At IFA 2026 in Berlin, LG offered a glimpse of a home that listens — not merely to commands, but to the rhythms of daily life. Through its expanded ThinQ ecosystem and a new AI hub called ThinQ ON, the company presented appliances, energy systems, and entertainment technologies as a single living network, capable of learning and adapting to the people within it. The showcase reflects a broader human aspiration: to shape our environments so they might, in turn, care for us — though the distance between a Berlin exhibition hall and a Manila condominium reminds us that visions travel faster than
LG unveils AI-powered smart home ecosystem at IFA 2026 Berlin showcase
Appliances that learn your routines and adjust themselves
Mark
So LG is saying their appliances can now understand how you live and adjust themselves. How does that actually work?
Mimi
The ThinQ ON hub sits in your home and learns your routines—when you wake up, when you cook, when you do laundry. The ThinQ Claw AI agent lets you talk to it naturally, like "I'm leaving for work" or "it's going to be hot today," and it coordinates what the appliances do based on that context.
Luke
But that's the pitch. What's actually confirmed? Does it learn from your behavior over time, or does it require you to set preferences manually? The source doesn't specify.
Mimi
Fair point. The source says it "understands both users and the characteristics of each space," but you're right—it doesn't explain the mechanism. It could be learning, or it could be pattern-matching against preset scenarios.
Mark
What about the energy efficiency claims? A washing machine using 70 percent less energy sounds significant.
Luke
It does, but that's measured against the minimum threshold for an A rating under European standards. That's a specific benchmark. The source also notes those European ratings don't translate to the Philippine star system, so the comparison might not mean the same thing here.
Mimi
Still, extending that technology across more product lines—not just flagship models—suggests LG is trying to make efficiency standard, not premium.
Mark
What's the practical difference between ThinQ Pro and the home version?
Mimi
ThinQ Pro is for commercial spaces—office buildings, apartment complexes. It lets facility managers monitor and control everything centrally. The home version is personal and learns individual household patterns.
Luke
And the Homey platform LG acquired? That's a separate energy management system. So you could have ThinQ ON managing appliances and Homey managing how electricity flows through the house. That's two different layers.
Mark
Are these things actually available now, or is this all future product?
Luke
The source says "may not be available in the Philippines" and "availability and features may vary by market." So this is what LG is showing at the trade show. What actually ships here is still an open question.
The Pulse
- LG's IFA 2026 booth was not a product display so much as a manifesto — a 16-by-4-meter kinetic LED installation framing the argument that the home itself can become intelligent.
- The new ThinQ Claw AI agent raises the stakes by replacing rigid commands with conversational understanding, sensing a busy household morning and quietly rescheduling appliances without being asked.
- Commercial operators and energy managers are now in LG's sights too, with ThinQ Pro dashboards and the Homey-powered Home Energy Management System extending smart automation beyond the individual consumer.
- Space-starved urban dwellers get a direct answer in the Fit & Max lineup — full-capacity appliances engineered to disappear into built-in cabinetry, with dishwashers that complete a full cycle in one hour.
- Energy efficiency is being pulled down from the premium tier, with a washing machine consuming 70 percent less energy than Europe's minimum A-rating threshold signaling that sustainability may soon be a baseline, not a luxury.
- Philippine readers are left with a familiar tension: the technologies on display in Berlin are real and advancing, but local availability, specifications, and rating systems mean the future arrives on its own schedule.
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, LG offered a glimpse of a home that listens — not merely to commands, but to the rhythms of daily life. Through its expanded ThinQ ecosystem and a new AI hub called ThinQ ON, the company presented appliances, energy systems, and entertainment technologies as a single living network, capable of learning and adapting to the people within it. The showcase reflects a broader human aspiration: to shape our environments so they might, in turn, care for us — though the distance between a Berlin exhibition hall and a Manila condominium reminds us that visions travel faster than products.
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, LG constructed a vision of the home as a responsive, learning system. The company's exhibition hall — anchored by a sweeping kinetic LED installation called the LG AI Orchestra — presented its appliances, climate controls, and services as a single coordinated network rather than a collection of separate devices. At the center of this vision sat the ThinQ ON, a new AI home hub designed to learn household routines and quietly adjust how refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances behave over time.
Alongside the hub, LG debuted ThinQ Claw, a conversational AI agent that understands natural language and context. Rather than requiring users to navigate menus, ThinQ Claw can recognize that weekday mornings are hectic and reschedule appliance cycles accordingly, or recommend energy-saving modes based on current weather and electricity rates. The system is designed to personalize itself to how people actually live — not how manufacturers imagine they might.
LG also extended its ambitions beyond the household. ThinQ Pro gives commercial property operators a central dashboard to monitor and manage appliances and heating systems at scale. The company's 2024 acquisition of Athom brought the Homey platform to the show as a Home Energy Management System, coordinating how a home generates, stores, and consumes electricity. These moves signal that LG sees AI-driven automation as a commercial and infrastructural opportunity, not just a consumer one.
The Fit & Max design philosophy — originally developed for European refrigerators — has expanded to washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers, prioritizing appliances that fit seamlessly into built-in cabinetry without sacrificing internal capacity. New dishwashers in the lineup complete a full wash-and-dry cycle in one hour. For Filipino consumers in condominiums and townhouses where space is scarce, the principle carries clear appeal, though LG noted that Philippine availability and specifications would differ from what was shown in Berlin.
Energy efficiency ran through the entire showcase. A washing machine consuming 70 percent less energy than the minimum threshold for a European A rating stood as the headline figure, while LG announced it would extend technologies like the Dual Inverter Heat Pump — previously limited to premium models — across a wider product range. The company was careful to note that European energy ratings do not map directly onto the Philippine star-rating system, but the underlying ambition is consistent: performance without waste, made accessible to more households.
The premium SIGNATURE line pushed furthest into the future LG is imagining. A SIGNATURE refrigerator responds to conversational voice requests and recommends storage modes for different foods. A 30-inch wall oven uses an internal AI camera to recognize dishes and suggest optimal cooking settings. These products represent the aspirational ceiling of LG's vision — appliances that anticipate needs before they are fully articulated. Whether that ceiling descends to everyday price points, and when it arrives in markets like the Philippines, remains the open question the Berlin showcase could not fully answer.
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, LG walked visitors through a vision of homes that respond to the people living in them. The company's booth, anchored by a 16-by-4-meter kinetic LED installation called the LG AI Orchestra, presented appliances, climate systems, and services working together as a single coordinated network. The centerpiece was the LG ThinQ ON, a new AI home hub designed to sit at the middle of this ecosystem, learning household routines and preferences to adjust how everything from refrigerators to washing machines operates.
The ThinQ ON works alongside a text-based AI agent called ThinQ Claw, making its first public appearance at the show. Rather than requiring users to navigate menus or remember specific commands, ThinQ Claw understands conversational language and context—it can recognize that a household is busy on weekday mornings and adjust appliance schedules accordingly, or suggest energy-saving modes based on current weather and electricity rates. The system connects appliances, spaces, and services into what LG calls a "cohesive system," one that personalizes itself to how people actually live.
Beyond the home, LG introduced ThinQ Pro, a business-focused management tool that lets commercial property operators monitor and control appliances and heating systems from a central dashboard. The company also acquired Athom in 2024 and brought its Homey platform to the show as a Home Energy Management System—a tool that coordinates how a household generates, stores, and uses electricity, potentially reducing waste across the entire system. These commercial and energy-focused solutions represent LG's push to make AI-driven automation relevant beyond individual consumers.
The Fit & Max Solution, originally developed for European refrigerators, has now expanded to washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers. The design principle is straightforward: appliances that fit seamlessly into built-in cabinetry while maintaining large internal capacities. New dishwashers in the lineup can complete a full wash and dry cycle in a single hour. For Filipino consumers living in condominiums and townhouses where space is at a premium, this focus on compact footprints with full functionality carries obvious appeal, though LG noted that availability and specifications would differ in the Philippine market.
Energy efficiency threaded through the entire showcase. LG displayed a washing machine using 70 percent less energy than the minimum threshold for an A rating under current European standards, alongside high-efficiency refrigerators, dryers, and dishwashers. The company is extending technologies like the Dual Inverter Heat Pump—previously reserved for premium models—across a broader product range, aiming to make energy-conscious appliances accessible to more households. For Philippine audiences, the company emphasized that European energy ratings do not translate directly to the local star-rating system, but the underlying principle remains: performance without waste.
The Media Entertainment Zone centered on LG's display technologies. The company showed its 2026 OLED evo AI and Micro RGB evo AI models, both powered by the α11 AI Processor 4K Gen3, which LG says delivers unprecedented brightness and color accuracy. The Micro RGB evo carries TÜV Rheinland certification for color purity. LG also introduced the world's first UltraGear monitor supporting both FHD resolution and a 1,000Hz refresh rate, alongside the StanbyME 2 Max and a dedicated Sound Suite home audio system. These products sit within LG's webOS smart TV platform, which the company positions as a differentiator in the entertainment ecosystem.
The LG SIGNATURE zone showcased the company's ultra-premium line. A SIGNATURE refrigerator uses AI voice recognition to understand conversational requests and recommend refrigeration modes for different foods. A 30-inch wall oven combines an internal AI camera with LG's AI Gourmet technology to recognize dishes and suggest optimal cooking settings. These products represent the high end of LG's vision: appliances that anticipate needs and adapt to individual preferences.
LG's president of the Home Appliance Solution Company, Baek Seung-tae, framed the showcase as evidence of the company's commitment to European markets, noting that differentiated products tailored to local lifestyles would strengthen LG's position in the premium segment. The booth occupied Hall 18 at Messe Berlin, and the company emphasized throughout that product availability and features would vary by market—a reminder that the vision on display in Berlin may not arrive in the Philippines in identical form, even as the underlying technologies and design principles begin to shape how appliances work globally.
Notable Quotes
Our expanded AI Home ecosystem can seamlessly connect AI appliances, home hubs and intelligent services to provide exceptionally convenient and personalized customer experiences.— Baek Seung-tae, president of LG Home Appliance Solution Company
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