LG and Samsung Announce Mutual Compatibility for Major Home Appliances
One of the key aspects of smart home technologies is compatibility. Previously, developers attempted to address this issue through the Matter standard, which received support from Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung. However, for major home appliances, a new solution was required, one proposed by the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA).
The HCA coalition was established in late 2021, with Samsung being one of its founding members. LG joined the project the following summer. The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) protocol Matter is local and offers cloud connectivity as an additional option. However, when it comes to major home appliances, a different strategy was needed. Samsung emphasized the importance of integrating all the existing appliances in consumers’ homes into a single system. The most straightforward way to achieve this was through cloud infrastructure. Therefore, HCA decided not to join CSA and to abandon Matter in its current form. Major home appliances connect via Wi-Fi, which means they operate through the cloud. As a result, the new standard proposes the interaction of cloud resources.
The HCA 1.0 specification was released in January 2023, and it is only now that Samsung and LG have jointly announced their support for it. In the fourth quarter, the two Korean giants will introduce their implementation in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, the USA, Turkey, and France. The list of project participants will expand next year. Turkish manufacturer Vestel has also joined Samsung and LG, but several other prominent brands, such as German companies Bosch and Thermador, and American brand Whirlpool, are currently absent from the alliance.
Implementing HCA support means that with various brands of major home appliances in the home, including washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, ovens, robot vacuum cleaners, televisions, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, all can be controlled through a single app that also receives notifications about their operation. However, the initial setup will still need to be performed through the manufacturer’s app. In the HCA 2.0 specification, set to be released in 2024, expanded energy consumption management and support for electric vehicle charging devices will be introduced.
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- I'm Vasyl Kolomiiets, a seasoned tech journalist regularly contributing to global publications. Having a profound background in information technologies, I seamlessly blended my technical expertise with my passion for writing, venturing into technology journalism. I've covered a wide range of topics including cutting-edge developments and their impacts on society, contributing to leading tech platforms.
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