Xiaomi forays into refrigerator market to step up IoT presence
Chinese tech firm Xiaomi is expanding its footprint in Internet of Things (IoT) applications by entering the refrigerator sector.
The company on Friday rolled out four refrigerators in a spectrum of appliance sizes, storage volumes and price ranges.
Among the four products, Mi 4-Door Side-by-Side Refrigerator is equipped with the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Users can modify the temperature and cooling mode of the cabin via voice control.
Xiaomi has long viewed large home appliances as an important element of its AI and IoT strategy, with market presence already in sectors of TVs, air conditioners, washing machines and stove top sets.
As of June 30, the number of connected IoT devices excluding smartphones and laptops on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached about 196 million units, up 69.5 percent year on year.