Huawei says it's 'not making a 5G TV'

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Is Huawei entering the TV market to further extend the battlefield with Samsung? Not really.

This contradicts wide-spread rumors about the Chinese telecommunication giant releasing a 5G-enabled 8k TV set in 2019.

"We don't do TVs," a Huawei representative familiar with the plan told CGTN Digital. "A big-screen terminal does not necessarily mean a TV."

So Huawei could indeed be making a TV-like device, but the company prefers calling it something else.

This attitude gives us a sneak peek into Huawei's view of the digital world.

Many phone-makers sell TVs or set-top boxes. Apple is investing big money to fill exclusive videos programs into its Apple TV boxes. Xiaomi has sold four generations of TV sets, not to mention Samsung, an established TV brand long before it launched its smartphone business and one of the best screen makers in the world.

The competition is already fierce. Why would Huawei enter such a crowded market? Maybe this is one of the reasons why Huawei is avoiding calling the new product a TV set.

Huawei has its own view on the Internet of Things (IoT) business.

"I call it a '1+8+N' strategy," said Shao Yang, head of consumer product strategies at Huawei. "One is the smartphone. Eight is smartphone accessories like earphones and smartwatches. And N means all other IoT devices."

According to Huawei's product strategy, TV business comes after smartphones. Maybe we should not hype Huawei's TV-like device too much.

Shao's explanation also revealed Huawei's understanding of a TV: The big-screen monitor of our future smart home solutions. It's not only an individual product but also a part of the digital ecosystem.

It's still unclear what the TV-like device will be. But it's definitely not the traditional TV you had in mind.

(Top photo credit: VCG)