Chinese Haier is looking for OS developers for its equipment in Russia due to Google’s policies

Haier is looking for developers in Russia to develop its own operating system for TV and other smart household appliances. Now the company’s TVs run on Android TV assembly with Google technologies. According to Kommersant sources, Haier fears that Google will block the use of products in the Russian Federation. Its own platform for smart TV allows for better monetization of devices; Yandex and SberDevices have such developments. At the same time, some market participants doubt that Haier wants to launch the system only for the Russian market. In their opinion, the team in the Russian Federation will adapt a larger-scale development.

The Chinese Haier published vacancies on hh.ru for a technical director and project manager for Evo TV. According to the description, we are talking about an operating system (OS) based on the open source Android code (AOSP) designed for TVs. Currently, under the Evo TV brand, an aggregator of content from Russian online cinemas operates on Haier TVs. The TVs themselves run on the Google TV platform (a version of the Android TV system with an interface from Google). Evo TV OS will also be designed for refrigerators with a screen and smart home control consoles. Currently, Haier does not sell such devices in the Russian Federation.

According to two Kommersant sources in the consumer electronics market, Haier “is aware of the possibility of losing access to Android TV in Russia due to Google’s policies,” this risk was one of the reasons for exploring the possibility of developing its own OS. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors clarifies that there are other incentives, including the desire for additional income: “Haier seeks to increase revenue through advertising in applications and revenue sharing (sharing advertising revenue with partners.— “Kommersant”)”. The company itself did not answer Kommersant.

Google has already refused to license services to Russian vendors, which forced manufacturers of phones and tablets to classify their products as international (see Kommersant, May 11, 2023). At the same time, AOSP without Google services is used as the basis for software smart TV platforms from Yandex (YaOS), SberDevices (Salyut TV), Ozon (Ozon TV; uses services from VK). According to the declarations of conformity, the Haier production site in Naberezhnye Chelny (Haier Industry Rus LLC) produces, among other things, Yandex TVs: “TV Station” and “Smart TV” 2022.

Its own TV platform creates “significant competitive advantages”, as it “develops taking into account the habits of the Russian user and works reliably regardless of external circumstances,” SberDevices says. Ozon explained that its own platform allowed the marketplace to adapt televisions of its Hartens brand to the brand: “We do not yet plan to install it on other brands of televisions.” “Against the backdrop of possible restrictions on the use of foreign operating systems, such as Android TV, developing your own system allows you to customize it to the needs and preferences of users and integrate local services with media content,” Yandex added.

Electronics manufacturers have been actively creating their own software platforms and ecosystems in recent years, confirms Anton Guskov, a representative of the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK; it includes Samsung, LG, M.Video-Eldorado, etc.): “By As a general rule, if we are not talking about reacting to sanctions, they strive to make products global.” The expert considers it unlikely that an OS will be created only for the Russian market: “If Haier is developing a platform, then most likely it will be on a serious scale. Specialists in the Russian Federation may be needed to adapt it to local regulatory requirements in parallel with the main development.” We may be talking about pre-installation of Russian software; integration with the smart TV of the RuStore store from VK was also discussed (see “Kommersant” dated July 27, 2023).

The development of our own platform in Russia looks logical, “considering how much Haier invests in the localization of production in Russia and in the company’s ambitions to strengthen its leadership in the market,” argues Infoline-Analytics CEO Mikhail Burmistrov: “In terms of managing sanctions risks, creating your own platform “This is an additional measure that will ensure the stability of smart home devices.” According to him, it is not practical for Haier, with the largest and growing market share in the Russian Federation, to license existing Russian smart TV platforms: “The company can cooperate with Yandex in terms of the production of some of its devices. But both Yandex and SberDevices are their main competitors, especially if we are talking about ecosystem prospects.”

Yuri Litvinenko