Reflections on the Cross-border Intelligent Lighting of Xiaomi and Huawei

With the development of informatization, we are entering the era of the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things will be the next "important productivity" driving the rapid development of the world. It will be another trillion-level market following the communications network. In the exploration of “everything in the Internet of Things”, intelligent lighting is undoubtedly at the front, but it also means that there is no way to draw lessons from it. Companies involved in smart lighting should open up a new line of intelligent lighting from development to perfection.

Is smart lighting landing difficult?

IHS predicts that the global smart lighting control revenue will increase from 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 4.8 billion U.S. dollars in the next decade. Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets predicts that by 2017, the market for smart lighting systems will reach $5.9 billion. For smart lighting market prospects, the industry is generally optimistic. However, it seems that it has always been hot in the market. Consumers do not buy it.

For this phenomenon, Mr. Guan Baocang, Director of Sunshine Lighting, put forward his opinion: “Indeed, the smart lighting market has a good prospect, but the current development trend is not obvious. Especially after entering 2016, this phenomenon has become more apparent. For example, some group lighting companies will adopt measures such as reducing expenditures and increasing revenues and reducing expenditures in the smart lighting sector. I think the main reason is that although smart lighting is a promising prospect, smart lighting is, after all, an entrance to smart homes, but at this stage Intelligent lighting is not just needed, but it is not just a need, or it can be called pseudo-just-needed. This phenomenon of slow development is reflected in the lack of demand."

Wu Zhaoping, technical manager of China Keruic Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., believes: “These smart lighting situations are just as they were when LED lighting began to become popular at the time – the cost is relatively high. The product can be promoted in the market with two One, one is technology, one is cost, only two combined, the market acceptance will be high.”

Indeed, price is an important factor that influences consumer decision-making. Nowadays, many smart lamps on the market sell for hundreds of dollars. Compared to the LED lamps with tens of dollars and incandescent lamps with several dollars, smart lighting does not have a competitive advantage in terms of price. Moreover, the use of smart lighting requires WiFi and routers, which is an overhead for some consumers.