Economic Observer reporter Chong AngOn August 3, 2022, China’s Hisense Group and Germany’s Leica Camera AG (hereinafter referred to as “Germany Leica”) announced at the same time that the two parties have reached a technical cooperation agreement to jointly develop new laser TV technology and accelerate its promotion in Application and popularity in the global market. This is the first time that Leica Germany has publicly expressed its in-depth layout in this industry and has reached two-way technical cooperation with partners.
This is reminiscent of the cooperation between Germany’s Leica and Huawei mobile phones. In 2016, Germany’s Leica signed a technical cooperation agreement with China’s Huawei mobile phone to develop “the best mobile photography products”. With German Leica’s lens technology, Huawei’s mobile phone also highlights the technical advantage of photography in the global market competition.
Now, what kind of changes will the technological cooperation between China’s Hisense and Germany’s Leica bring to the emerging industry of laser TV?
Cross-border layout
The global laser TV industry has ushered in a new crossover.
On July 26, Dr. Lin Lan, Chairman of China Hisense Group, and Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Germany, formally signed a technical cooperation agreement in Munich, Germany.
According to the agreement, the two parties will carry out in-depth cooperation on technology research and development based on Hisense’s leading technological advantages in the field of laser display over the years and Leica’s research and development expertise in the field of high-quality optical lenses to jointly accelerate the application and development of ultra-short-focus laser TVs in the global market. universal.
Leica Germany is an international company with an optical engineering team that has accumulated over a century of technology and the world‘s top imaging technologies such as color adjustment. The Leica camera produced by it was first introduced in 1913 and is the world‘s earliest 35mm camera. China Hisense Group is the founder and leader of the laser TV category. According to Omdia data, Hisense laser TVs will account for 49% of the global market shipments in 2021, close to half of the entire market.
Leica Germany has a history of more than 100 years. Over the past century, Leica has been a witness to countless historical moments, facing the ever-changing digital age and the need for transformation.
In fact, projection is no stranger to German Leica. More than 50 years ago, Leica had started producing analog projectors and later transitioned to digital projectors. Previously, Germany’s Leica had also had a tentative cooperation with a laser TV manufacturer based on the single output of products and brands; now, the rapidly growing market has attracted Germany’s Leica and Hisense to use two-way technology empowerment and mutual borrowing of technological advantages to achieve Deep cross-border layout.
According to the statistics of Aowei Cloud, from 2015 to 2020, the compound growth rate of laser TV is as high as 213.8%. According to GIR (Global Info Research) research, in terms of revenue, the global laser TV revenue in 2021 is about 1,296 million US dollars, and it is expected to reach 10,330 million US dollars in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.5% from 2022 to 2028.
Globally, the laser TV market is mainly concentrated in China, the United States, Europe, South Africa and other regions, among which China is the most important laser TV production and consumption country in the world. According to the “China Laser TV Market Analysis Quarterly Report” released by RUNTO, the laser TV market shipments in mainland China will reach 280,000 units in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 31.9%. 4.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.7%.
On August 3, Leica’s official website announced that as part of its growth strategy, Leica Camera is expanding its business areas. Based on the company’s high level of innovation, years of experience and expertise, as well as its advantages in optical performance and image quality, entering the laser TV equipment market will be the next step towards new business areas, and the company is planning to strengthen its presence in the laser TV market .
Matthias Hasch, CEO of Leica Germany, said that the strong alliance with Hisense is an important move for Leica to lay out the new business territory of laser TV. “Currently, the market demand for home theaters is growing, and Leica hopes to explore more potential opportunities in this field and attract users with high-quality quality. Hisense is the leader in the laser TV industry, with 4K laser TV image processing and intelligent technology, etc. With profound technical accumulation, it is an ideal partner for Leica to develop the home theater market.”
Help the laser camp
In 2016, Germany’s Leica signed a technical cooperation agreement with China’s Huawei mobile phone. Germany’s Leica has developed the world‘s first Leica dual-camera smartphone for Huawei’s P9 series with its own lens technology. Since then, Huawei’s P20, P30 and Mate series mobile phones have used Leica lenses, making it a technological advantage of photography in the global market competition, and Leica is also familiar to Chinese mass consumers.
Today, Germany’s Leica has once again reached a new technical cooperation with China’s Hisense Group, and the global laser TV industry may usher in a new development height. According to the plan, the laser TV Leica Cine 1, the first major technological achievement after the cooperation between Hisense and Leica, will be displayed at the IFA exhibition in Germany in September this year.
Laser TV is now entering a critical stage of internationalization and large-scale development. At this point, Hisense has chosen a strategy to join hands with “Leica”, which will undoubtedly speed up the development of the laser display industry. Lin Lan, chairman of Hisense, said that Hisense, as a leader in the laser TV industry, is committed to the global expansion of the new laser TV industry. As a classic brand with profound historical precipitation in the field of imaging, Leica has strong technical accumulation and its own style of quality. Leica’s excellent optical technology quality can make the laser TV display clearer and more detailed; Leica’s unique picture quality adjustment style combined with the color of the laser will create a unique and extraordinary image.
As a later “intruder”, laser TV has many advantages and has been growing up in controversy, but this has not stopped its rapid development.
As early as 2019, the first Global Laser Display Technology and Industry Development Forum was held in Qingdao. Nearly 100 well-known Chinese and foreign companies from the global laser display industry chain, including TI (Texas Instruments), Nichia, Hisense, Changhong, Guangfeng, Suning, and Gome, gathered for the first time. Since then, laser TVs have gradually formed an independent camp, rivaling LCD TVs.
An expert from the China Electronic Video Industry Association pointed out that the significance of laser TV to China’s TV industry is that it can not only meet the market demand of the current “big screen era”, but also the technical characteristics of “no screen” can resolve the development bottleneck of “lack of screen”. .
A research report from China National Financial Securities Consumer Upgrade and Entertainment Research Center pointed out that because LCD TVs are constrained by panel supply, panel costs account for nearly 70% and the price of large screens is difficult to drop, so the profit margins and valuation levels of the TV industry are limited. The laser TV breaks the shackles of the panel on the LCD TV, and the core technology will be more and more in the hands of the display manufacturers, and the constraints of upstream optical components will be reduced.
Just as capital from all walks of life is rushing into the new energy vehicle industry, the rise of an emerging industry can only form a stronger and more mature industry alliance by continuously attracting the participation of cross-border players. Now, with the cooperation between Hisense and Leica, the global laser TV industry may be more “watchable” in terms of technology research and development or market competition.Return to Sohu, see more
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