Appliances & Consumer Electronics major Samsung is introducing artificial intelligence-based commands for vernacular languages and India-specific features to drive growth in the highly competitive domestic appliances market.
The South Korean company is quite encouraged by the growth of the registered user base of the SmartThings app in India, currently ranked third globally.
Samsung is adding nine Indian languages – Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Telugu – to its Family Hub refrigerator next month.
Samsung’s SmartThings app, boasting a global user base of approximately 390 million, enables users to control the company’s Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
“We have approximately 23 million registered users of SmartThings in India, and India ranks third globally. The top two countries are the US and Brazil. The number of registered devices is also growing fast, having increased 39 per cent (globally) in 2024 compared to the previous year,” the company stated.
Samsung expects 70 percent of its sales in India will come from AI-based appliances, hence, it is now introducing AI to its mid-range appliances, as per its elaborate strategy.
Initially, Samsung’s AI tech was available in its premium products. However, it has also developed a lower version of Tizen OS, which is Tizen Lite.
“Tizen Lite is adapted to our mid-end products that do not have screens, so that those appliances can also support features like Bixby. And similar kinds of features like AI energy, AI Wash or AI VRT+ that we had in front-load washers, which is a more premium segment in India. We have applied in top-loader washing machines as well,” it said.
“India is the only country where we have four kinds of software centres from each division – consumer electronics, mobile, and appliances. We also have a Samsung Design Centre in Delhi. These centres are involved in localised feature development,” said Sungil Hahm, Vice President of Samsung Electronics’ Software R&D Group.
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Samsung is also adding features such as ‘Stain Wash’ to its washing machine panels in India, unlike other regions, where this feature is available for download via its SmartThings app, which helps consumers connect and control multiple devices quickly and easily.
For room air-conditioners, the South Korean company has launched customised cooling for Indian consumers, based on ‘lifestyle research’ that shows Indian customers use fans and an AC together.
