On July 25th, Luo Yonghao posted on social media that he had replaced two smart TVs for his elderly parents, and even tried the manufacturer's "senior mode," but they still could not operate the TV independently. Eventually, they had to install an IPTV set-top box to solve the problem.
The topic quickly trended, with many users sharing similar frustrations in the comments: boot-up ads, switching between apps to watch shows, pop-up subscription prompts, and the difficulty for elderly users to navigate back after pressing a wrong button. The struggles of the elderly with smart TVs are a real issue, but placing all the blame on hardware manufacturers is somewhat biased. It's worth setting aside the emotion to examine where the problem truly lies and whether TV makers are being unfairly blamed.
TV Shipments Decline, but Activation Rates Are Recovering
Before discussing the TV experience, it's necessary to clarify a key premise: Is the TV category actually in decline? The perception that "no one watches TV" stems from two main factors: declining TV shipments and falling activation rates. People often conflate these two different aspects, leading to the conclusion that TV is no longer watched. However, the reality is more nuanced. While shipments are indeed decreasing, the notion that no one turns on their TV is a misinterpretation.
Data from Runto Technology shows that China's TV brand shipments in 2025 were 32.895 million units, down 8.5% year-on-year, a 16-year low. This suggests a decline, but shipment numbers measure how many new TVs were sold this year, not how many people are still using them. The TV replacement cycle is typically 8 to 10 years, much longer than the 2-3 year cycle for smartphones. Furthermore, a national subsidy in Q4 2024 created a surge in replacement demand, which faded by the second half of 2025, causing a natural dip in TV sales. Interpreting a short-term fluctuation caused by subsidy exhaustion as a permanent trend of "TV is finished" is not rigorous.
To determine if people are still using TVs, active usage data is more telling than shipment figures. According to the "2025 China Home Smart Large Screen Industry Development White Paper" released by Gozen Technology in April 2026, the number of smart TV terminals has reached 439 million, covering 70% of Chinese households, with an average daily viewing time exceeding 5.6 hours. This figure surpasses the average daily time Chinese netizens spend on their phones (4.1 hours). If no one watched TV, it would be hard to explain why over half of smart TV households turn on their screens daily for more than five hours.
TCL founder Li Dongsheng once stated that the TV activation rate dropped from 70% in 2016 to under 30% in 2024, a figure often cited as evidence of TV's decline. However, this 30% figure includes all TV types, including outdated traditional TVs that have been replaced by smart TVs but are still mounted on walls and gathering dust. Including these devices lowers the overall activation rate. When looking at smart TVs alone, the average daily activation rate in 2025 was stable at 52%. Monthly tracking by Streaming Media Network also shows that the daily active rate for smart TVs remained above 50% from January to November 2025. After years of steep decline, smart TV activation rates have stabilized.
The role of the TV is changing. It is no longer the family's sole entertainment gateway. Everyone has a personal phone screen, consuming content individually. However, this doesn't mean TV is obsolete. A more accurate description is that TV has transitioned from the only option to a shared family experience. The experience of a family gathering in the living room to watch the same screen for events like the Spring Festival Gala or the World Cup is irreplaceable. The demand for watching a movie, following a fitness video, letting children watch educational programs, or playing console games persists, but the way it's used has changed. This shift is precisely the value of smart TVs compared to traditional ones, and it's also a reason for their increased complexity, which we'll explore later. In short, a terminal with hundreds of millions of daily active users and over five hours of daily usage is hardly "unused."
Is the TV Operation Cumbersome? The Problem Isn't Entirely with Hardware Makers
Luo Yonghao's core complaints—boot-up ads, cumbersome app switching, pop-up subscription prompts, and fees for screen casting—are indeed real issues. However, the control over these aspects does not lie entirely with the TV hardware manufacturers. China's internet TV operates under a license system. The National Radio and Television Administration has issued only seven licenses for internet TV integrated broadcasting control platforms, all to state-owned entities like CCTV, Shanghai Media Group, Wasu, and various provincial broadcasters. No new licenses are being issued.
Streaming services like iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku do not have these licenses. To broadcast on TV, they must partner with a licensed entity to form a joint venture and launch a TV-specific app. For example, what you see on TV isn't iQiyi itself, but "Galaxy Qiyi," a joint venture between iQiyi and Galaxy Internet TV. Tencent Video becomes "Cloud Audiovisual Aurora," a partnership with Guangdong Southern New Media. Youku's TV version is "CIBN Cool Cat Movie," affiliated with the state-owned GCIBN. The TV system is managed by the hardware manufacturer, the broadcasting platform by the licensed entity, and the content apps by the streaming services' TV versions. Decisions about boot-up ads, layered subscriptions, and membership structures are primarily made by the latter two parties, and TV manufacturers have no say in them.
The reason mobile and TV memberships are not interchangeable, and TV versions are often priced higher, stems from this structure. The cost of operating on the TV end is higher for streaming services, so they set a separate, often double, price for TV memberships. It is unreasonable to blame hardware manufacturers for the user experience issues stemming from these design choices. Luo Yonghao himself mentioned content service providers in his comments, noting that even SVIP members see ads and fake 4K content, indicating he understands the source of frustration extends beyond hardware makers. However, his public criticism largely targeted product managers, reflecting a common public misconception that, when there's a problem, you first blame the seller. But as explained, TV manufacturers are indeed in a difficult position here.
The reason elderly users find IPTV set-top boxes easier is that they offer a single, simple usage model: boot directly into live TV channels, use up/down buttons to change channels, and number keys to jump to a channel—with almost no other features. Smart TVs operate on a different logic, allowing users to search for any content, install various video apps, and even use the TV for fitness or video calls. For elderly users, each additional step is a barrier. There is a natural conflict between rich functionality and simple operation; this is not a design flaw of any single manufacturer. To allow elderly users to watch live TV with one click, you must give up on-demand and search freedom, returning to a "feed what you watch" model. To enable content selection, you inevitably introduce menus, input, and accounts. As of today, no global manufacturer has truly created a perfect solution. The complexity of smart TVs is a necessary cost of providing more capabilities.
Manufacturers Have Been Working on Solutions; AI Is the Best Hope?
The "Senior Mode" hasn't fully solved the problem, which is a fact. However, it also shows that manufacturers have been trying to resolve this conflict. Their efforts go far beyond simply enlarging the font. For instance, TCL's Lingkong System 3.0 supports 12-meter far-field voice recognition, covering 360 degrees, and can recognize Mandarin, and various dialects like Sichuanese, Cantonese, and Northeastern. It also supports wake-up-free commands. Hisense has added a dedicated AI button to its remote control, allowing users to press and hold it to search for content, adjust volume, or change channels via voice, bypassing the need for typing. The intent of these designs is to free elderly users from learning pinyin input and menu navigation.
The limitation of "Senior Mode" is that it merely simplifies the existing interface; the interaction method remains clicking, scrolling, and confirming. As long as the interaction method doesn't change, complexity can only be compressed, not eliminated. The real potential for a qualitative change lies in AI and Agent technology. In February 2025, Hisense TV became the first TV brand to integrate DeepSeek, supporting the full version of R1 and V3. By mid-March, all Hisense TVs with smart agents were upgraded to fully support DeepSeek. Users can press the remote's AI key or use voice commands to enter a deep-thinking dialogue interface. Based on the self-developed Xinghai Big Model and DeepSeek technology, Hisense TV integrates AI agents for movies, games, fitness, and parenting. Each agent has expert-level capabilities, understanding the intent behind voice commands and generating personalized recommendations by considering user preferences, family composition, and reviews.
TCL has also integrated the full version of DeepSeek-R1 through its Fuxi AI platform, building 16 major agents covering education, entertainment, and health scenarios. The Little T Assistant has been upgraded to version 6.1.2, allowing users to ask the AI to recommend films, search for information, or even display game assistance info on a split screen. The Lingkong desktop has abandoned the traditional waterfall flow interface, supporting a custom homepage, allowing children to pin the live TV entry and common apps to the home screen for one-click access. The system has no boot-up ads, and the time from power-on to the main interface is less than 7 seconds. In "Senior Mode," icons are enlarged by 30%, and common functions are placed on the home screen as cards, eliminating the need to navigate multiple menus. The voice assistant, Little T, can understand dialects and can be activated by voice command even when the TV is on standby. Both companies share the same goal: to make it so that elderly users don't have to remember steps; they can just speak or press a button to see what they want.
In the future, when Agent technology truly matures, an elderly person can simply say, "Play a war movie" or "Watch the news," and the system will understand, search, and play the content. The current obstacles will then be eliminated.
A Final Thought
Luo Yonghao's criticism is valuable, and the difficulties elderly users face with smart TVs deserve attention. However, placing all the blame on TV manufacturers is neither accurate nor fair, given their investments in voice interaction, boot-up ad management, and age-friendly designs. From boot-up to playback, the process involves multiple layers: the license holder, the broadcasting platform, and the content app. The hardware manufacturer's control is limited. The complexity of smart TVs is an inevitable price for offering more capabilities. The real solution for making it easier for the elderly is likely the further maturity of AI and Agent technology, allowing technology to understand people, rather than people adapting to technology. The hope is for the TV industry's "DeepSeek moment" to arrive soon.
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