Tech companies and property developers in China are starting to team up to build smart homes in the country. A unit of Singaporean developer Yanlord Land in Chengdu recently signed an agreement with Chinese tech leader Xiaomi to start building a community composed of smart homes in the Sichuan provincial capital on May 29.
The idea of smart homes isn't completely new; in fact, it has been around since the late 1990s but has failed to garner enough attention to transform from a dream into reality.
According to Guangzhou's Time Weekly, several other partnerships have formed as of late. Internet security firm Qihoo 360 signed an agreement with Huayuan Group, while Internet portal Tencent entered a partnership with Franshion Properties.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates was the first one to unveil the concept of smart homes more than 10 years ago, and property developers have used the concept as a marketing ploy ever since.
Thanks to various leaps in technology and construction building, smart homes might dominate China's real estate market in the near future.
Tech companies Xiaomi and appliance makers Chigo, Gree, and TCL, have already begun installing an Internet of Things module on staple home appliances such as air conditioners and even sockets. The module, which has WiFi capability, was developed by Marvell.
Xiaomi and Qihoo 360, on the other hand, have launched a new line of smart routers that are marketed as the "nerve center of a smart home."
Although smart homes show the potential to be highly lucrative, property developers are hesitant to jump in the bandwagon. Time Weekly urges developers to use the concept of smart homes beyond marketing means and as a way to revive the weakening real-estate business in China.