The display screen market is vast. In the era of the Internet of Everything, screens are everywhere, from large devices like living room TVs, outdoor screens to small ones like smartwatches and smartphones, and even household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, range hoods, and floor washers. New display technologies, deeply integrated with cutting-edge technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT, are painting a vibrant, convenient, and futuristic picture for a better smart home life.

Display Technology Innovation: Screens Everywhere

Display technology has undergone continuous innovation since the 20th century, from bulky CRTs to sleek flat-panel displays, from black and white to color, from large-pitch to fine-pitch, and from standard definition to 8K ultra-high-definition. Today, display technology has penetrated every corner of our homes.

Large screens, such as smart TVs, have become the core of living room entertainment, redefining home TV standards with their big sizes and outstanding picture quality. For example, at AWE this year, the Hisense 110-inch Mini LED TV 110UX was showcased, featuring a peak brightness of over 10,000 nits and a color gamut reaching the industry’s highest 90% BT, providing a more vivid visual experience.

The TCL QD-Mini LED TV X11H, a gold award winner of the AWE Award, features 14,112 zones of local dimming and a peak brightness of 6,500 nits, delivering a reference-level visual experience. Samsung's Neo QLED 8K TV uses 8K AI image enhancement Pro technology to finely restore the details of classic old films. Skyworth's wallpaper TV achieves a perfect integration of the TV and the wall, saving space while appearing like a piece of art.

Smaller screens, such as those on smartphones and smartwatches, have become a window through which we connect with the world, offering portability and powerful computing capabilities. Whether for socializing, shopping, payments, or remote control of home appliances, these devices offer unparalleled convenience. In addition to these uses, small screens are embedded in various household appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, range hoods, and even cleaning devices, acting as smart control centers to make home life more convenient and intelligent.

For instance, smart refrigerators from brands like Haier, Ronshen, Meiling, BSH, Viomi, and LG are typically equipped with touchscreens, allowing users to check food storage, adjust temperatures, and set preservation modes. Some high-end models even offer screens to display recipes, play music or videos, enriching the kitchen experience.

Small screens on washing machines provide a more intuitive and convenient way to select washing programs and start the machine with one click, making washing smarter. The small screens on air conditioners allow for easy temperature control and intelligent modes that offer a comfortable, spring-like room environment all year round. Range hoods with small screens adjust fan speed intelligently, ensuring a healthier cooking environment. The small screens on floor washers and robot vacuums take smart cleaning to the next level, offering precise navigation and intelligent planning for efficient home cleaning.

“Every electronic product relies on two key aspects: input and output, with display being the primary method of output. In the internet era, displays are omnipresent,” said an industry insider. The expanded use of screens leads to an emergence of segmented markets, opening up new possibilities for smart home living.

Coordinated Large and Small Screens: Building a Smart Home Ecosystem

It’s clear that in the function evolution of various household appliances—whether TVs, refrigerators, kitchen appliances, or personal electronics—is powered more or less by screen display technology. Companies from Huawei, Xiaomi to Hisense, TCL, Changhong, Skyworth, Konka, Haier, Gree, AUX, Fotile, and Robam all rely on screen display technology to support their smart home applications.

However, relying solely on isolated screen display technologies in individual appliances is not enough to truly achieve a smart home. It requires interconnected devices, deep integration between large and small screens, and the use of AI, IoT, and other advanced technologies to enable intelligent management and personalized services for home devices. This is key to building a smart home ecosystem.

BOE, as an industry leader, has long advocated the “Screen IoT” concept, integrating more functionalities and diversifying the forms of screens to expand the application scenarios, thus creating a broader and limitless space for the smart home ecosystem.

With the empowerment of AI, large and small screens are integrated to share information and to allow for interaction. Large screens can serve as the central hub for family information, displaying the status of the overall home environment, such as temperature, humidity, and air quality. Huawei’s smart screen is an example. It offers features like 1080P video calls, AI fitness, and one-touch screen sharing, while seamlessly connects with smart home devices via its HarmonyOS, making it a center for family interaction, cross-screen experiences, IoT control, and entertainment. Small screens on devices like smartphones, tablets, and range hoods can offer specific operation interfaces and detailed information. Users can remotely control large-screen TVs from small-screen devices and check the operational status of connected appliances on the TV.

With ongoing advancements in AI technologies and algorithms, the deep integration and coordination between large and small screens will take household appliances to a higher level of intelligence. For example, when a user watches TV in the living room, the air conditioner can automatically adjust to a comfortable temperature; when a user enters the kitchen to cook, the range hood and lights can turn on automatically. This intelligent home interaction not only increases convenience but also fills every corner of the home with intelligence and care.

The AI-powered coordination of large and small screens, as a critical link of a smart home ecosystem, is undoubtedly a direction for the future of the home appliance industry. The AWE2025, one of the world’s three major consumer electronics exhibitions, has officially launched. Themed “AI for All,” AWE2025 will be held from March 20 to 23, 2025, at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. At AWE2025, various smart home scenarios built through screen integration will be showcased, fully demonstrating the charm of technology in transforming life. Let’s look forward to this technological feast and witness the arrival of a new era of smart homes.