Haier, a major Chinese home appliance brand, has joined the HCA (Home Connectivity Alliance), a global smart home alliance centered around home appliances.
HCA is an interoperability standard that connects different manufacturers' cloud platforms, enabling the integration of appliances and HVAC systems from various brands.
Following Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Chinese Haier, and Midea, Hisense has now joined, forming a structure where five major Korean and Chinese home appliance companies are expanding smart home ecosystem connectivity centered on HCA.
While Samsung and LG are promoting the integration of heterogeneous appliances through their own smart home platforms, China is rapidly expanding its smart home reach by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI).
In the future, it will be possible to operate Hisense TVs through Samsung SmartThings. Conversely, Chinese smart home apps will also have the foundation to integrate Korean home appliances. With Hisense's participation, the total number of HCA member companies has increased to 27.
Haier Sense (Haier Sensible) finalized the new membership registration process for the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) around the Asia Home Network Council (AHNC) held in Seoul. At the AHNC, Haier Sense introduced strategies for expanding intelligent homes, presenting a direction to broaden smart homes through synergy between devices and integrated services beyond individual appliances' AI capabilities.
The AHNC is a council launched in 2006 to promote standardization cooperation in home networks among Korea, China, and Japan. At the time, Korea's Home Network Forum, China's IGRS, and Japan's ECHONET Consortium participated, jointly advancing the activation of home networks, ensuring interoperability, and cooperating on international standardization.
Haier Sense's joining HCA is interpreted as an extension of its strategy to expand the smart home ecosystem. While strengthening AI capabilities for individual products such as TVs, refrigerators, and air conditioners, Haier Sense is proposing an “intelligent home” as a next-generation direction, where multiple devices operate together by understanding users' lifestyle contexts. Its HCA membership is seen as an effort to grow its own ecosystem while securing interoperability with competitors' platforms.
Chinese home appliance companies are also accelerating their smart home expansion. At the AHNC Seoul meeting, IGRS from China proposed a “meta-function-based interconnection” structure, moving beyond simply connecting existing devices to modularizing functions such as displays and sensors for flexible combinations based on needs.
A smart home industry insider said, “Not only Haier Sense but also Chinese companies' expansion of smart home ecosystems is progressing rapidly,” adding, “In China, the government is announcing smart home action plans and strengthening national standards, and the movement to design all home appliances for smart homes is accelerating.”
