LG Debuts 'Hub Robot' to Compete With Google Home and Amazon Echo

by

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LG today unveiled the Hub Robot, an adorable Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor. The Hub Robot, which LG has created with a "friendly, anthropomorphic design," interfaces with smart home products and interacts with people in multiple ways.

Powered by Amazon's Alexa voice recognition technology, the Hub Robot can respond to commands to do things like turn on the air conditioner or the lights. It features an interactive display that can offer up information and images, and with a built-in speaker, it can play music, set alarms, provide weather updates, and more.

The Hub Robot is more interactive than competing products from Amazon and Google, with the ability to move, swivel in place, and express a range of emotions by displaying a face on its built-in screen.

lghubrobot
It is able to respond to customers using body language, such as nodding its head when it is asked a question, and it keeps track of in-home activity, monitoring when family members come and go. With facial recognition capabilities, it recognizes each member of a family and provides customized greetings and information.

LG says the Hub Robot is designed to be put in a place where the family gathers, such as a kitchen or a living room, and additional mini robots will be introduced alongside the Hub Robot that can go in other rooms of the house.

LG has not announced a ship date for the Hub Robot, nor is pricing available, but it will likely be competitive with the Amazon Echo and the Google Home, which are priced at $180 and $129, respectively.

As in-home hub solutions grow in popularity, rumors suggest Apple is working on its own connected smart home device that's similar to the Amazon Echo. It's said to be powered by Siri and equipped with a speaker and a microphone. The hub will work with HomeKit, and there's a possibility it could be combined with another product, such as the AirPort or Apple TV.

The hub has supposedly been in development for two years and is in the prototype testing phase, but it's not clear if and when it will see an official release.

Tags: CES 2017, LG

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Read Full Article • 61 comments
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Read Full Article • 51 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Read Full Article
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Read Full Article • 84 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Read Full Article • 118 comments
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
Read Full Article • 160 comments
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Read Full Article • 124 comments
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
Read Full Article • 84 comments

Top Rated Comments

BuffaloTF Avatar
BuffaloTF
115 months ago
Eve! Now just give me a Wall E to take out my trash for me...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arran Avatar
Arran
115 months ago
20 years ago, we were promised personal robots that we would control. They'd do all our heavy chores and never complain.

Then the cloud came along and we get this 'robot' that doesn't really do anything. And it's not even clear who's controlling it or who benefits.

What I want:

* My laundry picked up off the floor, put in the hamper, the hamper dumped into the washing machine, the machine started, monitored and then everything moved to the dryer before being ironed and hung up in my closet.
* Then the floors need vacuumed.
* The car washed and vacuumed.
* The lawn cut.
* The windows cleaned.
* The bathrooms cleaned.
* Shoes shined.
* Beds made.
* The dishwasher loaded, started and then everything put back into all the right cupboards and drawers.
* Oh yeah, and the dinner made! :)

That's what a real robot does. No complaints and no sneaking behind my back to tell Google and Amazon what a domestic slob I am!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuffaloTF Avatar
BuffaloTF
115 months ago
As if I want the NSA IN MY HOUSE. No thanks.
How did you manage to deliver this message to us? Carrier pigeon? Be careful with them, I see pigeons all the time stealing tin foil from trash cans because they think a hot dog is inside them...
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chrjy Avatar
Chrjy
115 months ago
Please check your personal judgments about products at the door. We readers can see the image and make
our own value judgments; we don't need our reporters to tell us whether or not a product is 'adorable' -- that's biased reporting.
Did someone get out the wrong side of the bed this morning?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Noerdy Avatar
Noerdy
115 months ago
Neat. Apple needs to step up their game and release their in home assistant asap. Meanwhile I just bought 6 amazon dots and I'm pretty happy with them.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chester Stone Avatar
Chester Stone
115 months ago
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, LG today unveiled the Hub Robot ('http://ces2017.lgnewsroom.com/news/lg-expands-iot-ecosystem-lineup-futuristic-robotic-products/'), an adorable Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor.
Please check your personal judgments about products at the door. We readers can see the image and make
our own value judgments; we don't need our reporters to tell us whether or not a product is 'adorable' -- that's biased reporting.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments