Competition in the smart home industry has entered a white-hot phase, with the reach of the giants growing ever wider — from global brands such as Amazon to domestic players such as Xiaomi, whose products increasingly cover the whole home. The lively new product launches have given the market confidence, and consumer acceptance of and expectations for smart products keep rising.
2018 was a year of solid results for an increasingly mature smart home industry, widely regarded as the commercialisation turning point for the sector. The idea of the "fully smart home" gained traction and high recognition among ordinary consumers, laying the foundations for the decisive stage of upgrade and breakthrough in 2019.
From the explosion of popular single products such as smart speakers, smart locks and robot vacuums to the building of smart scenarios such as lighting and security, the smart home industry is accelerating and continuously refining its ecosystem. Strong alliances between smart home companies are integrating quality resources across the whole field. So, at the start of 2019, what encouraging signals did the smart home industry release?
Demand for premium smart appliances surged
The positive trend is clearly evidenced by sharply rising consumption during the 2019 Spring Festival. Data published by Suning.com and JD.com showed noticeably more smart appliance purchases than usual: smart locks, smart televisions and smart clothes-drying racks became new choices for the public, with sales growing strongly year on year. Trend-seeking, technology-loving consumers in their twenties and thirties became the driving force behind premium smart appliances.
Growing acceptance of smart homes among new-home renovators
As technology improves, smart home systems have become more stable and the experience has improved, so consumers increasingly accept and embrace smart devices. Once viewed as expensive with weak purchase intent, smart homes now reach far more home buyers — many have already tried smart devices and recognise the convenience they bring.
Beyond the comfort consumers now expect from an intelligent life, developers have long tracked the value smart technology adds to property. Leading developers including Evergrande, Poly, Vanke and Country Garden have successfully delivered smart housing projects, and Midea Real Estate's 5M smart healthy community has become well known, standing out in the sector through forward-looking smart housing strategy and differentiated products.
5G accelerates the era of the Internet of Things
Since 2019, 5G has been the hot topic in technology circles, bringing us closer to an everything-connected era. 5G has already been applied at Qingdao Port's Xinqian Bay automated terminal, and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics will use 5G innovation for 360-degree live broadcasting and immersive VR experiences. Temporary 5G licences have been issued in several cities so that large-scale deployment can start first in selected cities and hot spots, accelerating terminal industrialisation and network construction; commercial products such as 5G phones and 5G iPads are due in the second half of the year. 5G will help us move from the mobile internet era into the IoT era, and the fusion of IoT with artificial intelligence will continue to optimise the experience of connected devices.