Xiaomi benchmarks Apple, can it succeed?

Last night, Xiaomi held a new product conference, I don't know if everyone has seen it.

From the introduction of MIUI 13 can cover the three major scenarios of individuals, families and enterprises, to the official release of the Xiaomi 12 series by Mr. Lei on stage, and then to the launch of Watch S1, the most interesting discussion is actually the following two pieces of information:

1. Xiaomi's R&D investment will increase to 100 billion yuan in the next 5 years.

2. Xiaomi officially benchmarks Apple and learns from Apple.

Xiaomi's third-quarter financial report shows that in the first three quarters of this year, Xiaomi invested a total of 9.3 billion yuan in research and development expenses, an increase of 51.4% year-on-year.

It seems that it is OK, but compared with Apple, the gap is out, in 2020, Apple invested 127.74 billion yuan in research and development expenses, even if it is a domestic Huawei, it has also invested 141.8 billion yuan in research and development.

In such a comparison, the gap is actually relatively large. Now Xiaomi said that in the next 5 years, R & D investment will increase to 100 billion, on the one hand, to eliminate the outside world's doubts about Xiaomi's core self-developed technology, on the other hand, it is also to affirm its attitude of benchmarking Apple.

However, for Xiaomi's benchmarking against Apple, some people support it and some people question it.

People who support it said that Xiaomi is not benchmarking friends this time, but benchmarking Apple, very courageous, there is no need to laugh, and the domestic machine is to support it.

From Huawei to Glory, the conference will always be benchmarked against Samsung and Apple, which is also what everyone likes to see the most, and how good it is for their own people not to roll into each other. Consider more user experience, improve technology, and on this basis, then benchmark overseas companies, in fact, there is nothing wrong with it.

Skeptics believe that this Xiaomi conference has no highlights. Because xiaomi mobile phones have evolved to today's 12 Pro, whether it is fast charging, or photography and video, IMX766, IMX707, basically to a ceiling, so basically can not see any particularly big highlights.

At present, any Android-based system, including Xiaomi's MIUI, has various bugs, and there is a gap between it and Apple in terms of stability and fluency. Mobile phone heat dissipation is not good, quality defects, etc., these bad experiences still exist, so why should Xiaomi benchmark Apple?

Moreover, Xiaomi is a brand that pursues cost performance, and there was also the slogan of "born for fever" at that time, and the market positioning is different Why should it be benchmarked against Apple?

Xiaomi takes the iPhone as a benchmark, and the starting point is good. However, it should also be pointed out that it is not blindly advocated, and problems can only be solved by raising problems. It is okay to say that the goal is bigger, then you need to do things a little more carefully, make the mobile phone a little more refined, and make the strength a little stronger, so that in the end, you may be able to get unexpected surprises.

Mr. Lei himself also said that since announcing the benchmarking of Apple, he has been sneered at by many netizens. But he still believes that domestic mobile phones should have the courage to compare with Apple.

It is good to have the determination to benchmark Apples, but many people are afraid that they will eventually become "bragging".

Thinking back to the last time I watched the Xiaomi conference, I was still touched by the sentiment of Lei Zong, who said at the end of the conference that he would return all the 370 million yuan of purchase money to the first batch of users who supported Xiaomi.

Many people, including me, were touched by Lei Zong's pattern and sentiment. However, it is impossible to generate electricity continuously by relying on feelings alone, and when users consume, they still value price and performance.

Benchmark Apple, learn from Apple, if it can really surpass Apple in the overall performance in the future, more users are naturally willing to pay.

But to be honest, the development of smartphones to today, a new bottleneck has begun to have. Where Apple continues to lead the mobile phone industry, it has also shifted from technology to the subdivision of the smart ecological experience of mobile phones.

Ecology is Xiaomi's biggest capital, and it has its own ecological chain in home and travel. Apple, which has always wanted to do smart homes, the current ecology is more similar to a content provider than a hardware producer.

Moreover, in the smart car, Xiaomi has also begun to build cars, and Apple's car has not yet actually landed, so if Xiaomi can drive a young and cost-effective electric car first, there may be more people to buy it.

Therefore, compared with the expectation of Xiaomi mobile phones, more expectations of Xiaomi's cars, and even the future Ofu's millet house is not impossible.