Haier AWE Unveils Latest Smart Home Innovations to Transform AI from Talk to Action

Transforming AI from “Speaking” to “Acting”! Haier AWE Showcases the Latest Innovations in Smart Home Technology

On March 12, 2026, the China Household Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE 2026) officially opened at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. Following the introduction of the AI Eye technology last year, which transitioned from “household chores” to “unmanned chores,” Haier Smart Home continues to focus on “unmanned chores” by launching two major innovative products this year. First, the AI Eye has been upgraded to version 2.0, achieving a comprehensive enhancement with “broader recognition, more accurate identification, and faster response.” Second, Haier has introduced three categories of robots focused on “housekeeping, cleaning, and companionship,” effectively adding “hands” to the smart home. The deep integration of these technologies enables AI to evolve from simply “speaking” to “acting,” further liberating consumers from household chores.

The advanced “eyes” and “hands” rely on a continuously evolving “brain.” This time, Haier’s smart home brain has been completely upgraded, leveraging the UHomeOS, a smart home operating system, to transform the concept of smart spaces into reality. This system actively adapts to user needs in any space or scenario, ensuring that the environment truly serves the user.

Complete Evolution of Smart Appliances: AI Eye 2.0 Offers Broader, More Accurate, and Faster Recognition

In 2025, Haier Smart Home introduced the AI Eye, which is akin to equipping appliances with a human-like “visual nerve center,” capable of assisting users with tasks such as cooking and laundry. This year, the newly upgraded AI Eye 2.0 enhances its capabilities by being able to understand, think, and perceive, providing broader, more accurate, and faster recognition.

The Seeker series, launched at this year’s AWE, showcases the highlights of AI Eye 2.0: first, it now recognizes all types of food, expanding from 230 categories to a comprehensive array of ingredients and enhancing its recognition range from merely the refrigeration area to both “refrigeration and freezing.” Second, the “washing machine AI Eye” can accurately comprehend user requests by combining visual and voice inputs. For example, if a user states, “I just came back from the hospital; give it a good wash,” it can intelligently identify the need for sterilization and automatically select a suitable washing program. Lastly, the “air conditioning AI Eye” has achieved dynamic recognition of a person’s location this year, responding in milliseconds. For instance, saying “Xiao You, follow my airflow” prompts the air vent to follow the user’s position. Additionally, the Haier Seeker TV enables seamless control of all home appliances through natural voice commands or remote clicks.

Thanks to the technological advancements of AI Eye 2.0, the Seeker has been certified as the first L4-level smart appliance series by the China Household Appliance Testing Institute.

In addition to the Seeker series equipped with AI Eye 2.0, Haier Smart Home’s other popular smart products are continually aiding users in relieving household chores. For instance, the Leader Lazy Three-Tub Washing and Shoe Cleaning Machine allows users to clean shoes without needing to untie the laces, and the Casarte AI Cell-Level Defrosting Refrigerator can automatically identify food types and match them with appropriate defrosting programs, achieving even defrosting in just 5-10 minutes. These innovations not only enhance the quality of smart living for consumers but also further liberate them from household chores. On March 13, Haier Smart Home will hold a comprehensive AI technology launch event, where Haier Group Chairman and CEO Zhou Yunjie will unveil more products and scenarios utilizing the latest AI technologies.

Enhanced Smart Home Experience: Three Types of Household Robots Team Up with Appliances to Manage Chores

If the upgrade of AI Eye 2.0 equips appliances with sharper perception, the introduction of household robots allows smart homes to directly manage chores. At this expo, Haier Smart Home officially launched three categories of household service robots, including the Haiwa Cleaning Robot, which proactively cleans without requiring user commands; the Haiwa Companion Robot, which reminds the elderly to take their medication and can respond in case of falls; and the Haiwa Housekeeping Robot, designed to collaborate with appliances in managing chores.

During the demonstration, Haier’s household robots showcased their abilities: in the kitchen, newly purchased ingredients do not require manual sorting. The robot automatically transports them to the refrigerator and uses barcode or visual recognition to store lamb in the freezer, vegetables in the refrigerator, and nuts in the dry goods area, while simultaneously activating the appropriate preservation programs. When the robot picks up a banana, AI Eye 2.0 immediately recognizes it and informs the user that it is a tropical fruit best stored at 12-15°C, advising against refrigeration. If a user wishes to eat the banana, the robot can even peel it for them.

Currently, the combination of robots and smart appliances from Haier Smart Home can recognize various household scenarios, actively assisting users with chores, bringing unmanned housekeeping closer to reality. Following the AWE 2026 exhibition, Haier Smart Home plans to continue optimizing and iterating on its robots for various household scenarios to accelerate product implementation, aiming to integrate these technologies into thousands of homes.

Continuous Evolution of Smart Living: The Brain Behind the Eyes and Hands

Precise “eyes” and flexible “hands” rely on a robust “brain” for direction. This event also saw a simultaneous upgrade of Haier’s smart home brain. Built on the industry’s first AI-native cross-ecosystem smart home operating system, UHomeOS, it establishes a core capability foundation for smart home AI. This smart home brain transforms the concept of smart spaces into a reality, proactively adapting to user needs and ensuring that the environment serves the user effectively. UHomeOS builds on internal scenario validations at Haier Smart Home and gradually expands its coverage across the entire industry and various scenarios, achieving a transition from “enterprise use” to “industry empowerment.” Haier Smart Home has pioneered AI spatial intelligence, launching the Smart Home App’s 3D home view, earning the first domestic certification for a digital twin 3D smart home.

Moreover, Haier Smart Home aims not only to “make homes smarter” but also to “make life wiser,” encompassing various aspects of life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation. It is challenging for a single company to address all these areas comprehensively. Therefore, leveraging the smart home brain platform, Haier Smart Home breaks down industrial and sector boundaries to create a smart ecosystem that connects “people, vehicles, homes, and communities,” providing users with a continuously evolving intelligent experience both inside and outside the home.

It can be said that Haier Smart Home has established the most comprehensive, engaging, and interactive smart home living platform globally. According to the latest data from Euromonitor International, after achieving 17 consecutive global championships in home appliances, Haier Smart Home has also become the leading enterprise in global smart home sales. By the end of 2025, Haier’s smart home global registered users exceeded 130 million, with a total interaction volume of smart scenarios reaching 86.1 billion times, averaging 7.175 billion interactions per month. In domestic and Belt and Road countries, the Hai Smart ecosystem platform boasts over 13 million active users, 6,600 ecosystem partners, and 55 million connected devices. In the Americas, Europe, and Australia, the SmartHQ platform has over 4.6 million active users, 6,500 ecosystem partners, and 21 million connected products.

Since Haier Smart Home proposed the shift towards unmanned chores last year, the liberation of household tasks has become a consensus in the industry. This year, through the comprehensive upgrades in smart appliances, smart homes, and smart living, Haier Smart Home continues to build a user-centered platform service-oriented technology ecosystem. This not only showcases its achievements but also provides a replicable and practical path for the entire industry to move towards a true “unmanned chores” era.