Samsung and LG have announced that users will be able to control smart home appliances from different brands using a single app of their choice. The companies are members of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) which comprises a total of fifteen brands, including Vestel, Haier, GE Appliances, AEG, and more.
HCA has developed a new specification called Interface Specification 1.0 that allows cloud-to-cloud interoperability between smart home appliances and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems through a common app.
For instance, users will be able to control a Samsung dishwasher and an LG washing machine using the same app. They won"t have to switch between multiple apps to change their preferred wash cycle and cleaning settings.
With that said, users will have a choice of smart home apps such as Samsung SmartThings, LG ThinQ, and Vestel Veezy. The functionality will be adopted by HCA members by the end of this year. Samsung said it will roll out support for the HCA integration first in the US, South Korea, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, starting in the fourth quarter of 2023.
"By the end of this year, consumers will be able to control appliances from diverse brands, such as Samsung and Vestel, with the intuitive-to-use ThinQ app, providing seamless interconnectivity and a smarter, more convenient home," LG said in a press release.
Samsung said that the interoperability can be "particularly beneficial for users’ existing home appliances" as they won’t have to add a new hub or update their appliances. All they"ll have to do is update the smart home management app of their choice.
Initially, the HCA integration will offer support for major appliance categories such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, HVACs, TVs, etc., and more categories will be added in the future. Apart from that, the alliance is also working on Interface Specification 2.0 which is expected to arrive in 2024. It will add support for energy management functions and more products such as EV chargers.
Speaking of platform integration, Samsung recently talked about its upcoming app called Samsung Food. It"s an AI-powered food integration platform that will offer personalized recipe suggestions and sync cooking information across devices.