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Smart Home

Smart Home
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Smart Home. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A person uses an all-in-one smart home control system. Photo: Shutterstock
South Korea

South Korea boosts laws after hacker leaks nude videos from smart home devices

Hundreds of apartment buildings across the country were targeted, with compromising footage of residents’ private lives sold on the dark web for bitcoin.

Amazon

Amazon’s new Astro home robot costs US$1,000 and follows you around

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Wellness

Treat yourself: is this the ultimate smart bed?

Xiaomi

Sonos denies rumors of partnership after Xiaomi unveils new smart speaker

Some netizens say Xiaomi’s new speaker looks like the Sonos One but others say the resemblance is limited

The Sonos One (left) and Xiaomi’s latest smart speaker (right) both have a similar wraparound metal plate. (Picture: Sonos/Xiaomi)
Tablet computers

Chinese TV giant Skyworth wants a portable screen on every home appliance

The Swaiot Panel lets you watch TV wherever you go

Huawei

Huawei's smart speaker won't chat (yet)

Without access to Google’s AI voice assistant, Huawei’s new smart speaker is the latest victim of Trump’s Huawei ban following the P40 smartphone series

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Artificial intelligence

China will ship more smart speakers in 2020 despite coronavirus disruption

Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi lead China’s rapidly growing smart speaker market

Baidu’s smart speaker shipment grew 278.5% in 2019, according to IDC. (Picture: Baidu)
Xiaomi

Xiaomi apologizes after user of security camera saw images from strangers’ homes

The user says he connected a Mijia camera to Google Nest Hub

Artificial intelligence

Hey Alexa, do smart speakers belong to our future?

Consumers are buying more smart speakers than ever, but experts say they’re only the earliest form of voice-controlled AI devices

Internet of Things

The Chinese startup putting microchips in linens to ensure hotels are clean

Hotel hygiene scandals are forcing Chinese hotels to look for creative tech solutions

The Chinese startup putting microchips in linens to ensure hotels are clean
Cybersecurity

Are smart locks safe? A Chinese report says not really

One fake fingerprint can open many doors

The smart locks tested in the research weren’t cheap. They were bought on Chinese ecommerce sites for between US$110 and US$520. (Picture: Shutterstock)
Huawei

Chinese netizens have mixed feelings about Huawei’s homegrown HarmonyOS

Patriotism is giving Huawei a boost, but netizens say, “Talk is cheap, show me the code”

Huawei

Huawei debuts Android alternative HarmonyOS

Chinese giant says new operating system can be deployed to smartphones and other devices at any time

Artificial intelligence

This Chinese billionaire built AI to help Samsung and Huawei take better photos

Michael Deng, also known as Deng Hui, is the founder and CEO of ArcSoft -- an AI company with Samsung and Huawei among its clients. The firm provides algorithms and software for digital photography. He became a billionaire when ArcSoft landed on China’s Nasdaq-style Star Market in 2019.

Deng became one of China’s three newest billionaires when his company posted dramatic gains on the country’s new Nasdaq-style Star Market. (Picture: ArcSoft)
Infographics

Chinese people are buying more smart speakers but they aren't using them

The funny thing is that smart speaker sales in China increased massively in 2018. Canalys says the market grew 100 times last year, and Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi trail only Amazon and Google in sales. But that might have something to do with price rather than desire: One recent sale saw Alibaba's Genius X1 speaker go for just US$15.

Chinese people are buying more smart speakers but they aren't using them
Cybersecurity

Your smart light bulb might be sending your data to China

Apps connected to smart light bulbs sold in Walmart and Best Buy are communicating with Chinese servers, report says

Artificial intelligence

The world’s most watched TV show had dancing robots

Ubtech’s Walker performed in China’s Spring Festival Gala

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WeChat

Tencent keeps trying to make hardware but nobody’s buying them

Tencent may be known as the software giant behind WeChat and a whole lot of games. But they make hardware too, like a new smart display (think Amazon Echo with a screen). There's a reason you might not know much about Tencent's hardware, though: It's not very popular.

Many people say they’d prefer a tablet for over US$200. (Picture: Tencent)
Arena of Valor

Forget Siri or Alexa, this smart speaker coaches you to play Arena of Valor

Here's an odd idea: How about a smart speaker that teaches you to play China's biggest game? Tencent released a smart speaker in the shape of a character from Honor of Kings, known as Arena of Valor in the West. It's a niche, sure, but with smart speakers struggling to find a use, perhaps something more targeted like this isn't a bad idea. (Though I'm going to be honest: This seems like a bad idea.)

Apple

Will China embrace Apple’s HomePod?

The three Chinese companies sit ahead of Apple in smart speaker shipments, with the HomePod failing to catch on. Given how low prices seem to be the path to success for Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi -- many of their devices retail for less than US$50 -- it's hard to see how a US$412 smart speaker can succeed in China, even with the Apple brand behind it.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi's voice assistant fails in public again (but it can control Ikea lights)

Xiaomi has its own voice assistant called Xiao Ai. It's said to be able to recognize several Chinese dialects, but on Wednesday it didn't seem to understand what CEO Lei Jun was saying. The botched demo is unlikely to dampen Xiaomi's IoT ambition, which goes very well with its ecosystem strategy: Selling a wide range of home products on top of smartphones and laptops. 

Xiaomi's voice assistant fails in public again (but it can control Ikea lights)
Baidu

There are plenty of smart displays like Facebook Portal in China, but do consumers care?

Smart displays were supposed to be the next big thing. Baidu and JD.com followed up Facebook's Portal, Amazon's Echo Show and the Google Home Hub with smart displays of their own. But (and this should come as no surprise by now) price is a factor, according to IDC's Sophie Pan.

From left to right are JD’s Dingdong Play, Baidu’s Xiaodu Zaijia and Kinstalk M10 from startup Shuji. (Picture: JD, Baidu and Shuzijiayuan)
OnePlus

OnePlus says it’s building a smart TV that may come next year

Will OnePlus attract a loyal following with TVs like the company did with smartphones?

Artificial intelligence

Anker’s new robot vacuum has Alexa and Google Assistant

The RoboVac 30C and Soundcore Flare S+ both have support for voice assistants

Trending in China

"Alexa, read me a Communist lecture": A smart speaker for party members

If you thought the last smart speaker was weird, how about one that plays Communist Party lectures? Ximalaya's smart speaker certainly isn't subtle: It comes in red, with a little gold hammer-and-sickle logo. Sadly, we'll never know how many consumers would actually buy it: Ximalaya says it's only available to certain Communist Party organizations.

"Smart Party-building learning assistant", the speaker’s poster reads. (Picture: Ximalaya FM)
China Internet Report

Why aren’t people buying smart speakers in China?

One of the most surprising takeaways from the report: Just 350,000 smart speakers were sold in China, compared to 25 million in the US. The rapid adoption of things like mobile payment shows that China isn't shy to adopt new technology, and all of the major players are making them... so why aren't people buying smart speakers?

Why aren’t people buying smart speakers in China?
Tencent

Tencent to launch its own smart speaker for sending WeChat messages using voice commands

Tencent’s Tingting speaker will also connect to QQ Music

Apple

iPhone maker Foxconn wants to get into smart homes

Manufacturer buys accessory company Belkin to get access to consumer brands

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