Their recent turn to all-in-one models follows Roborock's stellar growth in the Korean market, achieving sevenfold growth in revenue from 29.1 billion won in 2020 to over 200 billion won ($146 million) in 2023.

Among the key features Korean companies focus on are being sanitary and smelling pleasant, which have been raised as major pain points for users with mops left wet, leading to a stench after cleaning.

Samsung Electronics’ Jet Bot Combo Steam uses steam and water to thoroughly remove dirt when cleaning, then steam to sanitize the mop, with steam temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius to remove 99 percent of bacteria.

LG Electronics has developed an odor management agent that sprays on the wastewater container automatically after the machine self-cleanses the mop. The machine then dries the container with heat to prevent bacterial multiplication. According to LG, the special agent reduces the production of sulfur compounds that generate bad smells by 30 percent.

The companies have also adopted advanced security systems for user privacy to address concerns about robot vacuums going around the house with cameras attached.

Samsung's Bespoke AI Steam achieved the highest rating of "diamond" by global certification company UL Solutions, while LG's new product is manufactured under the LG Secure Development Lifecycle process, encoding all data to protect from potential leakage.

"Korean companies are introducing new robot vacuums that have overcome the pain points of the existing products and with greater performance," an industry official said.

"Considering how these companies have built trust with Korean consumers with other home appliances, anticipation is high for them to increase market share in the future."