LG Electronics is making a strategic push into the residential retrofit market with its advanced AI Home solutions. The tech giant aims to penetrate around 4 million older apartment households by deploying its AI hubs to seamlessly connect everything from smart door locks and refrigerators to air conditioners, while also targeting the growing home interior renovation market.
As early as the second half of this year, LG plans to establish a specialized system to integrate its AI Home platform with the wall pads found in older apartment complexes. Through the 'ThinQ ON' AI Home hub and the 'ThinQ' app, residents will soon be able to control essential home functions, including lighting, heating, and gas systems.
To showcase this vision, LG has built 'ThinQ Real' at the LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul. This smart home model house replicates a 30-pyeong (approx. 1,000 sq. ft.) apartment, featuring a realistic layout of a foyer, living room, kitchen, and bedrooms. The space serves as a living laboratory where home appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are unified under the ThinQ ecosystem.
Unlike a traditional showroom, ThinQ Real is designed as a B2B (Business-to-Business) hub for construction firms, interior designers, and telecommunications carriers. The space features not only flagship products like TVs and refrigerators, but also upcoming innovations. These include integrated energy recovery ventilators, system air purifiers, and smart bathroom fixtures such as specialized shower faucets. This comprehensive lineup demonstrates the expanded reach of LG's AI Home, moving beyond simple gadget control to total climate, ventilation, and built-in infrastructure management.
In a demonstration at the facility, entering the foyer via a fingerprint-scanning door lock triggered a pre-set automation: curtains opened, lights synchronized with ThinQ ON flickered to life, and the music and indoor temperature adjusted instantly to the user's preference.
A significant challenge, however, is that such high-level connectivity is currently concentrated in new premium apartment complexes. While new builds allow for early-stage integration with construction firms, existing apartments often have fragmented home network environments with varying wall pad specifications. To bridge this gap, LG is collaborating with Hyundai HT, a leading home network provider, to develop universal wall pad integration solutions. The company is also expanding its “Our Complex Connection” service within the ThinQ app to include other major providers like COMMAX.
With approximately 12 million apartment households in South Korea and only 150,000 new units added annually, relying solely on new construction is insufficient for the mass adoption of AI Home technology. Consequently, retrofitting established apartment complexes has become LG's primary objective.
The company is also reportedly in talks with LX Hausys to develop residential products, such as smart windows, specifically optimized for the AI Home ecosystem.
“We are working closely with home network providers to ensure the AI Home experience is accessible in existing apartments, not just new ones,” an LG Electronics representative stated. “Our goal is to center the user experience around ThinQ ON, connecting appliances, IoT devices, and residential infrastructure to make AI-driven living effortless for everyone.”
