SKYWORTH wants your TV to become the center of your smart home world

SKYWORTH might not be a household name outside of China, but inside the country it is one of the most well-known TV brands in existence. At CES 2019 SKYWORTH announced plans to go global with its TV lineup, bringing its technology to more markets. Unlike many other China-based brands that have brought TV products to Europe and the US, SKYWORTH isn’t on a race to the bottom price-wise. Instead, the company believes its technology speaks for itself and will allow it to compete at the higher end of the market.

In a special event in China today, SKYWORTH announced its latest high-end TV lineup up, integrating its smart home hub technology into its televisions.

The manufacturer said it identified TVs as a natural hub for controlling smart home devices. To that end, it added its Swaiot (Skyworth AIoT, get it?) tech to its new Q80 series TV sets as part of its new strategy to become a “big screen AIoT pioneer.”

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The smart home hub tech includes a smart assistant dubbed TrensAI, which uses natural language processing and far-field tech to understand voice commands. SKYWORTH adds that the assistant is able to differentiate between various household members, giving personalized responses as a result.

TrensAI’s presence means you can issue commands to other SKYWORTH smart appliances (such as its smart refrigerator) via the Q80 TV. Fortunately, the company adds that the hub and assistant are compatible with smart devices from other brands. The company didn’t disclose how many brands are currently compatible with Swaiot and TrensAI, but said it’s working to bring support for more manufacturers.

As for the Q80 series TV itself, the set is available in 75-inch and 82-inch flavors. The device packs 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, an in-house image chip, a “50-core” processor, and a soundbar with four channels and ten speakers.

Furthermore, SKYWORTH says the TV is also equipped with a second and third screen. The former screen is a circular always-on display found just below the main screen, giving you information related to connected gadgets. The latter is mounted on top of the sound bar and works like a jog wheel to change songs and adjust volume, with a nifty projection. We’ve seen stuff somewhat similar to this with devices like the LG OLED TV R. The SKYWORTH Q80 also packs an elevating web camera called TrensAI EYE.

The 75-inch Q80 will set you back 29,999 yuan (~$4,464), while the 82-inch variant has a 39,999 yuan (~$5952) price tag. While these are far from cheap, these TVs are clearly meant for those who want more from a TV than just entertainment. Although the pricing isn’t an easy obstacle to get over, we do like the idea of the TV serving as the center of our smart home experience. We’ve already seen how smart display devices can make controlling smart devices easier than ever, but why not put our TVs to use in a similar role?

There’s no word on exactly when and what markets the SKYWORTH Q80 will come to outside of China, but we’ll be sure to update this post as we learn more.