OnePlus will become a rival in the domestic high-end mobile phone market that cannot be ignored.
Cover source | Visual China
This is the ninth year of OnePlus' existence.
This "debut" was called "the mobile phone of the dream" brand by Time Magazine, and last year's global sales exceeded 12 million units, handing over a beautiful answer sheet.
However, if you look at the domestic market alone, the pressure is not small. On the one hand, as a Chinese brand that has exploded in overseas, 80% of last year's sales were still contributed by overseas, and the domestic market share has not been completely opened; on the other hand, with the continuous intensification of competition in the smart phone industry, in the face of major brands have impacted the high-end market, such as the "arms race" in the face of research and development, the grouped combat mode makes it difficult for one plus, a single-handed brand, to defeat four hands.
In order to make further breakthroughs, OnePlus returned to OPPO in June last year and fully integrated with OPPO. Just last week, OnePlus announced the addition of a new product line, the launch of the OnePlus Ace series, in order to win more domestic market share and decisively played the card.
The Tao and Technique of "Dimensionality Reduction"
When it comes to Ace, many people may think of the series of the same name that OPPO has launched. However, OnePlus Ace is not satisfied with being defined as "inheriting" a well-known series, but hopes to create a product that meets both the needs of users and the tone of one plus through its own thinking and persistence.
Through the product positioning given by OnePlus, we can get a glimpse of it: OnePlus' digital series will adhere to the high-end and continue to bring users the most extreme performance experience and advanced texture design with the positioning of "elegant and powerful performance flagship". The new Ace series will create a "performance trump card with good looks" on the basis of inheriting the "no will" brand gene, and is committed to bringing hardcore technology and fast and stable game entertainment that is not degraded to more users.
Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching wrote: "There is no way without technique, the technique can still be sought, there is no way, there is no way, stop at the technique." ”
In the laws of business, the "tao" is the strategy, and the "technique" is the product. Without strategy as a fulcrum, the success of a product can only stop at a few products at most. Therefore, it is crucial to find the "Tao" that can be adhered to for a long time.
For OnePlus, the "Tao" has not changed, that is, only to do fine products. Specific to the product can be reflected in the ultimate pursuit of performance, the continuous polishing of details. OnePlus mobile phones are often referred to as "suit thugs", meaning strong on the inside and elegant in appearance. It is also this characteristic that allows OnePlus to open up the global market and obtain a group of origin users who have followed it so far. Is it a boutique, the most significant embodiment of the performance. Strong performance, as the most distinctive label and core competitiveness of OnePlus, there is no doubt that it will be adhered to as always.
With a clear "way", then apply it to the "technique" that changes with users and the market, and things become simpler.
Li Jie said that OnePlus pays attention to two things when entering the market. First of all, will look at whether the user needs are really there? Who are these users? What kind of products do they want to buy?
Second, will look at the existing products on the market is really good enough? Is it completely satisfying the user? What expectations and dissatisfaction do users have about existing products?
"If the user needs are real and we have the opportunity to make a better product than the existing product, then we will do it in this market."
In oneplus' view, games are the most reflective of performance, and game enthusiasts account for a high proportion of the user group. However, when such consumers buy a machine, the choice is often very narrow. Because most of the mainstream game phones only focus on the game scene, there are obvious shortcomings such as the lack of smooth system experience, single design language and thick feel in daily use, and more as a backup machine.
With the guidance of "Tao", the product logic of OnePlus when creating the Ace series, that is, "art", is very clear.
That is, the choice of polishing the product capabilities of high-end flagship models in the past will give a deep understanding of performance and texture to the mid-range product line. Through the high-end flagship ideas and capabilities accumulated by OnePlus, to polish a mid-range product, it forms a "dimensionality reduction blow" for products at the same price. This "dimensionality reduction" ability is also a non-replicable ability. After all, OnePlus is currently the only domestic manufacturer that starts from the high-end market and then is backward compatible.
We can see this clearly on oneplus Ace's first product. OnePlus Ace adopts the exclusive customized Tianji 8100-MAX chip, equipped with hyperBoost game frame stabilization engine, the world's first supercrystalline graphite heat dissipation, the standard of the whole series of longevity version of 150W super flash charge, the appearance of the new electric waterfall process, the industry's first matte gradient decoration light and thin body, the tension and aesthetics of the "suit thug" can be extended to the greatest extent.
As Li Jie wrote in an internal letter, "There are still unsatisfactory places in the industry, and this is an opportunity for OnePlus, and it is also the advantage of OnePlus." "This time into the mid-range market, OnePlus has great potential to form a siphon effect on users with new products and performance advantages, and build a deeper brand moat."
The ambition behind "fusion"
The birth of the Ace series not only stems from the insight into user needs, but also from the embodiment of OnePlus's keen understanding of the entire industry.
With the popularity of smart phones, the demand side tends to stabilize, and the user's use cycle of a single device is constantly extending. According to the "2020 Second Issue 5G Terminal Consumption Trend Report", the average replacement cycle of mobile phone users in mainland China is 25.3 months.
At present, the market tends to mature, and the consumption structure of domestic smart phones shows a "spindle-shaped" structure. The needs of low-end consumers have begun to upgrade to the mid-range. At the same time, the user base of the mid-to-high-end and high-end markets is also increasing, and the industry as a whole shows an upward trend. IDC data shows that the mid-end market is the main shipment model of the domestic Android camp. In 2021, there are more than 50% of Android camp mobile phones in the domestic market, and the price range is in the price range of 1500-3000 yuan.
The Ace series is aimed at the mid-range market, that is, the most core part of the offensive spindle market. Once overcome, OnePlus can effectively cover more users and further expand its market share.
OnePlus has been building high-end flagship products for many years to empower the Ace series downwards, and users of the Ace series can be transported to the digital series with consumption upgrades, and the high-end and high-end markets can achieve mutual achievements, expand the market map, and transmit brand value.
But the vast market also means more fierce competition. In the mid-range model market surrounded by wolves, how should OnePlus build the uniqueness of the Ace series and even the entire brand, so that users can "have to do it"?
After the integration, backed by the OPPO system, it is the optimal solution found by OnePlus to upgrade in many aspects such as technology and supply chain.
As a manufacturer with annual shipments of 200 million units, OPPO has a sufficient wide range of accumulation in the mobile phone industry, in research and development, OnePlus from a team of hundreds of people to more than 10,000 OPPO engineers to support, OPPO also opened up a technical main line specifically optimized for onePlus performance games. The longevity version of the 150W super flash charge on the OnePlus Ace comes from the support of the OPPO Research Institute.
In the supply chain, oppo's accumulation has allowed OnePlus to have more partner support, and there are more opportunities for deep customization and joint development with head suppliers, such as the Tianji 8100-MAX mobile platform jointly customized by OnePlus Ace and MTK (MediaTek). The broadening of the supply chain has given OnePlus more room for product differentiation and the ability to mass-produce new technologies earlier. It also means that OPPO's scale advantage in the manufacturing industry can bring a favorable hardware cost to OnePlus and help products be more competitive.
It can be said that starting from the Ace series, in terms of technology and supply chain, OnePlus has more powerful resources. After that, the advantages brought by these integrations will also be applied to all of OnePlus's products, and it is foreseeable to go to more people and gain more market share.
Evolutionary "One Plus"
Nine years into its existence, OnePlus has been continuously evolving.
From the industrial design aesthetic paradigm opened by BabySkin to the flagship standard with high refresh rate of 120Hz, OnePlus has brought high-performance product samples to the entire industry and made it a classic case of mobile phone brands going overseas.
But with a good enough and powerful product, how to not only rely on user word of mouth, but also reach the potential user base? The core is still the channel. Especially in the domestic market where nearly 70% of shipments come from offline, the importance of channels is self-evident.
However, in the past, the main battlefield of OnePlus was online, and more than 90% of the sales in the domestic market came from JD.com, Tmall and the official website. This not only limits the growth rate of OnePlus, but also makes it difficult for users to touch the real machine, and the adjustment and feel advantages of the product's soft and hard integration cannot be fully exerted.
Now, this pain point has been effectively solved. In the past, the OnePlus brand that focused on online cultivation can use OPPO's offline channels and after-sales service resources in the country to quickly expand the scope of national experience stores and after-sales points, bring OnePlus's products and services to more users, and accumulate more potential energy for the brand. As Li Jie, president of OnePlus China, said in an interview: "OnePlus Ace will be able to fill more than 2,800 counties, 4,000 core business districts and 5,000 experience points in one night." As early as January, OPPO's thousand after-sales services have been fully opened to OnePlus, and OnePlus users can enjoy related services at their doorstep.
After comprehensively integrating resources with OPPO, through R&D and supply chain empowerment, OnePlus can not only be longer on the original long board, create more competitive and more detailed products, but also make up for the shortcomings of offline channels, expand offline influence, and do deeper brand penetration. Become a more comprehensive brand without shortcomings, break the stereotype of "niche brands" in the past, and firmly grasp the outlet of the mid-range market to grow into a mass brand that cannot be ignored.
As Li Jie said: "The 'card' that OnePlus now holds in hand is very good, and we have the technology, industry, channel, service and quality control capabilities supported by OPPO." After having these 'cards', give us a little time and the sales will perform very well. ”
After the "cards" were completed, OnePlus directly sacrificed the first ace Ace. The "way of quality" guides the "art of products", supplemented by the "power" of sufficiently solid channels, to build the most unique competitiveness of OnePlus in the domestic market. Once the "crack" is torn in the mid-range market, oneplus' growth path will be smoother, and it will also shoulder the heavy responsibility of expanding the user base for the entire OGA Group.
A continuous evolution and transformation of OnePlus, is launching a comprehensive offensive to the domestic mobile phone market, and will also become a rival that cannot be ignored in the domestic high-end mobile phone market.