Products that are “Created in China” are starting to lead the global market. The International CES that opened on January 7 kicked off a competition among the world’s major industry players in 2014. It is apparent from the exhibition that an era of “smartness” has arrived, and that Chinese companies are staging some noteworthy performance in this competition. Widely covered by European and America media, Haier’s smart home solutions recently appeared on one of the iconic big screens at Times Square in New York City.
Haier’s new Tianzun air conditioner has been reported by more than 200 world media outlets, including Yahoo, Reuters, The Boston Globe, Houston Business Journal, San Francisco Business Times, and PR Newswire. As long as a customer has a Wifi connection, they can easily configure their Tianzun air conditioner using their smartphone, which connects to the air conditioner automatically without going through a laborious registration or password setup process. Completing configuration with just a couple of taps on their smartphone screen, consumers enjoy a simple, efficient smart-appliance experience.
Due to user-unfriendliness, the “smart” functionality of many home appliances remains largely decorative and rarely used. To address this problem, at this year’s CES, Haier unveiled the Tianzun air conditioner, the world’s first white good certified by Apple’s MFi program. In the future, Haier plans on expanding this strategy to other products, such as water heaters and ovens.
Apart from disruptive innovation in user interface experience, Haier has also brought an impressive smart-home experience to this year’s CES. Unlike many other exhibitors, Haier’s smart-home experience is not limited to a single product, but a complete solution that covers air, water, electricity, and gas. In Haier’s smart home, any appliance can be controlled by using SmartCenter, which can be accessed by cellphone or tablet. Most strikingly, once connected to the network, these smart appliances can automatically detect and react to environmental changes in the home, without waiting for commands from a user.
“Air quality is down. The air conditioner’s health mode is on.” “The eggs in your refrigerator have reached their expiration date.” “Your egg tarts are ready.” After experiencing these at Haier’s smart home, a Professor Walker from Ohio State University believed this was the real smartness. He and his students are working on a project on the “smartness” trend. They have decided to include Haier’s smart home as a case study in their research project.
In a mobile Internet era, consumers are seeking a carefree and convenient lifestyle. As the world’s number one white goods brand, Haier is creating innovative smart-home solutions to save people time spent on household chores. The Haier booth at this year’s CES has received special attention from the media and attendees. Haier has also been featured on a large video screen at Time Square in New York City. “Haier, advocate of a brand new Internet-era lifestyle, offers a smart-home experience you’ve been looking for.”
Haier’s efforts in creating a smart-home experience are a reflection of its networked-based strategy. Haier aims to build an all-encompassing smart-home platform by making all of its products Internet-connected, from large appliances to smaller electronics. Expanding step by step from smart appliances to smart homes to smart neighborhoods, Haier is on its way to achieve its ambition of building smart cities, and eventually a smart planet.
