According to the latest report from RUNTO, titled "China Smart Projector Retail Market Monthly Tracker," the Chinese smart projector market (excluding laser TVs) saw sales of 6.042 million units in 2024, marking a 3.0% year-on-year increase. However, the sales revenue dropped by 3.5% to $1.401 billion. After experiencing its first decline in recent years in 2023, the market rebounded in 2024, surpassing the 6 million unit mark once again.
2019-2024 China Smart Projector Market Sales Volume and Changes
Data Source: RUNTO All-Channel Data, Unit: 10,000 units, %
The year 2024 was a rollercoaster for the Chinese smart projector market. The first quarter started strong, but the mid-year promotions in Q2 unexpectedly underperformed. Q3 was sluggish, sandwiched between the longest 618 and Double 11 shopping festivals. However, Q4 saw a turnaround, driven by government subsidies and the Double 11/Double 12 sales events. RUNTO summarized the key themes of 2024 as: intense competition, supply chain breakthroughs, product specification upgrades, global expansion, and rapid adoption in automotive applications.
1. Brand Competition: Price Wars
The core issue facing projector brands is severe oversupply. On one hand, a sluggish macroeconomic environment has dampened demand, while on the other, supply-side competition is intensifying. This competition is evident not only in the number of brands but also in the dimensions of rivalry. According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, the number of brands selling smart projectors online in China reached 378 in 2024, up by 78 from 2023. While the market remains active, competition has also intensified. However, when looking at effective brands (those with annual online sales ≥ 2,000 units), the numbers dropped from 124 in 2023 to 110 in 2024, indicating rapid turnover among long-tail brands.
Price remains the primary battleground, as reflected in the divergent growth rates of total sales volume (positive) and total sales revenue (negative). RUNTO's data shows that products priced below $140 continued to dominate, accounting for 54.0% of sales in 2024, up 4.3 percentage points from 2023. Although sub-$70 products still held the largest share, their dominance is gradually waning, with market resources shifting toward the $70-$140 and $140-$280 price segments. These are the key battlegrounds for 1LCD and DLP mainstream brands in 2024. Additionally, premium products priced above $1,400 are gaining traction, indicating that some consumers are willing to pay for new technologies, trend-driven products, and enhanced quality of life.
2023-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Sales by Price Segment
Data Source: RUNTO Online Monitoring Data, Unit: %
2. Technological and Supply Chain Breakthroughs
Texas Instruments (TI), the leader in DLP technology, focused on medium and large-sized DMD light valves in 2024, launching six new products with sizes of 0.47 inches or larger. Key developments included: ① price reductions, with 0.65-inch WXGA products dropping by 50% compared to the previous generation; ② 4K普及, with three new 4K UHD resolution products; and ③ engineering applications, where 0.78-inch FHD and UHD solutions nearly doubled in brightness, exceeding 10,000 lumens. Although TI did not directly reduce prices for home projectors, the combination of Double 11 promotions and government subsidies led to a "passive" price drop for DLP products, with mainstream models seeing price reductions of around 20%. This helped DLP's online market share rebound to 40% in Q4, a level last seen in Q2 2022.
In 2024, DLP technology accounted for 31.4% of sales, a slight 0.5 percentage point decline from 2023. Meanwhile, 1LCD technology remained the dominant choice, with its online market share rising to 66.8%, up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. The 1LCD segment saw both cost reductions and structural upgrades. Prices for products using mainstream 2.69/3.97/4.45-inch panels dropped significantly, while CSOT expanded its projection panel offerings with 3" FHD and 5.5" 4K light valves. 4K products officially launched, and short-throw projection lamps hit the market at prices 20%-30% lower than comparable products using other technologies. Smart features like auto-focus, auto-keystone correction, obstacle avoidance, and screen alignment are becoming standard.
3LCD brand Epson adopted a more localized pricing and product strategy in 2024. New iterations were priced about $100 lower than previous models, and the company introduced its first sub-$420 smart product. Epson also increased its focus on home, smart, and laser projectors.
2LCD technology, pioneered by Chinese company Shenzhen Kejinming, features a new lighting path design and color synthesis technology aimed at improving brightness and color gamut coverage.
LCoS technology is on the verge of commercialization. In 2024, Shanghai HiSilicon launched the 3LCoS Honghu projection solution, integrating SoC, perception interaction, light core, light screen, and laser components. Jingfan Optoelectronics unveiled a 0.78-inch single-chip true 4K LCoS chip, while Zhongguang Optics introduced its LCoS solutions, including 3LCoS and 1LCoS architectures with six multi-light-source-compatible schemes. The "2024 LCoS Industry Conference" held in Songshan Lake brought together brands and suppliers.
Micro LED technology is transitioning from theory to prototype validation. In the first half of 2024, Changhong announced multiple patents for Micro LED projector structures, light valves, and colorization. Later in the year, its subsidiary Qirui Ke disclosed three new patents addressing tri-color light fusion and hybrid light source solutions. Fujian Fuguang also revealed progress in developing Micro LED monochrome and color projection engines.
2023-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Quarterly Sales by Technology
Data Source: RUNTO Online Monitoring Data, Unit: %
RUNTO analyst Liu Dingkun noted that in 2024, Chinese projector supply chain suppliers faced significant challenges as downstream cost pressures intensified. However, domestic supply chains are transitioning from "following" to "running alongside" global leaders, giving Chinese brands greater initiative in the global market.
3. Key Specification Upgrades and Design Innovations
Despite market and industry preferences, image quality remains the most critical performance metric for smart projectors, primarily reflected in brightness and resolution. In 2024, while exaggerated brightness claims improved compared to two or three years ago, the issue remains significant. The China Video Industry Association is initiating a 2025 quality survey for smart projectors. RUNTO's adjusted data, based on manufacturer claims and product technologies, shows that over 70% of online smart projectors in China in 2024 had brightness below 500 lumens. However, the rapid adoption of laser light sources boosted the shares of 1,500-2,000 lumens and 3,000+ lumens segments.
Laser products (including hybrid light sources) accounted for 13.7% of online sales in 2024, surpassing 10% for the first time, with a 57% year-on-year sales increase. The number of laser models available online rose to 94, up by 52 from 2023. Laser light sources became the primary choice for DLP and 3LCD new products, with prices dropping below $700 for the first time, averaging $672.
In terms of resolution, FHD dominated the smart projector market, maintaining a share of around 50% over the past two years. 4K UHD's market share reached 9.0% in 2024, up 3.8 percentage points year-on-year, with sales increasing by over 70%. The growth in 4K is driven by more products and lower prices. In 2024, 23 brands offered 4K products, including newcomers like Dangbei, Xiaoming, Philips, Youku, and Leica, with 76 models available. The average price dropped from $1,170 in 2021 to under $840 in 2024.
2019-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Sales by Product Segment
Data Source: RUNTO Online Monitoring Data, Unit: %
Design-wise, 2024 saw numerous micro-innovations. Gimbal-designed products accounted for 35.9% of sales, up 28.9 percentage points year-on-year, with trends toward integration and motorization. Brands like Dangbei, Xgimi, and Donying introduced smart projectors with screens, blending the concepts of screenless and screen-based projection. At CES 2025, LG, Aurzen, TCL, and Samsung showcased projector designs inspired by floor lamps, tri-folding, magic cubes, and spherical robots.
4. The Certainty of Global Expansion
2024 saw numerous positive signals in the global projector market: A) Major sports events like the Olympics, Copa America, and UEFA Euro boosted demand for large screens; B) Projector products thrived in cross-border e-commerce and gained popularity on overseas social platforms; C) China's supply chain capabilities improved rapidly, enhancing R&D, talent, and manufacturing cost advantages.
Compared to the domestic market, overseas markets remained vibrant. RUNTO data shows that global projector shipments (including smart and non-smart, home and commercial) reached 19.77 million units in 2024, up 5.4% year-on-year. Overseas markets grew by 8.3%, outpacing both China and the global average. For more detailed data, refer to RUNTO's "Global Projector Market Quarterly Analysis Report."
2019-2024 Global Projector Market Shipment Volume and Changes
Data Source: RUNTO, Unit: 10,000 units, %
While over 90% of Chinese projector products are smart, the figure is below 25% overseas. Similarly, tri-color laser's share in China's laser projector market exceeds 50%, compared to just 10% overseas. This vast potential makes global expansion a necessity for domestic leaders. Chinese brands' breakthroughs in smart systems, content resources, light source technologies, and automation, coupled with their experience in human-machine interaction and user operations, provide strong support for overseas ventures. In 2024, leading brands like Xgimi, JMGO, Dangbei, Fengmi, and Xiaomi shifted their focus and resources to international markets.
5. The Huge Growth Potential in Automotive Applications
Automotive applications represent the "third space" for projectors, following home and commercial use. These include in-car entertainment screens, automotive-grade giant screens, smart cockpit displays, laser projection headlights, dynamic color pixel lights, welcome projections, and side window projections. The diversity of forms is vast, and the high spatial requirements make them ideal for premium vehicles. By 2024, the market consensus was clear: beyond global expansion, automotive applications are a significant growth opportunity.
Public data shows that China's automobile production and sales reached 31 million units in 2024, with new energy vehicles surpassing 10 million units for the first time. RUNTO estimates that the market capacity for in-car screens in China is approximately $210 billion. Major players like Appotronics, Xgimi, and Hisense are accelerating their automotive strategies. By the end of 2024, Appotronics had secured 10 automotive project contracts, while Xgimi received seven, primarily for automotive-grade screens and projection headlights.
2025 Trends and Outlook
Globally, the macro environment remains complex and dynamic, shifting from "traditional stability" to "dynamic transformation." On the positive side, China's consumer goods "trade-in" policy will continue in 2025, but its impact on low-frequency purchases like smart projectors will likely diminish.
Competitively, falling prices for large LCD TV panels are enhancing the appeal of 100-inch TVs, eroding the price and screen-size advantages of smart projectors. Additionally, ultra-thin and zero-gap TV models are increasingly resembling smart projectors in form.
Upstream, supply chain restructuring is deepening, with advancements in 1LCD upgrades, the emergence of 2LCD, the commercialization of domestic LCoS, the productization of Micro LED, and the price reductions of ultra-short-throw lenses and optical screens. At CES 2025, Appotronics introduced a split fiber optic engine solution, separating the light source from the lens for the first time to improve heat dissipation and reduce product size.
Brand-wise, the industry is undergoing profound transformation and integration. Collaborations like Dangbei with Xgimi and Leica with Hisense signal a shift from single-brand competition to cooperative rivalry. Meanwhile, the "going global" of domestic brands and the "return" of cross-border brands illustrate a new landscape of global-local interplay.
In terms of scale, RUNTO conservatively predicts that China's smart projector market will reach 6.331 million units in 2025, up 4.8% year-on-year, with sales revenue of $1.551 billion, a 10.7% increase.
2019-2024 China Smart Projector Market Sales Volume and Changes
The year 2024 was a rollercoaster for the Chinese smart projector market. The first quarter started strong, but the mid-year promotions in Q2 unexpectedly underperformed. Q3 was sluggish, sandwiched between the longest 618 and Double 11 shopping festivals. However, Q4 saw a turnaround, driven by government subsidies and the Double 11/Double 12 sales events. RUNTO summarized the key themes of 2024 as: intense competition, supply chain breakthroughs, product specification upgrades, global expansion, and rapid adoption in automotive applications.
1. Brand Competition: Price Wars
The core issue facing projector brands is severe oversupply. On one hand, a sluggish macroeconomic environment has dampened demand, while on the other, supply-side competition is intensifying. This competition is evident not only in the number of brands but also in the dimensions of rivalry. According to RUNTO's online monitoring data, the number of brands selling smart projectors online in China reached 378 in 2024, up by 78 from 2023. While the market remains active, competition has also intensified. However, when looking at effective brands (those with annual online sales ≥ 2,000 units), the numbers dropped from 124 in 2023 to 110 in 2024, indicating rapid turnover among long-tail brands.
Price remains the primary battleground, as reflected in the divergent growth rates of total sales volume (positive) and total sales revenue (negative). RUNTO's data shows that products priced below $140 continued to dominate, accounting for 54.0% of sales in 2024, up 4.3 percentage points from 2023. Although sub-$70 products still held the largest share, their dominance is gradually waning, with market resources shifting toward the $70-$140 and $140-$280 price segments. These are the key battlegrounds for 1LCD and DLP mainstream brands in 2024. Additionally, premium products priced above $1,400 are gaining traction, indicating that some consumers are willing to pay for new technologies, trend-driven products, and enhanced quality of life.
2023-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Sales by Price Segment
2. Technological and Supply Chain Breakthroughs
Texas Instruments (TI), the leader in DLP technology, focused on medium and large-sized DMD light valves in 2024, launching six new products with sizes of 0.47 inches or larger. Key developments included: ① price reductions, with 0.65-inch WXGA products dropping by 50% compared to the previous generation; ② 4K普及, with three new 4K UHD resolution products; and ③ engineering applications, where 0.78-inch FHD and UHD solutions nearly doubled in brightness, exceeding 10,000 lumens. Although TI did not directly reduce prices for home projectors, the combination of Double 11 promotions and government subsidies led to a "passive" price drop for DLP products, with mainstream models seeing price reductions of around 20%. This helped DLP's online market share rebound to 40% in Q4, a level last seen in Q2 2022.
In 2024, DLP technology accounted for 31.4% of sales, a slight 0.5 percentage point decline from 2023. Meanwhile, 1LCD technology remained the dominant choice, with its online market share rising to 66.8%, up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. The 1LCD segment saw both cost reductions and structural upgrades. Prices for products using mainstream 2.69/3.97/4.45-inch panels dropped significantly, while CSOT expanded its projection panel offerings with 3" FHD and 5.5" 4K light valves. 4K products officially launched, and short-throw projection lamps hit the market at prices 20%-30% lower than comparable products using other technologies. Smart features like auto-focus, auto-keystone correction, obstacle avoidance, and screen alignment are becoming standard.
3LCD brand Epson adopted a more localized pricing and product strategy in 2024. New iterations were priced about $100 lower than previous models, and the company introduced its first sub-$420 smart product. Epson also increased its focus on home, smart, and laser projectors.
2LCD technology, pioneered by Chinese company Shenzhen Kejinming, features a new lighting path design and color synthesis technology aimed at improving brightness and color gamut coverage.
LCoS technology is on the verge of commercialization. In 2024, Shanghai HiSilicon launched the 3LCoS Honghu projection solution, integrating SoC, perception interaction, light core, light screen, and laser components. Jingfan Optoelectronics unveiled a 0.78-inch single-chip true 4K LCoS chip, while Zhongguang Optics introduced its LCoS solutions, including 3LCoS and 1LCoS architectures with six multi-light-source-compatible schemes. The "2024 LCoS Industry Conference" held in Songshan Lake brought together brands and suppliers.
Micro LED technology is transitioning from theory to prototype validation. In the first half of 2024, Changhong announced multiple patents for Micro LED projector structures, light valves, and colorization. Later in the year, its subsidiary Qirui Ke disclosed three new patents addressing tri-color light fusion and hybrid light source solutions. Fujian Fuguang also revealed progress in developing Micro LED monochrome and color projection engines.
2023-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Quarterly Sales by Technology
RUNTO analyst Liu Dingkun noted that in 2024, Chinese projector supply chain suppliers faced significant challenges as downstream cost pressures intensified. However, domestic supply chains are transitioning from "following" to "running alongside" global leaders, giving Chinese brands greater initiative in the global market.
3. Key Specification Upgrades and Design Innovations
Despite market and industry preferences, image quality remains the most critical performance metric for smart projectors, primarily reflected in brightness and resolution. In 2024, while exaggerated brightness claims improved compared to two or three years ago, the issue remains significant. The China Video Industry Association is initiating a 2025 quality survey for smart projectors. RUNTO's adjusted data, based on manufacturer claims and product technologies, shows that over 70% of online smart projectors in China in 2024 had brightness below 500 lumens. However, the rapid adoption of laser light sources boosted the shares of 1,500-2,000 lumens and 3,000+ lumens segments.
Laser products (including hybrid light sources) accounted for 13.7% of online sales in 2024, surpassing 10% for the first time, with a 57% year-on-year sales increase. The number of laser models available online rose to 94, up by 52 from 2023. Laser light sources became the primary choice for DLP and 3LCD new products, with prices dropping below $700 for the first time, averaging $672.
In terms of resolution, FHD dominated the smart projector market, maintaining a share of around 50% over the past two years. 4K UHD's market share reached 9.0% in 2024, up 3.8 percentage points year-on-year, with sales increasing by over 70%. The growth in 4K is driven by more products and lower prices. In 2024, 23 brands offered 4K products, including newcomers like Dangbei, Xiaoming, Philips, Youku, and Leica, with 76 models available. The average price dropped from $1,170 in 2021 to under $840 in 2024.
2019-2024 China Smart Projector Online Market Sales by Product Segment
Design-wise, 2024 saw numerous micro-innovations. Gimbal-designed products accounted for 35.9% of sales, up 28.9 percentage points year-on-year, with trends toward integration and motorization. Brands like Dangbei, Xgimi, and Donying introduced smart projectors with screens, blending the concepts of screenless and screen-based projection. At CES 2025, LG, Aurzen, TCL, and Samsung showcased projector designs inspired by floor lamps, tri-folding, magic cubes, and spherical robots.
4. The Certainty of Global Expansion
2024 saw numerous positive signals in the global projector market: A) Major sports events like the Olympics, Copa America, and UEFA Euro boosted demand for large screens; B) Projector products thrived in cross-border e-commerce and gained popularity on overseas social platforms; C) China's supply chain capabilities improved rapidly, enhancing R&D, talent, and manufacturing cost advantages.
Compared to the domestic market, overseas markets remained vibrant. RUNTO data shows that global projector shipments (including smart and non-smart, home and commercial) reached 19.77 million units in 2024, up 5.4% year-on-year. Overseas markets grew by 8.3%, outpacing both China and the global average. For more detailed data, refer to RUNTO's "Global Projector Market Quarterly Analysis Report."
2019-2024 Global Projector Market Shipment Volume and Changes
While over 90% of Chinese projector products are smart, the figure is below 25% overseas. Similarly, tri-color laser's share in China's laser projector market exceeds 50%, compared to just 10% overseas. This vast potential makes global expansion a necessity for domestic leaders. Chinese brands' breakthroughs in smart systems, content resources, light source technologies, and automation, coupled with their experience in human-machine interaction and user operations, provide strong support for overseas ventures. In 2024, leading brands like Xgimi, JMGO, Dangbei, Fengmi, and Xiaomi shifted their focus and resources to international markets.
5. The Huge Growth Potential in Automotive Applications
Automotive applications represent the "third space" for projectors, following home and commercial use. These include in-car entertainment screens, automotive-grade giant screens, smart cockpit displays, laser projection headlights, dynamic color pixel lights, welcome projections, and side window projections. The diversity of forms is vast, and the high spatial requirements make them ideal for premium vehicles. By 2024, the market consensus was clear: beyond global expansion, automotive applications are a significant growth opportunity.
Public data shows that China's automobile production and sales reached 31 million units in 2024, with new energy vehicles surpassing 10 million units for the first time. RUNTO estimates that the market capacity for in-car screens in China is approximately $210 billion. Major players like Appotronics, Xgimi, and Hisense are accelerating their automotive strategies. By the end of 2024, Appotronics had secured 10 automotive project contracts, while Xgimi received seven, primarily for automotive-grade screens and projection headlights.
2025 Trends and Outlook
Globally, the macro environment remains complex and dynamic, shifting from "traditional stability" to "dynamic transformation." On the positive side, China's consumer goods "trade-in" policy will continue in 2025, but its impact on low-frequency purchases like smart projectors will likely diminish.
Competitively, falling prices for large LCD TV panels are enhancing the appeal of 100-inch TVs, eroding the price and screen-size advantages of smart projectors. Additionally, ultra-thin and zero-gap TV models are increasingly resembling smart projectors in form.
Upstream, supply chain restructuring is deepening, with advancements in 1LCD upgrades, the emergence of 2LCD, the commercialization of domestic LCoS, the productization of Micro LED, and the price reductions of ultra-short-throw lenses and optical screens. At CES 2025, Appotronics introduced a split fiber optic engine solution, separating the light source from the lens for the first time to improve heat dissipation and reduce product size.
Brand-wise, the industry is undergoing profound transformation and integration. Collaborations like Dangbei with Xgimi and Leica with Hisense signal a shift from single-brand competition to cooperative rivalry. Meanwhile, the "going global" of domestic brands and the "return" of cross-border brands illustrate a new landscape of global-local interplay.
In terms of scale, RUNTO conservatively predicts that China's smart projector market will reach 6.331 million units in 2025, up 4.8% year-on-year, with sales revenue of $1.551 billion, a 10.7% increase.
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