Looking back at the recent AWE, AI was largely an added feature: voice control, smart recommendations and remote control were layered onto conventional appliances. To consumers, these features often felt like nice-to-have extras rather than essentials. At AWE2026, that changed. The show marked a shift in AI from concept to application and from add-on functionality to native intelligence. For manufacturers, AI is becoming a foundation for product innovation; for consumers, more intelligent, convenient and personalized lifestyles are moving closer to reality.
From “Functional Machines” to “Life Companions”
The most striking impression at AWE2026 was that appliances had come alive. Rather than simply waiting for commands, they could observe, assess and act. At the heart of this shift is the deeper integration of AI, giving appliances the ability to perceive, learn, reason and make decisions. They are evolving into intelligent agents that can understand users, anticipate scenarios and provide proactive services.
AWE2026 showed clear progress toward truly AI-powered appliances, but it is still an early stage. Mass adoption in homes will require further advances in both technology and products. Most of the current examples remain the work of leading companies, and consumers will need time to become familiar with and accept them. But the industry has already begun the journey.
“Proactive service” emerged as a central theme in appliance innovation.
Haier AI Multi-Compartment Cube Refrigerator Seeker Series creates a closed loop covering shopping, storage, management, retrieval and cooking. Its app tracks inventory during shopping; once ingredients are stored, the refrigerator identifies them and guides users to the optimal storage location, issues alerts for items nearing expiration, and uses voice commands to locate ingredients. Before cooking, it can link with kitchen appliances to recommend recipes.
Air conditioners were equally impressive. Gree, Hisense, Haier, TCL and other brands used millimeter-wave radar, voiceprint recognition and human-presence sensing to enable more precise airflow: following users, avoiding direct drafts, switching to gentle airflow when people are nearby, and saving energy when rooms are empty. When an elderly user says they are hot, the air conditioner delivers gentle cooling; when a child says they are cold, the airflow direction adjusts immediately. After users fall asleep, the system can automatically switch to a quiet, energy-saving mode. Air conditioners are moving beyond preset operating curves to become “air managers” that can recognize household members’ states, understand their needs and remember usage habits.
If earlier smart appliances mainly relied on voice interaction to “understand” users, products showcased at AWE2026 are increasingly able to “see” them.
Haier’s AI Vision technology is a case in point. Its washing machines monitor the wash cycle in real time, detect residual foam, identify clothes caught in the drum and flag missed items. Its air conditioners detect body positions and adjust airflow within milliseconds, while its refrigerators can identify more than 300 types of food and assess freshness. This visual intelligence is enabled by mature edge AI chips and lightweight large models. Running locally at very low power, these models can perform complex tasks such as image recognition and behavior analysis without relying on the cloud, improving response times while protecting privacy.
Hisense’s UX2026 H7 Pro chip goes further, enabling real-time 2D-to-3D conversion with AI. Its light-control algorithm uses deep-learning models to reduce Mini LED blooming to barely perceptible levels, demonstrating how algorithms can define picture quality through pixel-level AI optimization rather than simply adding more hardware zones.
“AI + health” was another recurring theme at AWE2026.
Fotile positions the kitchen as a family health center and daily hub rather than simply a place to cook. It introduced its Smart Freshness Refrigerator, which uses AI-based health assessment to generate personalized wellness reports. Combined with the FOTILE Culinary Model and DeepSeek-R1, it provides tailored nutrition plans and recipes.
Vatti’s AI Healthy Kitchen Assistant can analyze users’ medical checkup reports and generate personalized seven-day meal plans, which can then be executed through connected hardware such as AI steam ovens.
In the bedroom, TCL FreshIN Air Conditioner P7 Ultra air conditioner uses millimeter-wave radar to detect sleep states and adjust automatically. Casarte’s Languang floor-standing air conditioner uses an AI dynamic five-constant system to monitor temperature, humidity, air cleanliness, freshness and airflow in real time, keeping temperature differences across the home within 0.5°C.
In 2026, large language models are entering the mass-deployment stage in home appliances. Unlike early voice assistants that could only recognize rigid commands, the new generation of AI appliances can understand natural, ambiguous and even emotional language. Huawei’s Xiaoyi Assistant 6.0 acts as a “spatial agent,” combining natural-language input, AI semantic analysis, 3D spatial mapping, device localization and distributed control to bring spatial awareness to whole-home device management. Its “Whisper Mode” allows users to wake the assistant at very low volume without disturbing others.
Gree’s AI Cooling King series runs the full version of DeepSeek R1 locally. Saying “It’s a little hot playing video games” can activate powerful cooling. Haier’s Uhome air-domain large model adjusts automatically based on factors including season, location and indoor conditions.
According to the data, AI’s accuracy in understanding natural speech reached 98.2% in 2026, while dialect recognition exceeded 95%, making interactions between users and appliances increasingly conversational.
Against the backdrop of China’s carbon-reduction goals, AI-based energy optimization is becoming an integral part of energy management. Unlike conventional energy-saving technologies based on fixed rules, AI algorithms can dynamically adjust to user behavior, environmental changes and electricity prices. Gree Star5 AI Residential Central Air Conditioning System uses AI dynamic sensing technology to cut energy use by 23.5%, while Hisense’s AI energy-saving ducted air conditioner uses an adaptive load-management algorithm to achieve energy savings of up to 36.9%. These gains come from AI systems learning from large volumes of operating data: recognizing users’ routines, saving energy when they are away and adjusting conditions before they return. “Predictive energy saving” can significantly reduce consumption without sacrificing comfort.
Embodied AI: A Physical Revolution in Home Appliances
AI is giving appliances a “brain”; embodied intelligence is now giving them a “body.” This was one of the most striking trends at AWE2026.
In cleaning appliances, Roborock’s G-Rover wheeled-leg robot vacuum can identify stairs and navigate up and down them autonomously. ECOVACS’ BAJIE uses binocular vision and high-degree-of-freedom robotic arms to identify and sort toys, slippers and clothing. Dreame’s multi-function robotic vacuum and mop uses a robotic arm to change tools and perform different tasks. Haier’s Haiwa Companion Robot can autonomously handle organizing, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping. Cleaning appliances are no longer simply “robots that vacuum.”
Other categories are becoming embodied as well. Dreame’s X60 dual-arm air conditioner uses robotic arms to dynamically adjust airflow direction and distance, addressing the discomfort and uneven coverage associated with conventional direct airflow. Fotile’s first global robotic kitchen combines precision robotic arms with a humanoid robot to automate the entire process, from pouring oil and heating the pan to stir-frying, tossing food, plating and post-meal cleanup. Tineco’s Embodied Cooking Master Shiwantiangong uses a biomimetic robotic arm to prepare Chinese dishes live, recreating the experience of cooking over an open flame.
The boundary between appliances and robots is blurring, giving rise to a new category: appliances that can actually “do the work.”
Robots Become Household Appliances: From Labs to Homes
At AWE2026, robots entered real-life scenarios on an unprecedented scale. They were no longer simply performers on exhibition stands, but machines learning to work as part of the household. Two paths are emerging in parallel: companion robots are entering the consumer market, while embodied AI is demonstrating increasingly advanced capabilities.
Companion robots began entering the consumer market in 2026, with both appliance and robotics companies stepping up investment.
For elderly users, Haier’s “Haiwa” companion robot focuses on practical applications. It can quickly detect and issue alerts when an elderly person falls, manage multiple medications and remind users to take them on schedule, while providing recommendations based on long-term health data.
In the kitchen, Fotile’s companion robot acts as a safety sentinel, actively monitoring gas stoves and addressing risks such as forgotten burners and dry heating.
TCL’s modular AiMe AI companion robot focuses on everyday interaction. Its mobile base allows it to follow users around the home, engage in conversations, record gatherings and control lighting and air conditioning. Hisense introduced the Moii and Moii-Plus, while ZTE’s iMoochi responds to users’ emotions through touch and voice recognition, with behaviors such as tail wagging and blinking that give it a more pet-like character.
Outside the home, JoyIn Technology’s WAWA tracked all-terrain robot and its proprietary high-performance joint modules expand the potential uses of companion robots. HENGBOT’s first 1kg-class trainable bionic robot dog pushes companion robots toward smaller and lighter form factors. SenseTime’s AI-powered chess robot combines AI game-playing capabilities with a physical chessboard, opening up another option for home entertainment. The companion-robot market is diversifying faster than expected, both in product form and target users.
Humanoid robots still have a long way to go before entering ordinary homes, but AWE2026 showed that embodied intelligence is already appearing in household scenarios.
Haier’s Haiwa household robot can identify food, sort and store it, transport items, open refrigerator doors and organize tableware. Hisense’s Savvy home assistant robot can retrieve and store clothing, prepare meals and control household appliances. Fotile’s robotic kitchen uses robotic arms and a humanoid robot to complete the entire process from pouring oil and stir-frying to plating, collecting dishes and cleaning. Changhong and ASD also showcased humanoid robots, pursuing the same basic goal: doing household chores.
Embodied-AI companies, meanwhile, focused more on performance breakthroughs. TARS Robotics’ A1 robot set a Guinness World Record by completing 105 flexible wire-harness operations with 0.5mm precision in one hour, while also unveiling its general-purpose embodied model, AWE 3.0, built around one core proposition: the ability to get work done.
Zeroth’s N1 Collaborative Robot uses a lightweight dual-arm design with a small footprint. Agibot’s A3, Fourier’s GR-3, Unitree’s G1, and Tesla’s Optimus were also on display. Each is pushing the boundaries of humanoid robotics in different ways, making the prospect of robots becoming household appliances increasingly tangible.
AI Hardware Emerges: From Smartphone Accessories to Standalone Smart Devices
AI glasses, rings and smart beds are moving from concept to mass-market products, with three clear trends: greater variety, as AI moves from glasses and rings to watches and mattresses; greater specialization, with capabilities such as health monitoring and brain-computer interaction becoming more advanced; and lower prices, with AI glasses falling below RMB 2,000 and earphones starting at RMB 399. AI hardware is emerging as a new generation of interfaces after the smartphone.
AI glasses were among the most closely watched categories at the show. Alibaba’s Qwen AI Glasses G1 features a “See Anything, Ask Anything” experience and a swappable battery design that provides up to nine hours of battery life. RayNeo’s X3 Pro introduces a dual-mode navigation system combining a heads-up display with a downward-view navigation interface. The biggest breakthrough, however, came in the kitchen. Robam unveiled the world’s first AI Cooking Glasses, powered by its proprietary Shishen AI model. Using a first-person view, the system recognizes ingredients, heat levels, and cooking progress in real time, then overlays step-by-step instructions through AR waveguides. Connected with smart range hoods, cooktops, and other kitchen appliances, it creates a closed loop from perception to decision-making and execution—representing true human-AI collaboration rather than simple cooking assistance. FOTILE also showcased AR cooking glasses designed for its robotic kitchen, supporting remote monitoring and task control.
Other new categories were equally notable. MPE’s AI Sleep Smart Mattress combines low-frequency massage and cradle-like motion to improve sleep, while synchronizing sleep data with home health platforms. Dreame’s Glow Smart Ring establishes a personalized health baseline using large-scale clinical data and provides real-time alerts when abnormalities are detected. Meanwhile, the MOVA Palette 300 uses a 12-nozzle AI monitoring system to automate the entire 3D printing process, bringing consumer 3D printing closer to becoming a practical household appliance and enabling on-demand home manufacturing.
Core Technologies Lay the Foundation for AI Across Categories
Advances in chips, sensors, and communication technologies are providing the foundation for AI across consumer electronics. ESWIN Computing showcased a RISC-V-based edge AI SoC, Listenai presented a multimodal solution combining speech, vision, and emotional interaction, and Quectel introduced AI audio modules that improve speech recognition in complex environments. Edge AI SoCs enable real-time visual perception and decision-making, MCUs provide low-power control, while Wi-Fi 7 and Nearlink support millisecond-level collaboration across devices and brands. As computing power, sensing, and connectivity continue to advance, AI is evolving from a value-added feature into an essential capability.
Looking back at AWE 2026, AI is reshaping smart living through three stages of evolution. The first is functional intelligence, where individual appliances gain perception and decision-making capabilities. The second is scenario-based collaboration, where connected devices proactively provide services based on user status and usage scenarios. The third is ecosystem intelligence, where AI is no longer a feature of individual products but the underlying operating system of the home, enabling natural interaction between people and devices. From feature integration to ecosystem intelligence, every step of this evolution is driven by advances in technology and innovation.
The shift from added features to an intelligent ecosystem is being driven by successive advances in technology and business models. For appliance makers, AI is becoming a strategic priority that will shape their future market positions.