Africa’s smart home market is entering a period of accelerated growth, driven by expanding connectivity, urbanization and rising demand for intelligent, energy-efficient living solutions. Valued at approximately $2.32 billion in 2023 and projected to reach $8.63 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.7 percent, the sector reflects a growing appetite across the continent for integrated digital ecosystems that enhance comfort, security and convenience.
Against this backdrop, LG Electronics (LG) showcased the customizable comfort and convenience of its AI Home at LG InnoFest 2026 Middle East and Africa (MEA), held in Abu Dhabi from February 3–5. The LG InnoFest event brings together key business partners and media to experience the company’s latest innovations and its vision for a better life. This year’s MEA edition highlighted LG’s evolving approach to AI-driven home solutions, presenting intelligent products and services designed to integrate seamlessly into everyday routines while addressing regional lifestyle and infrastructure needs.
For its AI Home exhibition, LG refurbished an entire hotel suite, transforming it into a futuristic, responsive living space equipped with connected appliances, devices and sensors. Real-life demonstrations enabled the attendees to experience how LG’s integrated AI Home ecosystem operates autonomously to support daily convenience while enabling intuitive control through conversational interaction. The LG AI Home also incorporates features such as energy management and home security, which can be configured to reflect region-specific priorities across emerging markets.
“The LG AI Home is a total smart living solution that leverages our sophisticated AI to meaningfully enhance customers’ everyday lives,” said Donghun Lee, LG’s President for East Africa. “We aim to reinforce our market leadership in Africa by providing smart home experiences optimized for local conditions and lifestyles.”
ThinQ ON: Effortless AI Home Management Through Daily Conversation
One demonstration illustrated how customers can manage their AI Home using simple, everyday conversation. Powered by generative AI, the LG ThinQ ON AI home hub is designed to understand natural language and respond in context, enabling proactive support based on user needs. For example, LG ThinQ ON can suggest appropriate clothing based on the weather forecast or review daily schedules after users wake up to help them prepare for the day.
Representing LG’s Affectionate Intelligence vision, ThinQ ON can perform a wide variety of tasks, from answering questions about air quality using real-time information to adjusting the indoor temperature based on user preferences and contextual understanding. Users can also check the status of laundry cycles, set reminders or manage timers through voice interaction. By processing user input and interpreting contextual meaning through conversational AI, ThinQ ON is able to deliver a new level of personalized convenience.
Automated Home Living with LG IoT Devices
Another demonstration highlighted how IoT sensors can help automate everyday activities without requiring direct user input. Sensors installed throughout the AI Home detect subtle environmental changes and communicate with appliances and devices to optimize conditions based on conditions and user preferences. The system can also recognize individual users and automatically apply personalized settings across a home.
The LG AI Home offers an intelligent home management experience, proactively maximizing user convenience, energy efficiency and site security around the clock. When occupants leave, the system can turn off lights and appliances to reduce power consumption and activate cleaning functions such as robot vacuum operation. Upon return, the home greets them with a welcome message and activates appliances they need.
Expanded Customer Experience and an Open AI Home Ecosystem
Beyond the exceptional value delivered by its physical products and devices, LG presented an expanded service-based experience enabled through the LG ThinQ platform. ThinQ Care provides proactive voice notifications related to appliance status to help users address potential issues early. The platform also supports daily tasks such as meal preparation, allowing users to select recipes from the ThinQ app and send settings directly to connected ovens.
LG’s AI Home is designed as an open ecosystem, built on the Homey Pro platform, enabling users to connect and manage devices from multiple brands. The LG AI Home exhibit demonstrated integrated control of lighting, curtains and switches from various manufacturers alongside LG appliances. Using its open AI Home ecosystem, LG also delivers optimized space solutions for B2B applications, including apartments and hotels.
Moving forward, LG plans to further strengthen its integrated smart home package business in the Middle East, combining its smart home appliances with AI and IoT technologies to create a comprehensive solution for the region’s fast-growing B2B market. The strategy is envisioned to help the company accelerate the expansion of its smart home and smart building businesses across the region.
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