For users who have been exposed to early smart phones, ZTE is certainly not an unfamiliar name, after all, "China Cool Union" was once the four hegemons of the operator era, and the first "Zhong" was ZTE.
Time has passed, and by the first half of 2020, ZTE mobile phones have only 1.6% of the domestic market share.
In the past 2021, ZTE's consumer business shipments growth rate reached 60%, of which domestic growth exceeded 150%, overseas shipments increased by 50% year-on-year, showing a rebound state.
When talking about the 2022 target, Ni Fei, senior vice president of ZTE and president of ZTE Terminal Division, said: "Although the epidemic is still repeated in 2022 and the supply chain tension may continue for some time, ZTE Terminal hopes to triple the revenue of the domestic market in 2022, and the annual revenue growth rate of overseas markets will exceed 50%. ”
Regarding ZTE's product technology and market strategy in 2022, Ni Fei, senior vice president of ZTE and president of ZTE Terminal Division, Zhang Lei, general manager of products of ZTE Terminal Division in China, and Yu Hang, senior vice president of Nubia Technology Co., Ltd., had a dialogue with Titanium Media App.
Left: Ni Fei, Senior Vice President of ZTE And President of ZTE Terminal Division Right: Yu Hang, Senior Vice President of Nubia Technology Co., Ltd
The camera under the screen continues to develop, and there is no shortage of folding screen technology
Although it has experienced ups and downs in the market in recent years, as a technology-based enterprise, ZTE has always had its own persistence and accumulation in product research and development and technical reserves.
In 2021, ZTE's self-developed chips accounted for more than 50% of terminal shipments, ZTE Axon30 debuted the highest resolution 400PPI second-generation under-screen camera technology, Nubia Z30 Pro achieved the industry's first multi-main camera computing photography, Red Devil Game Mobile Phone 6 Series debuted 165Hz e-sports screen, the specification is higher than the current high-end mobile phone mainstream 120Hz refresh rate.
ZTE's most well-known technology in recent years is the camera under the screen. Regarding this technology, ZTE told the Titanium Media App: The products that have been applied under the screen camera technology before are still mid-range products, because the technological development has not yet reached a perfect state, and this year's Axon flagship will be equipped with the third generation of the world's first under-screen camera technology. ZTE believes that the new technology has a very big improvement compared with the previous two generations, which has no impact on users and will be the sustainable direction of the mobile phone industry in the future.
Titanium Media App believes that the use of the under-screen camera scheme to achieve a "true full screen", for the improvement of the appearance of the mobile phone is very obvious. ZTE has a long period of accumulation in this technology, and has already had the iteration of Axon 20, Axon 30 two generations of products, compared with other manufacturers who only have a generation or no camera under the screen, have certain advantages, in the upcoming release of the third generation of products, is expected to solve the problem of insufficient light flux before.
In the past two months, the popularity of folding screen mobile phones has continued, and OPPO Find N, Huawei P50 Pocket and Honor Magic V have been released. When asked about the folding screen mobile phone, Zhang Lei said that there is no shortage of technology about the folding screen, in the folding screen mobile phone screen and hinge, ZTE has a long period of technical reserves and patent reserves, hoping to launch folding screen products this year.
Regarding future products, ZTE said that the Nubia Z40 Pro will be equipped with a customized 35mm main camera, the world's first joint custom Sony IMX787, support computational photography, and equipped with a new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, using the top heat dissipation system. The Red Devil 7 game phone equipped with a new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform will also be released in February.
Metaverse, the strength of gaming mobile phones
Regarding the recent hot metaverse, ZTE also has its own understanding.
Ni Fei said: "The entrance to the future metacosm may be XR equipment, AR equipment, VR equipment. The key technical points of AR equipment and VR equipment are optics, heat dissipation, performance and imaging algorithms, which are themselves the strengths of mobile phone manufacturers, especially for game mobile phone manufacturers. This shows that ZTE has been creating game phones for so many years, and the technical reserves and directions accumulated are in line with the future development direction. ”
In terms of specific actions, ZTE has established an internal team in Q3 2021 and started the development of VR-related hardware technology and software technology.
In addition to hardware, ZTE believes that the technology of the new media image part will also become an important aspect of the extension and migration of metaverse-related technologies, such as the algorithm of the engine, the capture of motion, and the recognition of pictures. ZTE hopes that very complex calculations can be achieved through mobile phones plus a simple product, rather than through professional hardware devices.
Brand + channel, solid implementation of long-term strategy
Regarding ZTE's current three brands, Ni Fei said that ZTE's positioning is a "creator" with both innovation and action, Nubia is creating a new image of a younger personality, and the Red Devils are mainly pursuing more extreme performance in the face of the game crowd. The three brands are supported by the same supply chain platform and intellectual property platform, and differentiate themselves from the user experience.
In terms of the market, in 2022, ZTE will invite Wu Jing as the spokesperson for ZTE mobile phones.
In terms of channels, ZTE launched large-scale offline construction in 2021, with about 7,000 self-operated stores and cooperative stores by the end of 2021. In 2022, ZTE aims to have at least 20,000 cooperative stores and related partners.
Brands and offline channels will continue to increase investment as zTE's long-term strategy. When talking about the future and the key to decision-making in 2021, Ni Fei said: "ZTE's biggest decision this year is not to toss and turn, and to move forward steadily. Be anxious, but keep your steps steady. Give full play to your own advantages and do your basic skills in place. The following is handed over to time, and I believe there will be a return. ”
Titanium Media App believes that ZTE has the advantages of network technology and independent chips at the product level, and at the same time is in a leading position in the main track of the future mobile phone under the screen camera, and there is also a related layout in the ecological aspect. At this time, we can recognize the situation, face the gap with big brands, do a solid job in the basic skills, and there is still a possibility of returning to the other side in the future. (This article was first published on Titanium Media App, author/Wu Honglei)