Vertical living room screens: China is preparing for the post-smartphone era
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Long associated with personal phones, the vertical format could soon become a permanent fixture in living rooms. In China, several manufacturers are developing mobile home screens, larger than a smartphone, capable of natively displaying content in portrait orientation.
These screens, usually mounted on stands, can be oriented in portrait or landscape mode, and are sometimes equipped with a built-in battery, and are designed to move around the house. They can be moved from the kitchen to the living room and used for streaming, fitness, video conferencing, or vertical entertainment. This model breaks with the traditional horizontal fixed television and introduces a hybrid device, somewhere between a giant tablet and a mobile TV.
Several Chinese companies are already positioned in this segment. Xiaomi has launched a 27-inch "smart home screen" on a mobile base in China, integrated into its connected ecosystem. Hisense offers lifestyle screens on stands with integrated batteries and automatic rotation. Skyworth is also developing portable screens geared towards home use, combining mobility and a connected TV interface.
Upstream, China's industrial power in panel production reinforces this dynamic. BOE, TCL CSOT, and HKC are among the world's leading manufacturers of LCD and OLED panels for smartphones, tablets, and televisions. This technological continuity between small mobile screens and large home screens facilitates the emergence of new hybrid formats.
For the audiovisual industry, the stakes are strategic. If these screens become widespread, the vertical format could move beyond the strictly individual realm of smartphones to become a collective mode of home consumption. Vertical series, currently designed for personal use, could then be adapted for larger screens, viewable from a distance and shared within the family space.
Sources
• Cinco Días – August 15, 2025
• NotebookCheck – January 6, 2026
• DisplaySpecifications – October 14, 2025
• Reuters – September 26, 2024
