Samsung sees nearly nine-fold rise in connected appliances in India

The number of newly connected Samsung appliances in India rose nearly nine-fold from 82,000 in 2022 to 7.32 lakh last year, reflecting growing adoption of AI-powered and connected home appliances, the South Korean consumer electronics company said.

Samsung Electronics Vice President and Head of Experience Planning and CX Insight Group, DA Business, Bona Lee, said India had emerged as one of the company’s fastest-growing markets for AI-powered home appliances, driven largely by younger consumers.

Lee said that Samsung had already surpassed last year’s connected appliance figures in the first eight months of the current year. She said Southwest Asia’s share of Samsung’s connected devices worldwide had increased from 2 per cent in 2022 to 13 per cent in 2026.

About 71 per cent of active SmartThings users in India and Southwest Asia are in their twenties and thirties, compared with a global average of 48 per cent, Lee said.

Samsung plans to expand AI capabilities beyond premium products to mid-range and entry-level appliances. More than 50 per cent of the appliances Samsung currently sells in India are AI-enabled, said Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO JB Park.

Samsung had announced in January its plan to extend AI features to 800 million devices by the end of the year, compared with 400 million the previous year.

Lee said Samsung had not observed any significant divergence in global growth trends due to geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds, including the West Asia conflict.

More than 95 per cent of Samsung appliances sold in India are manufactured domestically, Lee said. She added that software updates allow the company to introduce new features to appliances launched from 2024 onwards without requiring consumers to purchase new devices.

Lee said Indian consumers generally prefer smaller refrigerators because households tend to buy fresh produce daily, unlike markets where larger refrigerators are common due to greater reliance on frozen food.

She added that Indian consumers use AI features on average 10 per cent more than consumers in other countries. A Samsung survey across Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru found that busy, high-stress urban lifestyles were driving demand for AI appliances.