Smart home systems for the affluent rolled out
Technology companies are rolling out smart home services such as unified operating systems and artificial intelligence gears in high-end Chinese markets, including home packages valued at 100 million yuan (US$15.6 million) or more.
Huawei and Xiaomi-backed Yunmi launched smart home products this week with prices ranging from 40,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan.
Huawei's smart home system includes a control center and various smart systems for living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens based on the HarmonyOS platform. About 4,500 home appliances from more than 1,900 brands support the Huawei-developed platform, providing homes with seamless wireless connections.
Huawei is showcasing its smart locker product.
Autonomous driving technologies, including sensors, environment analysis and security, can be used in smart homes for the first time, said Richard Yu, chief executive of Huawei's consumer business unit.
In 2021, Huawei opened 50 smart home outlets in 50 cities nationwide. The number will hit 500 by the end of this year.
Prices of Huawei's smart home service package begin at 40,000 yuan for homes at least 80 square meters in size.
Yunmi introduced new smart-home packages priced up to 300,000 yuan. Target groups are "senior business executives, film stars and venture capitalists" with annual incomes of over 5 million yuan, said Chen Xiaoping, chief executive of Yunmi.
The premium package offers 125 AI products, including water purifiers, laser technology home theaters and professional robots for "villas and houses valued at least 100 million yuan." A standard package supports a house with eight rooms and three hallways.
Yunmi has sold 50 million home appliance units to 2 million Chinese families, making it the premium market leader. It now has 2,000 outlets nationwide, offering delivery, design, installations and other services.
Yunmi's smart home system is based on 5G, IoT and AI.
The new product debuts align with nationwide smart-home-industry upgrades, with tech-savvy users, customized scenarios and innovations in the Internet of Things (IoT), AI and cloud, analysts said.
Shanghai families are willing to pay for digital upgrades and invest more in health and nutrition, said Han Jianhua, secretary general of the Shanghai Commercial Trade Association of Household Electric and Electronic Appliances.
Meanwhile, information technology firms and smartphone vendors, including Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo, are expanding into the smart home and IoT sectors at a time when smartphone sales are declining.
Huawei, which is facing a strict American technology embargo, is expanding into new categories like smart driving, fitness & sports and smart homes, aiding the company's drive to develop its HarmonyOS ecosystem.
"The business expansion (into smart home and other sectors) is our long-term strategy over the next five to 10 years," Yu said.
