Sonoc Launches Xiaolong Series, Betting on Tri-Color Laser to Leapfrog Competitors

A Decade in the Making: The Xiaolong Series Finally Arrives

In spring 2026, Sonoc officially launched its "Xiaolong Series" pure tri-color laser engineering projectors. The product's debut comes more than a full decade after Sonoc first initiated internal R&D on tri-color laser technology.

"It's not that we were prompted by some external shock," said Sonoc Chairman Zhu Zhun in an interview with 36Kr. "We started researching how to commercialize tri-color laser technology very early on — it just turned out to be a longer road than expected."

Having spent decades in the projection industry — from traditional lamp-based systems to single-color lasers and now tri-color lasers — Zhu has witnessed the rise and fall of numerous technology roadmaps. After a Japanese R&D team joined the company in 2014, Sonoc became firmly convinced that tri-color laser was the "ultimate solution" for display technology. However, the journey from technical validation to product commercialization proved far longer than anticipated.

From Distributor to Own Brand: A Transformation Born of Necessity

Sonoc's origins trace back to 1993, when its parent company, Orient Original, was founded. Starting in 1996, Orient Original served as Panasonic's national distributor for projectors in China for 14 consecutive years, building a robust channel network and deep industry expertise.

However, the turning point for brand transformation came from an industry crisis. At a time of turbulence in Sino-Japanese relations, the company faced enormous risk from hundreds of millions of yuan worth of Japanese-brand inventory. This shock made management acutely aware that relying on a distribution model meant their fate would always rest in others' hands. This realization drove Sonoc to commit to building its own projection brand and taking control of its own destiny.

In 2015, Sonoc's first self-branded projector officially hit the market. Over years of dedicated effort, the company gradually established its own technology framework and brand recognition in the engineering projection space. But at the same time, the competitive landscape of China's domestic projection market was also shifting dramatically.

A Shifting Industry Landscape Forces Acceleration

Over the past two years, several leading domestic brands, backed by strong capital, have been racing ahead in new technology iterations, with some even overtaking traditional manufacturers in certain segments. The projection industry is undergoing a critical transition from single-color laser to tri-color laser technology, and the focus of market competition has shifted from pure brightness specifications to comprehensive metrics including color accuracy, energy efficiency, and overall system stability.

"That's precisely why we need to seize this window of opportunity and rapidly convert our core technology into market-ready products," said Zhu, who believes this is the critical moment for Sonoc to leapfrog the competition.

Tri-color laser technology uses red, green, and blue laser light sources for direct imaging, offering fundamental improvements in color gamut coverage and color purity compared to traditional single-color laser systems paired with phosphor wheels. However, the technical barriers are also higher — speckle suppression, thermal management of light source modules, and precise calibration of the three color sources are all challenges that must be overcome during the engineering process.

The extended timeline before the Xiaolong Series reached the market was largely due to the extensive time invested in validating and refining these core engineering challenges. Zhu revealed that the Japanese R&D team played a vital role in optical engine design and system reliability, ensuring that the product meets the stringent standards of engineering projection in key metrics such as brightness, color performance, and lifespan.

Differentiated Breakthrough in the Engineering Projection Segment

Notably, Sonoc chose to position the Xiaolong Series in the engineering projection market rather than the more intensely competitive consumer projection space. There is clear commercial logic behind this decision: engineering projection demands higher product stability, more robust after-sales service, and greater customization capabilities, with deeper channel barriers — all of which align well with Sonoc's long-established channel advantages and service infrastructure.

From distributing Panasonic products to building its own brand, from the lamp era to the tri-color laser era, Sonoc has traveled a long and winding path of transformation. Missing the first wave of projection product launches actually afforded the company more time for thorough technological refinement.

Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges for a Late Mover

Of course, the challenges facing a late mover should not be underestimated. The tri-color laser projection market already features multiple established players, with companies such as Appotronics, Hisense, and China Lucky Optics all accelerating their product line development. Whether Sonoc can carve out a strong market position with the Xiaolong Series remains to be proven.

What is certain, however, is that the trend toward large-scale commercialization of tri-color laser technology is irreversible. For Sonoc, the ability to efficiently convert over a decade of technological expertise into market share will determine this veteran projection company's position in the next industry cycle.

As Zhu put it: "Once you've chosen the right technology roadmap, it all comes down to execution and time."