LG Adds Alexa To Its 2018 AI TVs

Amazon Alexa is continuing its dominance of all things IoT related by spreading to a new family of devices today. This time around, it's LG launching Alexa integration for its 2018 AI-enabled TVs. Specifically, the company says that Alexa will be available on 2018 OLED TVs and Super UHD TVs, or at least the ones that support the company's AI ThinQ platform.

As you've probably already figured out, this means that you'll be able to control your TV through voice commands. Controls include the basic fare for IoT TVs, like the ability to pause, resume, search content, change channels, and increase or decrease the volume. Since these TVs boast AI ThinQ support, however, you can do a little more than simply control playback and channel surf using Alexa.

For instance, you'll be able to name a channel and have Alexa play it on a certain TV, assuming you live in a multiple-TV household. You can also tell Alexa to launch webOS apps, so essentially, it sounds you'll have almost total control over your TVs using Alexa voice commands. All of this will be handled through the LG SmartThinQ skill, so you'll only need to add that skill to your Alexa line up to begin using this functionality.

LG is one company that's been going hard on Alexa (and Google Assistant) integration. Many of LG's IoT devices are compatible with Alexa these days, from TVs to air purifiers and even washing machines and ice makers. If connected homes truly are the future, it's clear that LG wants to leverage Alexa to be right there at the center of all of it.

In the end, it sounds like this new functionality will be particularly handy, especially if you own multiple LG TVs. LG's announcement doesn't tell us when we can expect these features to go live, though we can probably count on that happening shortly.