Wenzhou Hesheng Electronic Co., Ltd. , https://www.heshengelec.com
In the current stage, even though the smart home industry is still in its early development phase, its inevitable trend is hard to ignore. At this point, companies should move away from unrealistic theories and focus more on product innovation and real user experience. Simultaneously, they need to pay attention to the integration of a full ecosystem, rather than just focusing on individual products.
"Good morning," the smart assistant gently wakes up the homeowner. After automatically monitoring weather and Other data, the air conditioner or air purifier turns on smoothly. When lying on a comfortable sofa and wanting to watch TV, the curtains close quietly, and the lights dim, activating the home theater... The future life that smart homes promise is gradually becoming a reality. With consumers increasingly expecting humanized and intelligent experiences, smart homes have become a key battleground for the industry. Therefore, whether it's tech giants, traditional appliance manufacturers, or startups, all are making efforts to enter the smart home space and rushing to develop artificial intelligence solutions.
Smart products should not be "smart" just for the sake of being smart. Despite the ongoing popularity of smart homes in the appliance industry, the market growth remains slow due to a lack of truly innovative and well-designed products. Many so-called "smart" appliances are nothing more than pseudo-intelligent. For example, in the TV sector, many manufacturers now release AI-enabled TVs, which essentially involve voice recognition systems and content optimization. However, when users face these operating systems, they often encounter fixed and rigid interfaces, leading to frustration.
These "smart" products, which are supposed to make life easier, end up being complicated and difficult to use. As a result, consumers find it hard to justify paying for them. Products with poor user experience fail to retain users after the initial novelty wears off, and repeated updates often feel like empty promises. Therefore, while the future of smart homes looks promising, we must remain realistic about the current market challenges. Companies should focus on refining every single product to the highest level, ensuring true value for consumers.
Of course, smart homes are not just about individual devices. It's an entire system. Saying that a single smart device equals a smart home is inaccurate. The future direction of smart homes lies in moving from single products to complete solutions, and eventually to fully integrated platforms. In a smart home, the best experience comes from a unified platform that controls all devices or a product that offers rich functions and effectively solves user pain points. This is exactly what market research firm Strategy Analytics has observed in recent trends.
Therefore, at this stage, companies should abandon virtual theories and instead invest more energy into product development, improving real-world user experiences. They should also focus on creating a fully interconnected ecosystem, not just stopping at individual products.
The concept of smart homes continues to attract attention, and appliance companies should respond to consumer needs with rational, practical product designs. According to GFK, a market research company, most Chinese consumers today are familiar with the idea of smart homes and expect them to significantly impact their lives in the near future. Even if the industry is not yet mature, its trend is undeniable. Major appliance brands and tech giants are still worth watching. Can they truly meet consumer demands at the product level? Achieving full product interconnection and interoperability has become a major challenge for companies aiming to gain a competitive edge.
For Chinese consumers, the most popular areas of smart home applications include security control, entertainment connectivity, health monitoring, and smart appliances. This shows high expectations for safety, entertainment, health, and household convenience. Currently, popular appliances such as large-screen entertainment TVs and health-focused air purifiers reflect the features consumers desire, and their continued success highlights the importance of understanding and responding to market needs.
Ultimately, the goal of smart home development is full ecological integration, bringing smart technology back to the essence of everyday life. Based on the recognition of smart home trends and the vision for future family upgrades, many leading companies have already demonstrated their commitment to this field. Recently, Foxconn showcased Sharp's complete smart home system, highlighting its expansion in areas like 8K and 4K ultra-high-definition smart TVs, air purifiers equipped with patented plasma ion technology, refrigerators using nano-low temperature catalysts, and waterless cooking electric cookers—each designed to meet consumer needs comprehensively.
According to the company’s representative, Sharp's smart home system can control these devices through the family’s central TV screen, enabling remote control of home appliances and adjustments based on big data. Additionally, Sharp’s intelligent robots can maintain continuous communication, forming a fully integrated smart home system that simplifies daily life and frees up users’ time.
Today, many consumers are becoming more rational in evaluating AI-powered products on the market. Companies are beginning to realize the importance of developing smart homes across multiple levels. In the coming years, how each company leverages its own industry advantages and breaks through technological barriers will be the key to winning the market.