Luo Yonghao 'Blasts' TV Manufacturers, Hisense, Skyworth, and Others Respond
Chinese tech personality Luo Yonghao's strong criticism of TV manufacturers' 'elder mode' features has sparked widespread public support, highlighting long-standing frustrations with complex interfaces, excessive ads, and VIP subscription models.
Intelligence analysis by Gemini 2.5 Flash
Luo Yonghao's recent 'curse-like' rant against TV makers for their poorly implemented 'elder mode' resonated deeply across Chinese social media, drawing support from netizens and media alike. His critique exposed a systemic issue of smart TVs being overly complicated for seniors, plagued by convoluted navigation, intrusive advertisements, and 'nested' VIP charges.
Imagine your grandparents' TV is like a super fancy toy with too many buttons and secret menus, making it really hard to just watch their favorite show. A famous tech guy got really mad about this, saying TV makers aren't making it easy enough for older people. Even though TVs have a 'grandparent mode,' it's often just a small change, like making the words bigger, but you still have to press lots of buttons to find the right channel. It's like having a car with a 'simple mode' that only makes the steering wheel bigger, but you still have to do complicated things to start it.
Analysis
Luo Yonghao's Outburst and Public Resonance
Luo Yonghao, a prominent figure in China's tech and internet sphere, recently launched a scathing attack on television manufacturers, specifically targeting their 'elder mode' features. His criticism, delivered with unusually strong language, including calling product managers 'idiots' and suggesting they 'don't deserve to go to heaven,' quickly went viral. This outburst, which occurred on July 25th, garnered overwhelming support across social media platforms, with netizens, media outlets, and even former critics rallying behind him. The widespread resonance underscores a deep-seated frustration among Chinese consumers, particularly the elderly and their families, regarding the user experience of modern smart televisions.
The core of Luo's complaint centered on the 'pseudo-aging adaptation' of these modes. Users reported that despite claims of simplification, the interfaces remained complex, requiring multiple steps to access basic functions like live television. This public outcry transformed Luo's personal grievance into a significant social issue, drawing attention from over 60 media organizations and sparking a national conversation about product design ethics and consumer rights in the smart home sector.
The 'Pseudo-Aging Adaptation' Problem and Industry Responses
Industry experts, such as veteran industrial economist Liang Zhenpeng, echoed Luo's sentiments, describing current 'elder modes' as superficial. These modes often only involve minor adjustments like enlarged fonts or altered interface skins, failing to simplify the underlying operating logic. Consequently, elderly users still struggle with navigating multi-layered menus to find live TV channels, a process that should be straightforward. This superficial approach is seen as a 'typical pseudo-aging adaptation,' failing to genuinely address the needs of older users.
In response to the controversy, major TV brands including Xiaomi, Huawei, Hisense, Skyworth, and Changhong confirmed that their televisions offer 'elder mode' or 'simple mode.' However, their customer service representatives admitted that these modes primarily simplify the homepage. Crucially, they still require users to manually switch signal sources to watch traditional cable or satellite TV, a step that cannot be bypassed. This admission from manufacturers validates Luo Yonghao's critique and highlights the inherent limitations of their current 'elder mode' implementations.
Systemic Challenges and Regulatory Efforts
The article delves into the systemic reasons behind the persistent complexity, noting that not all issues lie solely with hardware manufacturers. The smart TV ecosystem in China is multi-layered, involving license holders, broadcast control platforms, and content applications. For major video streaming platforms like Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent to operate on TV, they must partner with licensed institutions, leading to higher operational costs and the proliferation of separate TV-specific apps and VIP subscription models. This complex structure limits the hardware manufacturers' ability to implement a truly 'foolproof', simplified operating system.
Recognizing these challenges, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) introduced the 'Convenient TV Viewing Product Certification Scheme' in August 2025. This initiative aims to improve the user experience by certifying TVs that offer simpler operations. However, as of June 2026, only 8-10 models from a few brands have received this non-mandatory certification, indicating low adoption. While the scheme holds potential to become a 'new national standard' for aging adaptation, its current non-mandatory status means its impact on widespread change is limited. Despite a 10.1% decline in China's TV market shipments in H1 2026, the average selling price (ASP) continues to rise, suggesting that the market remains valuable, and the industry faces a critical juncture in balancing commercial interests with user experience improvements.
Key points
- Luo Yonghao's strong criticism of TV manufacturers' 'elder mode' sparked widespread public and media support.
- Current 'elder modes' are largely superficial, simplifying only the homepage but still requiring manual signal source switching for live TV.
- The complexity stems from a multi-layered ecosystem involving license holders, broadcast platforms, and content apps, leading to ads and VIP charges.
- The National Radio and Television Administration introduced a 'Convenient TV Viewing' certification, but it's non-mandatory and has low adoption.
- China's TV market saw a 10.1% decline in shipments in H1 2026, but average selling prices are rising, indicating a valuable market despite user dissatisfaction.
Luo Yonghao's high-profile criticism and the resulting public outcry could pressure TV manufacturers to genuinely prioritize user experience, especially for the elderly. This increased scrutiny might accelerate the adoption of more effective 'aging adaptation' solutions and potentially lead to stronger regulatory enforcement of standards like the 'Convenient TV Viewing' certification, ultimately benefiting a large segment of the population.
Despite the public outcry, fundamental changes may be difficult to implement due to the complex multi-layered ecosystem involving content providers and licensing bodies, which limits hardware manufacturers' control. Without mandatory regulations or a significant shift in industry priorities, the current 'pseudo-aging adaptation' and revenue-generating models (ads, VIPs) are likely to persist, leaving user frustrations largely unaddressed.
