Vingroup unit partners with Google to make TVs

The partnership will allow the electronics producer to develop its Vsmart TVs on Google’s Android operating system.

VinSmart is set to release the first five models, which have 4K resolution and Google Assistant in Vietnamese, next month.

The TVs, which will have Dolby sound systems, will be made in Hanoi's Hoa Lac Industrial Park.

After Google, VinSmart will look for international partners to develop more smart products meeting global standards under a Vietnamese brand, Vingroup’s deputy director Le Mai Tuyet Trinh said in a statement.

Tech expert Tran Manh Hiep said that VinSmart TVs will find it very difficult to compete in the high-end segment dominated by Samsung and LG. He said it is better that the Vietnamese company focuses on the affordable segment.

VinSmart, established in June last year, has already introduced eight smartphone models, and exported them to Spain, Myanmar and Russia. It had announced in May that it has plans to expand this to India, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia this year. The company also said that it was looking into making air conditioners and refrigerators.