AWE2024, concluded at the Shanghai New International Expo Center on March 17, spanned four days and 150,000 square meters, attracting more than one thousand global leaders in household appliances and consumer electronics industry.

Themed “Smartize the Future,” the event provided a panoramic view of new products, new technologies, new consumer experiences, and new lifestyles brought by AI-powered household appliances and consumer electronics, presenting a new chapter of smart life to consumers around the world. The event also started a trade-in campaign for household appliances, driving smart, green, and scenario-based consumption.

As the event’s consumer influence and global clout continue to rise, AWE2024 attracted a wide range of demographics to explore the new era of smart life, including locals in Shanghai attending the event with their families over the weekend and college students on study tours. The event also welcomed more than one hundred delegations, including distributors such as online store owners on JD and Tmall, as well as top offline distributors from different regions of China. This year’s AWE also saw a surge in overseas attendees. Many multinationals sent their global executives to the event for firsthand insights and networking opportunities, while also sharing insightful views for the joint advancement of the industry across the globe.

Responding to the trade-in policy, AWE2024 captures the spotlight

Recently, China’s State Council released the Action Plan to Promote Large-scale Equipment Renewals and Trade-ins of Consumer Goods (“Action Plan”), which outlines 20 key tasks in four major actions, including trade-ins of consumer goods, across five aspects. Notably, household appliance trade-ins and the replacement of consumer goods for home decoration are also covered by the key tasks. AWE2024 signaled the outset of China’s trade-in campaign, as it played a vital role in bolstering confidence in the industry.

Against this backdrop, AWE2024 has garnered extensive coverage by television networks including CCTV, BRTV, and Dragon Television. The event has been featured multiple times on news programs across different channels of CCTV, such as CCTV-2’s Finance World and Economic Information Broadcast, CCTV-4’s China News, and CCTV-13’s Live News. With a focus on the trade-in policy for household appliances, CCTV aired a series of special coverage

on broad AI applications in household appliances and consumer electronics. In addition, official media outlets such as Economic Daily, Xinhua Net, and people.cn, internationally renowned media networks like Fuji Television Network, TBS, and Kyodo News from Japan, as well as CRI Online channels in English, German, Japanese, and Korean also covered the event extensively.

On the opening day, AWE2024 attracted government officials and industry leaders including Zhang Chonghe, former Deputy Director of the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform and President and Party Secretary of the China National Light Industry Council, Bu Zhengfa, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and former President of the China National Light Industry Council, Xie Li’an, a level-II inspector at the Consumer Goods Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Tao Xiaonian, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee of the China National Light Industry Council and President of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association (CHEAA), and Jiang Feng, Executive President of the CHEAA. They attended the opening ceremony of AWE2024 and the exhibition to explore the latest innovations in household appliances and consumer electronics. They also encouraged companies to capture the growth opportunities of integrated digital and smart development and seek long-term progress in advanced productivity.

With new products, new technologies, and new scenarios, AWE2024 witnessed how smart technologies empower industry development

AWE2024 focused on fields including technology, innovation, intelligence, health, and low-carbon products, presenting a selection of high-end, customized, and scenario-based smart IoT solutions.

Out of the many sections, intelligence stood out as the overarching theme of the event, providing a strong momentum for the household appliances and consumer electronics industry. Today, household appliances and consumer electronics are incorporating new AI technologies such as AIGC and large-scale AI models. Many of the products showcased at this year’s AWE featured the label AI, which marks a transition from traditional smart appliances to AI appliances. Behind this development lies a shift from passive, reactive services to proactive, seamless intelligence, evolving from mere perception to cognition. Today’s household appliances can understand, analyze, and determine user habits, allowing them to deliver better services and help improve the quality of life.

At the event, Haier showcased HomeGPT, the first vertical model invented for its Smart Home Brain. Equipped with an extensive knowledge graph for smart home solutions, this home AI model provides more customized services. Setting the stage for AI televisions, Hisense introduced ULEDX, an AI-powered graphics computation platform for all scenarios with upgraded AI performance across sensing, chip, light, and screen applications. Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S24 series smartphones featuring innovative Galaxy AI technology. With functions such as real-time call translation, the product promises to revolutionize the way users connect with the world.

AWE2024 showcased not only the competition of individual AI products but also the rivalry between integrated smart IoT solutions and ecosystems from different brands. At its Sanyiniao booth, Haier recreated a real one-bedroom home environment, showcasing 20 smart scenarios across eight spaces including the living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. Huawei presented its 1+8+N smart life solution for five scenarios, including travel, office, home, sports & health, and audiovisual entertainment. Hisilicon unveiled its 5+2 smart terminal solution integrated with platforms such as SparkLink Alliance and On-device AI to deliver industry-beating solutions with wide coverage.

Television, as the central hub of smart home and living room entertainment, is also a major highlight of AWE. At the event, visitors were captivated by TCL and Hisense’s Mini LED TVs that offer tens of thousands of backlight dimming zones, Samsung’s transparent Micro LED TV, and Hisense’s rollable laser TV and 8K screen sonic laser TV. Notably, AWE2014 also featured many trendy electronic products such as Skyworth’s MR headset, TCL’s Thunderbird AR glasses, Huawei’s Pocket2 foldable smartphone, Shokz’s bone conduction headphones, and Panasonic’s smart record player, offering users a new audiovisual experience.

The adoption of AI across industries is driving the convergence of different sectors. At AWE2024, companies sped up efforts to transcend the sectoral boundaries, as they venture into fields including semiconductor manufacturing, new energy, and smart vehicles. Huawei, for instance, showcased flagship vehicles including the M9, a model released by Harmony lntelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), to demonstrate the seamless switch and collaborative experience between personal terminals, smart vehicles, and smart homes. A number of new energy vehicles, including Skyworth’s first sedan SKYHOME and Geely’s Galaxy E8, also made their debut at the event. Apart from that, TCL, Hisense, and Skyworth brought a series of smart energy solutions, including household PV, energy storage, and zero-carbon parks, to the exhibition.

A growing number of household appliances at AWE now feature a health function, such as air conditioners with purification features, refrigerators that can monitor odors around the clock, sterilizing washing machines, water purifiers, floor scrubbers, and vacuum cleaners. These health-centered products are built with materials, functions, and designs that help safeguard users’ safety, health, and quality of life. Furthermore, companies like Haier, Huawei, and Panasonic presented smart health solutions, transitioning from health technologies applied to a single product to advanced health management at home.

 “The household appliances and consumer electronics industry has long tracked the development of advanced technologies such as 5G and AI. Powered by cutting-edge technologies, household appliances and consumer electronics will better serve consumers and meet their needs. AWE is witnessing a new era of industry development empowered by smart technologies,” noted Xu Dongsheng, Vice President of the CHEAA.

AWE2024 introduces the Pudong Home Appliance Festival, setting the stage for nationwide trade-in consumption

In addition to an annual showcase for the industry, AWE2024 also provided vibrant consumer activities, making it a destination for entertainment and a festival of technology consumption. From March 11 to 17, AWE, in collaboration with departments including Shanghai’s Pudong Committee of Commerce, the Shanghai Pudong Branch of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the CHEAA, launched the 2024 Pudong Home Appliance Festival. The event, with AWE2024 as the main venue, was concurrently held at four major commercial districts in Pudong, covering Century Link, Super Brand Mall, RedStar Macalline (Pudong Huan Mall), and Galeries Lafayette (L+Mall, Shanghai). The festival featured a diverse array of new products and promotions of green household appliances to promote the trade-in campaign in Pudong. With a fine selection of smart, green, and scenario-based household appliances, the event upgraded the consumer experience for residents and visitors of Pudong.

AWE2024 also partnered with online platforms including JD.com, Tmall, Douyin, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Zhihu, setting off a frenzy both at the event and online. Celebrities like Charmaine Sheh and Zhang Tian'ai, industry tycoons such as Charles Zhang, and social media influencers including Wang Bingbing, Tu Lei, Dongfang Zhenxuan’s Dundun, and MediaStorm’s Tim, as well as CCTV hosts Chen Beibei and Liu Zhongmeng, also attended the AWE2024. Remote appearances by beloved figures like Chen Kun and Luo Yonghao further heightened the excitement, as the guests connected with consumers online and offline and immersed themselves in the smart life showcased at AWE.

Moreover, the AWE Live Stream Night Show sparked heated online discussions, attracting over 100 million hits. With active engagement with AWE exhibitors, three live-streaming e-commerce platforms, JD.com, Tmall, and Douyin, worked together and presented live-streaming sessions set against the backdrop of AWE booths, setting remarkable sales records. In particular, JD.com’s home appliance live stream and Taobao’s Tmall live stream each has been viewed over a million times. On Douyin, popular live streamers attracted nearly 20,000 viewers in real time. Topics related to AWE2024’s opening ceremony even made it to the platform’s top search list.

 “As the industry seeks innovation, AWE has adapted to the latest trends. We have ventured into other sectors to fully expand AWE’s reach and impact. By embracing new formats and models of exhibition, AWE has sped up efforts to foster a digital and technology-centered exhibition to enhance the experience for both exhibitors and visitors while empowering our partners and exhibitors,” said Jiang Feng, Executive President of the CHEAA.

Embracing the latest trends, AWE2024 offers exciting parallel forums and events

AWE’s parallel forums and events, a key component of the AWE ecosystem, delved into a range of subjects and cross-sectoral topics, including sustainable development, AIoT, smart home, ultra-high-definition video, clean appliances, home design, and new retail, to embrace the latest trends and drive high-quality industry development in a new stage of China’s economic recovery.

The “Sustainability is the Future” forum focused on sustainable technologies in China’s household appliances industry and examined the opportunities and challenges posed by the green transition during the sector’s internationalization and globalization efforts, painting a clear picture of sustainable, coordinated, and high-quality development. The forum also featured keynote speeches from corporate executives at companies including Haier, JD.com, Panasonic, and TCL, and Long Yongtu, China’s chief negotiator for WTO accession. Long suggested that the household appliances industry is an icon of China’s manufacturing prowess. It is one of China’s earliest and most internationally competitive sectors. “We should prioritize technological innovation to improve the industry’s competitiveness,” he added.

The “Happiness Begins at Future Home” forum, on the other hand, painted a clearer picture of the industry’s future landscape to address the complexities of building future smart homes. At the forum, executives from exhibitors including Huawei, Hisense, Tmall, Fotile, and Bosch, and Norbert Herzog, Head of Global Strategic Insights at GfK, delivered keynote speeches. In his speech, Herzog emphasized that smart appliances are crucial growth engines for the market and innovation will be the key driver in 2024. He also noted that the focus on product value will remain an effective approach, i.e., companies should continue to offer affordable appliances with rich functionalities to meet consumers’ demand for convenience and sustainability.

In addition, winners of the AWE Award, the highest honor for China’s household appliances and consumer electronics, were announced at the exhibition. A total of 12 products received the AWE Gold Award, including Haier’s Bo Guan series refrigerator BCD-660WGHTD2GSTU1, Samsung’s Neo QLED 8K QN900D TV, TCL’s QD-Mini LED TV X11H, Gree’s vertical air conditioner KFR-72LW/(72507) FNhAa-B1(WIFI), LG’s clothing care machine RX Styler (Best), Casarte’s cloud washing machine C7 XHGAD20L1U1, Panasonic’s stacked washer-dryer NA-G3D58, Huawei’s Smart Screen V5 Pro HD98ARKA, Fotile’s gas-electric stove JZDTY-01-DA10.i, Robam’s electric stove-steamer-baker 81C-iH1, and Bosch’s White Swan series kitchen appliances (Swan White series-T8 side absorption hood DXW62M96AW, White Swan series-8 built-in oven and steamer HBG7764W1W & CDG714XW1W, White Swan series built-in stove PSD82F21MP).

Zhang Chonghe, President of the China National Light Industry Council, noted that AWE2024 gathered over a thousand exhibitors and showcased the application of advanced technologies like AI in household appliances and consumer electronics. With high-tech products, sophisticated manufacturing techniques, extensive use cases, and comprehensive coverage, AWE has evolved into a platform for open collaboration between the household appliances and consumer electronics industry and other sectors.

As AWE2024 draws to a close, it has witnessed the convergence and success of countless innovative products and technologies, offering a glimpse into the limitless potential of smart life. Moving forward, the household appliances and consumer electronics sector will embark on a bold trajectory of innovative development, building upon the foundations laid during AWE2024. Let’s meet again at AWE2025!