Chinese consumers boost smart TV industry

Statistics from AVC showed that TV sales reached 22 million units nationwide in the first half of this year, down 2.7 percent compared with the same period last year, and related sales revenue totaled 64 billion yuan ($898 million), a fall of 11.8 percent year-on-year.

The prices of major TV products also declined, resulting in weaker profit margins and rising pressure on enterprises, said Zhu Yuanyuan, head of the electronic products business division of AVC.

To revive sales and lure more consumers, Shenzhen-based TV maker Skyworth Group is beefing up efforts in R&D of core technologies.

"With the arrival of 5G and artificial intelligence, smart screens will not only exist in TVs, but also appear on multiple smart terminals," said Wang Zhiguo, chairman and president of Shenzhen Skyworth-RGB Electronic, a subsidiary of Skyworth Group.

The company focuses on innovation and launched an open big-screen AIoT ecosystem named Swaiot earlier this year to enable users to view, control and manage all their smart home devices from their TVs.

"The traditional TV market is almost saturated and companies need to seek new growth points," said Dong Min, an independent researcher in the home appliances sector.

He said the launch of a series of innovative TV products meant people have noticed that TV is not just a tool for viewing, but also an important hub for the smart home. This will have a positive influence on upgrading products, inspire innovation of the sales channel and the supply chain to shore up the whole industry, Dong added.

New display technologies such as cutting-edge organic light-emitting diode TVs, curved screens and screenless TVs are also good choices, he explained.

Smartphone makers are now going into the TV sector. Honor, one of the two signature smartphone brands of Huawei Technologies Co, launched its first smart TV called Honor Vision in August, marking the company's official entry into the sector.

It is the first electronic product that is powered by its in-house operating system HarmonyOS, as Huawei is accelerating efforts to build its own software ecosystem for the era of IoT.

The 55-inch smart-screen will function as a hub for information sharing for families and a center for multi-device interaction, the company said.

Honor President Zhao Ming said the company hopes to leverage its years of innovation in smartphones to reshape the role of TV in people's daily lives. The content from video steaming sites including Tencent Video and MGTV is available on Honor's smart TV.

Redmi, an independent brand of Xiaomi Corp, also launched its first smart TV in August. Xiaomi entered the traditional TV sector in 2013. IDC said the Beijing-based company shipped 2.35 million units of smart TVs in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 79 percent year-on-year, accounting for 21.7 percent in market share.

Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus unveiled its TV product - OnePlus TV - in India in September, likewise marking its initial foray into the smart TV space.

"The AI-powered TV industry has stepped into a mature period and human-machine interaction has become more important. Along with more tech companies jumping into the industry, the competition will continue and be more intense," said Liu Buchen, an independent researcher in the home appliances sector.