LG to add Alexa support to its 2019 ThinQ TVs

LG’s line of AI-enhanced, ThinQ television sets will get Amazon Alexa support soon, the company announced Thursday. 

The new feature will roll out to customers in North America this month, with Europe and Asia getting it “in the weeks to come.”

Not all LG TVs will get the upgrade — only the company’s 2019 models featuring artificial intelligence (i.e. those with the ThinQ moniker). These include LG UHD TVs, NanoCell TVs and OLED TVs. The update will be implemented through the Alexa app on these models. 

Note that Alexa was available on some LG TVs through the use of an external device; now, no such device will be needed. 

The full list of countries that will get this feature is as follows: Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom and United States.

With Alexa support, users will be able to control their smart home products, ask their TV questions and access over 90,000 Alexa Skills. LG’s ThinQ TVs already have Google Assistant support (since 2018), but it’s nice to have the Alexa option as well if you prefer Amazon’s smart assistant. 

LG also announced its 2019 OLED and NanoCell TVs will receive AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support “via a mid-year update.”

LG claims its ThinQ technology allows its TVs to handle requests of greater complexity and understand “hundreds of voice commands.” The company has been heavily promoting its products AI capabilities in the past couple of years, adding the ThinQ moniker to smartphones and other products in its lineup.