Honor Aims to Disrupt the TV Industry

On July 15, Honor held a press conference, releasing a whole new category called “smart screen”. The long-awaited new product is not a TV as rumored before, but instead it is actually something “smarter”. According to Zhao Ming, “smart screen is not a TV, it’s the future of TV.” The company is now aiming to upgrade the traditional TV industry.

According to Zhao Ming, president of Huawei Honor, the TV was once the center of the whole family, and it was also the portal to discover the world and access more information. It was once the optimal choice for socializing before the birth of smartphones. The new smart screen will serve as the family’s center for video entertainment, information sharing, control and management as well as multi-device interactions.

“We started exploring this direction as early as 2015, and Honor has the foundation for TV manufacturing, which is its image processing capabilities. There have been internal debates within the company about whether we should enter this industry. The point is not to make the competition fiercer in this industry, but rather to infuse new energy into it. The pace of innovation in the TV industry is rather slow compared with smartphones and the rate of research and development is not enough. Our company has the responsibility and awareness to drive the development of the industry, and make the products that will be a true upgrade in terms of computing, connectivity and processing.” Over the years, Honor has accumulated abundant technologies including self-developed chips, AI deep learning, sensors and IoT.

When asked how the new smart device compares with smartphones and tablets, Zhao stressed that it aims to bring users back to TV screens from smartphones. “Smartphones serve as a companion for individuals while smart screen serves as companion for the whole family. In this sense, TV is still irreplaceable, connecting everyone together.”

JD.com announced during the event that the new smart screen category will be launched on the platform in the near future and become an independent category alongside TVs. Honor also announced that it will officially release the first smart screen product in early August.