As consumer electronics grew to take a bigger part of AWE, the Appliance World Expo, China Household Electrical Appliances Association (CHEAA), the organizer of the show, renamed the show as Appliance & electronics World Expo before the opening of AWE2016 to reflect the change.
After that, AWE 2017 further expands its presence in the sector of consumer electronics by establishing itself as a major arena. In TV sector, for example, it brings together traditional TV brands such as Samsung, LG, Sharp, Hisense, Skyworth, Konka and Haier as well as emerging Internet brands including PPTV, CANTV and Whaley to compete at its platform.
A heated competition of display technologies
In TV sector, the updating of display technologies is the major driver of the industry. Year 2017 witnesses a heated competition between LCD, the dominating technology of the industry, OLED, what is called to be the display technology of the next generation, and laser technology, which is poised to take a head start in the era of big-size TVs. This fierce battle spreads to AWE 2017, where leading TV enterprises go to great length to stand out.
A big sculpture of “Q” is placed conspicuously at Samsung’s booth, signaling Samsung’s unremitting efforts in QLED TVs. According to our reporter, Samsung showcases a dozen of its TVs on site, of which 8 models of its 4 series of QLED TVs are on display, spanning sizes in a range of 55 inches to 88 inches. What’s worth noticing is that, a QLED TV of Samsung takes home the top AWE Award of this year. With its cadmium-free quantum dots technology, Samsung’s new QLED TVs accurately display DCI-P3 color space, and reproduce 100% color volume, with peak luminance as high as 1,500nit to 2,000 nits.
Hisense also turns bullish on quantum-dot TV. At AWE 2017, Hisense unveils its 75-inch ULED TV. Using its latest multi-zone backlight control technology, it truly displays the shades, details and depths that other TVs fail to reach by accurately controlling the backlight of its 560 independent zones which each contains a color scale of up to 4096. With peak luminance of 2,200 nits and a dynamic contrast of up to 30 million: 1, its displays 120% of the NTSC color gamut.
OLED is getting hot. Alongside longstanding players of LG and Skyworth, Konka also finds its position in this sector. With a special zone set to display its OLED TVs, Konka showcases its OLED V92 series which embody stylish looks, extraordinary audio and visual performance, and anti-blue-ray technology.
Of all OLED players, LG, with no doubt, is the star. With products covering the whole industrial chain, it sets the pace for the industry. As the world’s first ultra-thin wallpaper TV, the 77-inch 4k HDR OLED TV, LG W7, belongs to LG’s high end series-Signature. With its body as thin as a piece of glass, it fully demonstrates OLED’s advantages in thickness, catching all eyes of the audiences at AWE 2017.
S9D, the flagship product of Skyworth’s OLED Organic TV, combines the new generation OLED with a thin metal panel to achieve both a thickness of merely 4.7 mm and the strong strength of the body. It integrates the body with the audio system as an unprecedented design to make it look clean and smart.
Hisense puts its priority on laser TV and takes the lead in laser display technology. Its 100-inch 4k laser TV consumes about 1/3 of power of what same-size LCD TV does. It displays 116% of the NTSC color gamut and delivers screen brightness as high as 3000 lm.
Enterprises expand presence with different focuses and strategies
TV enterprises have their own strategies and focuses and this is fully shown at AWE 2017.
High definition image is what TV industry always wants to improve. Sharp showcases an 8k TV at AWE 2017, which has a resolution of 7680×4320. According to our interviewee from Sharp, “8k TV delivers high definition images. You will not see any pixel dots even when you keep your eyes close. It might take time for 8k TVs to go into households. It has promising future in medical care and other sectors.” Konka also has 8k TVs on market.
TV enterprises wage a heated competition surrounding smart appliances. After test driving a number of smart products showed at AWE 2017, our reporter finds that home grown brands, in general, outperformed foreign brands in this regard.
Internet brands also step up their efforts in smart solutions. With an advantage in contents, CANTV, for instance, brings its three series of TVs and its portable LED projectors to AWE 2017.
PPTV, a leading Internet brand in contents, shows its strength in sport-related campaigns. A customized TV in collaboration with Liverpool Football Club is on display at AWE 2017.
Whaley, also a leading Internet TV player, cooperates with Midea in smart home. Li Qiang, General Manager of Midea Smart Home, runs Midea’s air conditioner, air purifier and humidifier on site through a panel offered by Whaley.
A focus on new technologies
AWE 2017 expands its portfolio of consumer electronics beyond TVs to include VR related products, smart speakers, smart phones, drones, robots and more at AWE 2017.
At AWE 2017, enterprises integrate VR with their products on exhibition, offering audiences an immersive experience.
Coocaa shows the industry a model of integrating hardware, content and applications as a way of applying Coocaa VR into more industries such as entertainment, video games, live streaming, tourism, education, real estate market, medical care, online commercial, finance, etc.
Haier released a speaker designed for smart homes on March 9, 2017, which is capable of 60 human-machine interactions. Unisound brings a “Chinese version of Echo” developed solely by itself, a speaker integrated with smart home control, personal assistance and entertainment.
XGIMI showcases a smart projector at AWE 2017.
Gowild displays its holoera X, a product that integrates technology, video games, with entertainment to offer personalized interaction.
