Huatai Securities: AI Empowerment and Product Innovation Will Become Important Growth Points for Tech Consumer Enterprises in 2026

Huatai Securities believes that by 2026, AI empowerment and product innovation will become key growth drivers for technology consumer companies. The sectors of smart home, cleaning appliances, smart hardware, AI glasses, NAS, and others will accelerate their iterations. Platform-based companies are expected to leverage ecological advantages to capture market share, and undervalued tech consumer companies may also see valuation reassessment opportunities.

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Huatai | Home Appliances: Observations from China AWE Exhibition - Embracing AI, Smart Living

Key Points

From March 12 to 15, the 2026 China Home Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE2026) was held in Shanghai. As an annual industry indicator, this year’s theme was “AI Technology · Intelligent Future.” Through on-site visits and inspections of the exhibition halls, we found that Chinese home appliance companies participating this year are no longer solely focused on product parameters like suction power and battery life, or simple product displays. Instead, they are paying more attention to spatial expression and ecological integration. Additionally, AI has shifted from an “optional feature” to an essential component of industry innovation. Robots are moving beyond flashy demonstrations toward real-world scenarios that involve household services and labor. We believe this AWE is an important window into the application of AI and robotics in consumer markets. We are optimistic about investment opportunities in the tech consumer sector and valuation re-evaluation of home appliance companies driven by AI empowerment and product innovation in 2026.

Trend 1: From “Tools” to “Partners,” Embodied Intelligence Reshaping Home Appliance Positioning

Home appliances, represented by cleaning devices, are beginning to develop “brains” (large models) capable of understanding scenarios and intentions; “senses” (visual perception, voice interaction) that can perceive humans and environments; and “hands and feet” (robotic arms, bionic structures) that can proactively perform unstructured household tasks like folding clothes and cooking. We believe the next decade will be a golden era for large-scale commercialization of household robots. Stone Technology’s G-Rover, debuting at this exhibition in China, uses dual mechanical legs to clean stairs and traverse complex terrains, achieving a transition from 2D ground cleaning to 3D spatial cleaning. Ecovacs launched its first home service robot “Eight Realm” equipped with OpenClaw, capable of recognizing and storing scattered clutter, as well as autonomously organizing spaces and returning items to their places.

Trend 2: Under AI Empowerment, Traditional Home Appliances Are Rejuvenated, and Smart Hardware Iterates Faster

With advances in AI technology, the logic of traditional home appliances is shifting from passive response to active observation, understanding, and service. Huawei’s Mate TV allows users to cast content from their phones via gestures, and by recognizing family members’ faces and voices, it delivers personalized content. Hisense’s RGB-MiniLED features AI panoramic World Cup functions, supporting pre-match previews, immersive viewing during matches, and post-game reviews. Additionally, AI development is driving interaction interfaces from traditional mobile apps to smart wearables like glasses, rings, and wristbands. Boss Appliances launched its first AI cooking glasses, and Thunderbird Innovation’s X3 Pro partnered with Amap to release the first local lifestyle app for smart glasses, “Thunderbird Smart Life,” which can directly recognize merchant ratings, customer spending, and feature tags.

Trend 3: Moving from “Product Displays” to “Ecological Construction,” Building Intelligent Ecosystems

As technology matures, we believe future industry competition will no longer focus solely on parameter comparisons but on companies’ strategic resilience and ecological building capabilities, creating smoother and more comprehensive user experience loops. For example, Chasing Dream’s theme at this exhibition was “ALL IN DREAME,” featuring eight independent booths, extending from cleaning appliances to whole-house smart systems, smart travel, space and universe exploration, energy, and chip computing power. Haier launched AI Eye 2.0, embedding its capabilities into various household scenarios—helping refrigerators recognize food types and recommend storage zones, automatically adjusting preservation environments based on food characteristics. They also introduced household robots, including embodied cleaning robots and companion robots, covering user needs across all ages and scenarios, progressing from “replacing household chores” to “unmanned chores.”

We reaffirm our positive outlook on investment opportunities in the tech consumer sector and the valuation re-evaluation of home appliance companies.

We believe that in 2026, AI empowerment and product innovation will be key growth drivers for tech consumer companies. Sectors such as smart home, cleaning appliances, smart hardware, AI glasses, and NAS will accelerate their iterations. Platform companies are expected to leverage ecological advantages to gain market share, and undervalued tech consumer firms may see valuation reassessment opportunities. We recommend: 1) Leading tech consumer companies with AI + growth; 2) Home appliance leaders with safety margins and attractive valuations.

Risk Tips: Risks of product/technology innovation falling short; intensified competition; trade friction. This report includes information on unlisted companies or stocks not covered, based on objective public data, and does not constitute a recommendation or coverage opinion from our research team.

(Source: First Financial)