“It’s a smartphone with a large screen.”
“It’s a smart speaker with a big screen,” says Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group at the global launch of the Huawei Mate 30 Series in Munich, Germany on Thursday.
OK, it’s a TV.
So, everyone is making a Smart TV now. Aside from the big wigs like Samsung, LG, Sony, and the like, even companies like OnePlus and now Huawei are doing it too.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise since honor announced its honor Vision and Vision Pro TVs back in August, and running Huawei’s much-talked-about HarmonyOS, too.
So, what makes Huawei Vision special? A lot apparently, at least in the AI department.
But first, the Huawei Vision is offered in 65-inch and 75-inch models, with 55-inch and 85-inch models coming later. It’s unclear where Huawei sourced the panel from: Samsung or LG?
The 4K Ultra HD TV features Quantum Dot technology (Samsung calls it QLED), incredibly thin bezels, and a pop-up camera. The camera slides out at the top of the TV when you need to take a picture or do a video conference. Makes sense, I guess.
There wasn’t a tonne of hardware details revealed but the display has a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and an “8+1+1 intelligent Sound System” that delivers professional 5.1 sound.
Is it Dolby Atmos certified? Does it have Dolby Vision and HDR10 certification? We don’t know.
Anyway, the underlying operating system is none other than HarmonyOS. The OS will serve as a hub for smart home devices that supports Huawei’s proprietary HiLink platform.
With IoT Control and HiLink, the TV becomes a hub for your smart devices at home. It’s a familiar sounding strategy that’s employed by the stalwarts in the consumer electronics segment namely Samsung, Sony, LG, and even Apple.
Huawei touts the TV’s AI capabilities and it’s “always listening.” As scary as that sounds, the TV supports voice commands, facial recognition and tracking features. If that wasn’t enough, it has skeletal joint recognition, presumably for those fitness videos that you’re doing burpees to, ensuring you’re in good form; and AI Kids, with pitch and body recognition.
The Huawei Vision naturally, comes with a minimalist remote control that includes a touchpad and several tactile buttons. It also includes Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC (unconfirmed) to enable “One-hop Projection” from Huawei devices. The remote charges over USB-C.
Details are sketchy and Huawei did not disclose a release date or pricing details for the Huawei Vision. There’s no indication on where this TV will be sold either, although it is likely to be a China-only bound product.
