Analysis of the Development Status and Trends of China's Smart Projection Industry in 2025: Products Are Increasingly Favored, and Industry Sales Continue to Grow

I. Background of the Smart Projector Industry Development

In January 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Notice on Expanding the Scope and Enhancing the Implementation of Large-Scale Equipment Updates and Consumer Goods Trade-In Policies in 2025." This policy maintains the same subsidy intensity as the 2024 national subsidy program while adding new product categories. Moreover, compared to the approximately six-month duration of the 2024 national subsidies, the 2025 subsidies will be in effect throughout the entire year, significantly boosting consumer demand. This will increase market demand for smart projectors and benefit the industry's development.

II. Intelligent Projector Industry Chain

 The smart projector industry chain encompasses three major segments: upstream core components, midstream complete machine manufacturing, and downstream application channels. The upstream segment focuses on key technologies and components, including display chips, optical lenses, light sources, and processing chips, which form the core barriers—with DLP and LCD technologies dominating the market. The midstream segment integrates technologies to form complete machines, divided into consumer and commercial directions. Downstream channels are primarily online (e.g., JD.com, Tmall), supplemented by offline channels (e.g., brand flagship stores). E-commerce platforms drive market penetration and technological iteration.

III. Development Status of the Smart Projector Industry

1. Global Projector Market Size

A projector is a device capable of projecting images or videos onto a screen, operating by converting received digital image or video signals into light signals and projecting them onto a surface. Since their inception, projectors have long been primarily used in commercial scenarios such as office and educational settings. In 2024, global projector shipments reached 19.77 million units, a year-on-year increase of 5%, while sales revenue amounted to $9.61 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3%. Mainland China is the largest projector market globally, accounting for 35.1% of shipments, followed by North America (20.3%), Western Europe (17.8%), and the Asia-Pacific region (17.0%).

2. Sales Scale of China's Smart Projector Market (Excluding Laser TV)

The smart era of the projector industry began in 2014, the intelligence level and audio-visual quality of projection devices have rapidly improved, significantly accelerating the penetration of projection products into consumer-grade scenarios and further expanding the market growth potential of the industry. In 2024, the sales scale of China's smart projector market (excluding laser TV) reached RMB 10.01 billion, with a CAGR of approximately 4.53% from 2019 to 2024.

3. Sales Volume of China's Smart Projector Market (Excluding Laser TV)

Smart projectors possess inherent advantages over mobile network devices like smartphones and tablets in entertainment scenarios such as film and television viewing, thanks to features like large screens and eye protection. Since the primary purpose of using projectors is to fulfill entertainment needs like watching films and TV shows, smart projectors have gradually evolved into important internet content platforms. China's smart projector market is substantial in scale, and the rise of domestic brands has enhanced consumers' awareness and potential purchasing power for projection devices. Projectors have quickly integrated into the smart home ecosystem, with market sales growing rapidly. According to statistics, the sales volume of China's smart projector market (excluding laser TV) reached approximately 6.042 million units in 2024, with a CAGR of about 13.71% from 2019 to 2024.

4. Price Range Distribution of Smart Projector Sales in China

In 2024, products priced below ¥1,000 accounted for 54% of total sales, an increase of 4.3 percentage points compared to 2023. Among these, products priced below ¥500 still held the highest share, though their proportion declined slightly. The price bands of ¥500-¥999 and ¥1,000-¥1,999 saw a rebound in their shares. Additionally, the premium segment above ¥10,000 began to gain traction, indicating that there remains a consumer base willing to pay for new technologies and enhanced quality experiences.

IV. Development Trends of the Smart Projector Industry

1. LED Light Sources Remain Dominant, While Laser Light Sources Gradually Increase in Share

   From 2018 to 2023, the proportion of projector shipments using bulb light sources in China was 44%, 34%, 24%, 21%, 14%, and 10%, respectively, showing a year-on-year decline. During the same period, shipments and market shares of LED and laser light source products continued to grow. The proportion of LED light source products was 49%, 58%, 66%, 69%, 74%, and 76%, respectively, indicating that LED-based projectors remain the mainstream in the market. Meanwhile, the share of laser light source products was 16%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 11%, and 14%, demonstrating a gradual increase over the past five years.  

2. Low-End Projectors Gain Market Share, While High-End Projectors Trend Toward "4K" and "Laser"

   Benefiting from the maturity of domestic supply chains and performance improvements brought by technologies such as enclosed optical engines, low-end single-chip LCD projectors priced below ¥2,000 have seen a rising share in sales in recent years.

   Meanwhile, 4K high-definition resolution and laser light sources have become standard features in an increasing number of high-end projectors, highlighting the trends of "4K adoption" and "laser integration."

3. Online Channels Become a Major Sales Avenue for Projectors

   As the smart projector market expands, the end-consumer structure has shifted from being business-centric (B2B) to consumer-centric (B2C). With the mature development of China’s e-commerce market, online channels have quickly become the primary sales avenue for projector manufacturers, thanks to their extensive consumer reach and convenient shopping experience.

Name: Janice

Email: sales11@ihomebox.com

Tel/Whatsapp: +86 19926651189