Microsoft enters smart homes by partnering with LG

Microsoft has entered the consumer smart home market by partnering with LG Electronics to embed artificial intelligence directly into household appliances. Unveiled at the Microsoft Industry Summit in Seoul, the Speech-to-Speech AI agent powers a system called Voice Live integrated into LG's ThinQ ON smart home hub. The move marks a rare consumer-facing AI application for Microsoft, which had previously focused its efforts on Azure IoT for industrial use and Copilot for enterprise productivity.

The ThinQ ON hub runs on Athom Homey OS and supports over 200 brand integrations. The device is Matter-certified, operates as a Thread Border Router, and connects with more than 750 certified devices across the broader smart home ecosystem. Unlike traditional speech-to-text-to-speech assistants, Voice Live processes spoken voice directly, which allows users to interrupt the system mid-command and alter requests instantly.

LG plans to deliver Voice Live as a firmware update for existing ThinQ ON users within 2026. The hub carries a launch price of approximately $172 in South Korea. This rollout avoids recurring monthly subscription fees, contrasting with competing offerings such as Google Home Premium Advanced at $20 per month and Amazon Alexa Plus at $19.99 per month. LG also aims to support this strategy by deploying its ThinQ Pro platform across commercial environments, including nursing facilities, hotels, offices, and retail stores.

The partnership avoids traditional entry points like smartphones or dedicated smart speakers championed by Apple, Amazon, and Google. However, Microsoft still lacks a unified consumer smart home strategy and relies on LG to handle the hardware execution required to maintain the user experience.