中國最大家電制造商進軍智能家居業務

孟潔冰

With the development of the “internet of things，” China has seen a rising demand for smart products across all sectors. Products that carry a label “smart，” such as speakers， watches， or even vehicles， are ultimately expected to give you more control， efficiency， and a level of personalization that addresses your individual needs.

The “smart” label has found a place in the home appliance market too， leading to a growing assortment of everything from smart refrigerators， ACs， TVs and other products.

According to a report by Daxue Consulting， Chinas largest home appliances manufacturers， such as Midea， Haier， Galanz， and Hisense， begun investing in the development of smart home products. They are， however， up against tough competition from companies like Xiaomi， which started from making smartphones but has ventured into a suite of smart home appliances. A digital technology company at its core， Xiaomi also has the advantage of higher brand appeal among younger consumers.

Because of their higher price， more complicated use， and a relative newness on the market， smart home products attract only a specific group of buyers. Household penetration for smart products is considered to be at 7.7% in China this year， and this includes all smart home setups， such as speakers， security and lighting systems.

The early adopters of these products tend to have higher disposable income and willing to spend extra on novelty， convenience and efficiency. The market is however expected to grow fast as smart products become cheaper and more mainstream. By 2023， market penetration in China is projected to be at 24.8%， according to the data compiled by Statista.

Some traditional manufacturers have adopted a dual strategy where they continue to address the mass market of consumers while developing experimental lines of smart products that target early adopters.

Hisense， one of Chinas largest home appliance manufacturers and a state-owned enterprise is one example.

The company has multiple brands and sells a variety of products， covering refrigerators， air conditioners， washing machines， smartphones， and televisions. It has emphasized that it adheres to a development strategy of a “technology-based enterprise” with “smart” and “innovation” as its “core values，” however its latest product launches have focused on improving traditional features on mass products， such as a fast freeze mode for fridges， LED lighting， and others.

However， Hisense has veered into smart devices too. Two years ago， it launched a portable HiSmart AC， a device controllable via a smartphone app that can adjust the temperature according to the outside environment or your daily routines.

The state-owned enterprise has done most of its technological development in the TV segment. In August this year， the company launched a “social TV” with an interactive system giving its users features such as group video chat， 3D Avatar Karaoke connecting to friends online， and AI fitness.

Hisense seems to operate well in both the traditional and “smart” market segments， but the competition is bound to intensify， as other well-established home appliance brands compete for the attention of Chinese consumers.

A few brands have been making their way into smart products via the development of smart home solutions.

Breaking smart

Chinese home appliances maker Midea is a leader in the development of connected appliances and smart home solutions. It has invested more than RMB 20 billion in the R&D in the last five years and set up 20 research centers globally. In 2016， its subsidiary Midea Smart Technology started operating separately， developing smart home solutions under the M-Smart label.

The M-Smart system has been successfully showcased at various expos， however， some of its products remain conceptual at this point. That said， some of its traditional products with intelligent features， such as smart， voice-controlled ACs or smart refrigerators with an interactive screen， have been successfully launched.

The Hong Kong-listed company this month announced the development of an AI system that would connect all smart products within a household to one core platform.

Another example of successful smart home solutions come from a Qingdao-based company Haier. In 2016， the company introduced the Haier U+ platform， helping household owners to monitor and control real-time information about their home appliances via an app. This way， a consumer can remotely adjust the temperature of the refrigerator or find a recipe based on the available ingredients.

Last year， the company showcased a line of its all-scenario household smart appliances， covering kitchen， bedroom， bathroom and living room. Washing machines that can recognize the texture of your clothes， a 3D fitting mirror， or a refrigerator with a smart screen that can identify ingredients are just a few examples of how the company is adapting to the digital era.

According to the Daxue Consulting report mentioned earlier， the market size of smart home systems is increasing at an annual rate of 20% and smart home appliances are its largest segment.

Competition from internet companies

Chinese tech giants， such as Alibaba and Baidu， arent mass producing AC units. But they are entering the smart devices segment mostly via smart speakers， which they dominate. In 2019， the market for smart speakers has more than doubled， up from RMB 330 million to RMB 680 million in comparison with last year， according to Daxue Consulting.

Baidus smart speaker brand Xiaodu， launched last year， recorded a growth of 3700% to capture 17.3 percent of the global market with 4.5 million shipments.

Competition in smart devices also comes from Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi， which is out to prove that it is more than just a smartphone maker. Known for its affordable products， it competes with the home appliances brands that have been on the market for decades. It first entered the market with air purifiers and has launched a number of other products since. Among the most popular ones are lamps， air conditioners， washing machines， and vacuum cleaners. Last year Xiaomi introduced the Yunmi Smart Refrigerator that can keep food at an ideal temperature. One of its latest smart products also includes an interactive childrens toothbrush developed under the companys home appliance startup Soocas.

Convergence

With increasing competition and development of AI-based home solutions， some big internet companies and traditional home appliances makers seek ways how to collaborate and cut a larger share of the market together.

Haier is one of the traditional companies that have made great efforts to cooperate with internet giants. Last year it announced two strategic cooperations with Baidu and Sogou. Baidus AI system and Haiers U+ platform will work together on big data and IoT towards technological solutions for smart homes. Sogou will offer support via its voice technology to smoothen interaction between home appliances and users.

Cooperation between Midea and Xiaomi dates back to 2014 when the latter invested US$200 million （RMB 1.26 billion） in Midea， followed by the launch of the i-Youth Smart AC system.

It is likely to see more of such win-win cooperation as both parties get to share their unique know-how.

With the growing Chinese middle class， Chinas market for smart home devices will keep expanding. The domestic market is highly competitive and companies need to adjust to moving towards this trend. However， as smart technologies are still relatively new and not in demand by everyone， brands also need to remember consumers of traditional products.

隨著“物聯網”的發展，中國各行各業對智能產品的需求都在增長。帶有“智能”標簽的產品，比如音箱、手表甚或汽車，最終有望更易操控、效率更高，也具有一定個性化，可滿足個人需求。

“智能”標簽也在家電市場上占有一席之地，導致智能冰箱、空調、電視和其他產品的種類越來越多。

博圣軒咨詢公司的報告稱，中國最大的家電制造商，比如美的、海爾、格蘭仕和海信等，開始投資智能家居產品的開發。然而，他們面臨著來自小米等企業的激烈競爭。小米從生產智能手機起家，已經涉足一系列智能家電的生產。作為一家以數字技術為核心的公司，小米在年輕消費者中還具有較高的品牌吸引力。

由于價格較高、用途較復雜、在市場上相對較新，智能家居產品只吸引特定的消費群體。2019年，中國智能產品的家庭普及率被認為僅有7.7%，這包括所有智能家居設備，比如音箱、安保和照明系統。

這些產品的早期使用者往往有較高的可支配收入，愿意多花錢購買新穎、便利和高效的產品。然而，隨著智能產品變得更便宜、更主流，這個市場有望快速增長。斯塔蒂斯塔調查公司的數據顯示，到2023年，中國智能產品的市場滲透率預計將達24.8%。

一些傳統制造商采取了雙重戰略，在為早期使用者開發實驗性智能產品系列的同時，他們也繼續滿足大眾市場消費者的需求。

作為中國的一大家電制造商，國有企業海信就是個例子。

海信擁有多個品牌，銷售冰箱、空調、洗衣機、智能手機和電視等各種產品。該公司強調，堅持以“智能”和“創新”為“核心價值”的“科技型企業”發展戰略，不過其最新推出的產品也側重于改善大眾產品的傳統功能，比如冰箱速凍模式、LED照明等。

不過，海信也開始涉足智能家電領域。兩年前，該公司推出了便攜式HiSmart智能空調。這款家電可以通過智能手機應用程序進行操控，能夠根據外部環境或個人日程調節溫度。

這家國有企業的智能技術開發大部分集中在電視領域。2019年8月，該公司推出了一款帶有互動系統的“社交電視”，為用戶提供群組視頻聊天、好友在線連麥的3D Avatar K歌和人工智能健身等功能。

海信似乎在傳統市場和“智能”市場都表現良好，但隨著其他老牌家電爭奪中國消費者的注意力，這種競爭勢必會愈演愈烈。

一些品牌已經通過開發智能家居解決方案進入了智能產品領域。

突破智能

中國家電制造商美的是開發聯網家電和智能家居解決方案的領軍企業。過去5年，該集團在研發領域投入超過200億元人民幣，在全球設立了20個研究中心。2016年，其子公司美的智慧家居科技有限公司開始獨立運營，開發M-Smart品牌的智能家居解決方案。

M-Smart系統已在各種博覽會上成功亮相，然而部分產品目前仍停留在概念階段。即便如此，該公司已經成功推出了幾款具有智能功能的傳統產品，比如智能聲控空調或帶有交互顯示屏的智能冰箱。

2019年8月，這家香港上市公司宣布開發一個人工智能系統，將把全家所有智能產品連接到一個核心平臺。

總部位于青島的海爾公司是另一個成功開發智能家居解決方案的例子。2016年，該公司推出了海爾U+平臺，通過應用軟件幫助戶主監測和控制家用電器的實時信息。這樣消費者可以遠程調節冰箱溫度，或者根據可用食材找到菜譜。

2018年，該公司展示了一系列全場景家用智能電器，涵蓋廚房、臥室、浴室和客廳。無論是可識別衣物材質的洗衣機、3D試衣鏡，還是可識別食材的智能屏幕冰箱，這些產品只是該公司適應數字時代的幾個例子。

前面提到的博圣軒咨詢公司報告稱，智能家居系統的市場規模正以每年20%的速度增長，而智能家電是其中最大的細分市場。

互聯網公司的競爭

阿里巴巴和百度等中國科技巨頭并沒有批量生產空調，但它們主要通過智能音箱進入智能設備市場，并在這個細分市場占據主導地位。博圣軒咨詢公司的數據顯示，2019年，智能音箱市場規模比2018年擴大了一倍以上，從3.3億元人民幣增長到6.8億元人民幣。

數據顯示，百度2018年推出的智能音箱“小度”銷量增長了3700%，占全球市場份額的17.3%，出貨量為450萬臺。

中國電子產品制造商小米也加入了智能設備領域的競爭，小米要證明自己不僅僅是一家智能手機制造商。該公司以物美價廉的產品而聞名，與市場上有數十年歷史的家電品牌展開了競爭。小米首先憑借空氣凈化器進入市場，此后推出了一系列其他產品，其中最受歡迎的是臺燈、空調、洗衣機和吸塵器。2018年，小米推出了云米智能冰箱，可將食物保存在理想的溫度。小米最新發布的智能產品還包括兒童互動牙刷，由旗下家電初創企業舒可士開發。

融合

隨著競爭加劇和人工智能家居解決方案的發展，一些大型互聯網公司和傳統家電制造商都在尋找合作方式，共同分享更大的市場份額。

海爾是與互聯網巨頭大力合作的傳統企業之一。2018年，海爾宣布了與百度和搜狗的兩項戰略合作。百度的人工智能系統和海爾的U+平臺將在大數據和物聯網方面展開合作，為智能家居提供技術解決方案。搜狗將通過其語音技術提供支持，實現家電和用戶之間的順暢交流。

美的與小米的合作可追溯到2014年，當時小米向美的投資2億美元（約合12.6億元人民幣），隨后推出了i青春智能空調系統。

隨著雙方分享各自獨特的專業技術，我們可能會看到更多這樣的合作共贏。

隨著中國中產階級的日漸壯大，中國智能家居設備市場將繼續擴大規模。國內市場競爭激烈，企業需要加以調整以適應這一趨勢。然而，由于智能技術還相對較新，并非人人所需，品牌也不要忘記傳統產品的消費者。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）