Recently, the hashtag "#FarewellToSetTopBoxes" went viral online. The China Broadcasting Network (CBN) recently issued a centralized procurement announcement for integrated TV adapters, signaling the project's entry into large-scale deployment. This move enables users to watch live TV without needing external set-top boxes.

This development reminds the "Home Furnishing New Paradigm" of Luo Yonghao's earlier criticism of TV manufacturers for their poorly designed "elderly mode," which ultimately led him to revert to using a set-top box for his family. Today, middle-aged and elderly individuals have become the primary TV user demographic, yet their experience with these devices remains far from user-friendly. They are confronted with boot-up advertisements, complex nested membership systems, and multi-layered menus—essentially a product design logic centered on monetizing user traffic. Common issues include inadvertent charges, difficulty exiting certain features, and exposure to fraudulent health product advertisements.

The root cause of this intergenerational disconnection lies in the fact that children often purchase TVs, parents use them, and product managers design them with a focus on retaining younger users. According to the "2025 National Report on the Development of Aging Undertakings" by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Working Commission on Aging, China's elderly population aged 60 and above has reached 323 million, with those aged 65 and above numbering 224 million.

It is becoming increasingly evident that the first company to effectively integrate "elderly-friendly" features as a competitive product advantage will secure a ticket to the next round of growth.

Five Major Pain Points of Smart Home Appliances Driving Away the Elderly Mainstream

In an era where smartphones are ubiquitous, TV users are now predominantly elderly. However, TV functional design rarely takes their perspective into account. "Home Furnishing New Paradigm" has identified five major pain points:

1. **Prolonged Boot-Up Advertisements**: Despite calls from industry associations to limit boot-up ads to no more than 30 seconds, and most smart TVs now offering a one-click ad closure feature, many elderly users still struggle to find the closure option or simply "can't be bothered to operate it," forcing them to endure longer ads.

2. **Obscured Access to Live TV**: For users aged 75 and above, watching TV can be more challenging than using WeChat. By default, TVs boot up to content recommendation pages. User tests reveal that it takes 11 steps to access live TV, and a single wrong step requires starting over. The deliberate "downgrading" of live TV functionality reflects the dominance of commercial logic over usability.

3. **Complex Nested Membership Systems**: Mobile memberships are not transferable to TVs, while TV memberships are further divided into zones such as sports, children's content, and anime. With revenue shared among TV manufacturers, license holders, and video platforms, elderly users often struggle to distinguish between "trial" offers and "subscriptions," frequently incurring charges with a single accidental click.

4. **Remote Controls as a Test**: TVs come with one remote, set-top boxes with another, and voice control as a separate system. Buttons are densely packed, with the back button often smaller than a sesame seed. Touchscreen remotes have higher accidental touch rates for the elderly compared to physical buttons.

5. **Superficial "Elderly Modes"**: Many smart TVs merely apply superficial changes such as larger fonts and warm-colored interfaces without genuine implementation. Features desired by the elderly, such as large-font operas and one-click news broadcasts, remain buried under multiple menus.

When using a TV requires users to "take an exam" to power it on, "complete levels" to watch the news, and "avoid traps" to prevent fees, it ceases to be a TV and becomes a meticulously designed consumption trap. "Home Furnishing New Paradigm" argues that elderly viewers represent the last "core audience" for TV screens, making their terminal experience and trust crucial.

Why Manufacturers "Can But Won't" Act: The Cost-Benefit Dilemma

While young people have shifted to smartphones and tablets, the elderly are left with interfaces designed primarily for monetization. This is not because manufacturers "disregard the elderly" but due to the interplay of three interest chains and a standard framework, which consistently deprioritize elderly-friendly features in cost-benefit analyses.

1. **Thin Hardware Margins Force "Backend Monetization"**: A TV costing RMB 2,000–3,000 may yield a net profit of just tens to over a hundred yuan per unit. TCL Electronics' H1 2026 financial report shows an 18.5% gross margin for its display business versus 61.1% for internet services (including ad revenue), making the latter far more profitable.

2. **Shrinking Hardware Market Drives "Operational Monetization"**: AVC data indicates that China's color TV market retail volume reached approximately 31.5 million units in 2025, down 6.5% year-on-year and 38% from the 2016 peak of 50.89 million units, reverting to 2010 levels. With hardware profits dwindling, manufacturers naturally seek "operational monetization."

3. **Tripartite Revenue Sharing Discourages Simplification**: OEMs take 15–25% of revenue, license holders 2–7.5%, and platforms cover content costs. Simplifying access reduces exposure, lowering revenue across the chain. No party benefits from unilateral simplification.

Previous industry standards mandated "boot-to-live-TV" for IPTV and cable TV, but OTT internet TV remains in a regulatory gray area without equivalent mandates. Without unified enforcement or subsidies, early adopters of deep elderly-friendly adaptations bear extra costs while benefits spill over to competitors, creating a prisoner's dilemma.

Additionally, design biases persist. Most elderly-friendly settings are configured by children, with minimal independent operation by the elderly. CTR market research shows that approximately 70% of users aged 55+ abandon devices due to complexity.

Current usability testing focuses on middle-aged and young adults, whose preferences for touch controls and hidden menus clash with elderly needs for physical buttons and visible menus. This is not merely an aesthetic difference but a result of chronically skewed testing samples.

Data Source: CTR's "AI Smart Home Appliance Consumption Trends Online Survey" (N=1,019)

Notably, while standard frameworks like GB/T 45919-2025 (Technical Requirements for Elderly-Friendly Smart Multimedia Terminals) and evaluation methods for elderly-friendly levels are voluntary national standards, and "Convenient TV Watching" certification is optional.

Compliance merely requires "providing functions" without ensuring usability. Simply enlarging fonts is deemed "elderly-friendly," which is clearly insufficient.

The Bottleneck Lies in Incentives, Not Technology

The elderly's ideal smart TV is clear: boot-to-live-TV, large physical buttons, dialect-compatible voice control, transparent pricing, and remote management. Anything less is incomplete. Leading brands like Haier, Konka, Changhong, Skyworth, and Huawei have set examples:

Regulators are also taking action. On September 2, the National Radio and Television Administration solicited public feedback on revisions to Cable Broadcasting and Television Operation Service Management Regulations and Interactive Network Television Operation Service Management Provisions, codifying effective practices from crackdowns on "nested fees" and complex operations.

As of February this year, 21 manufacturers have obtained 28 "Convenient TV Watching" product certifications covering TVs, plug-in micro-set-top boxes, and universal remotes (49 models in total).

Conclusion

The reality is that hardware profits are insufficient, so manufacturers rely on ad and membership revenue. By prolonging user stay (dwell time) and adding layers, the elderly are excluded. With non-mandatory standards and voluntary certifications, manufacturers only comply with minimum requirements, treating elderly-friendly features as cost centers rather than differentiators. Consequently, the elderly experience becomes an externalized cost, with no one taking responsibility.

To change this, two paths are worth exploring: (1) Make elderly-friendly features the default state rather than a superficial layer; (2) Transition certifications from voluntary to mandatory for centralized procurement/elderly care projects, transforming elderly-friendly adaptations from costs to competitive advantages.

With TV boot rates languishing, the next phase of the smart home appliance race hinges on improving elderly usability. This not only stabilizes the elderly user base but also prompts young people to reevaluate the living room's value. In "Home Furnishing New Paradigm's" view, restoring the living room to "boot-and-watch" simplicity may seem like a concession in the short term but could represent one of the few growth avenues for the TV industry in the long term.