GTrusted

The Apple Store in the IFC mall in Shanghai's Pudong district has some of the best views in Shanghai's amazing skyline.

Descending into the vast Apple Store located below ground, the crowds were a lot less that the typical Apple Store in the US. Looking at the HomeKit products sold there, we saw China brands like the OPSO HK-OU1 Smart Socket and Kaiterra Laser Egg 2 which were typically not available at US Apple retail stores. The Kaiterra Laser Egg 2 was especially fitting to some of China's urban centers where people are concerned about being able to monitor air quality. Other products which could also be found in US retail stores included the D-Link Omna 180 Cam HD Camera, Elgato Eve Motion Wireless Motion Sensor, Elgato Eve Room Sensor, Elgato Eve Door & Window Wireless Contact Sensor, and Philips Hue.

HomeKit product adoption is slower in China compared to the US especially given other home automation products being sold by local competition like Xiaomi at very low prices. We will see how price conscious Chinese shoppers take with the HomePod but certainly Apple's iPhone decent market share is a good entry way for Siri to get introduced and support more smart home applications.