The price is 1999 yuan, and Huawei mobile phones can't be sold, just because of Qualcomm chips

Image source@Visual China

Text: Lu Jiu Business Review

Recently, the launch of Huawei nova11 SE has caused a lot of turmoil. The mobile phone is mainly in the low-end market, and the price starts at 1999 yuan, but it failed to continue the brilliant performance of the "predecessor" Mate 60 series, but attracted a lot of complaints.

I thought that with the blessing of the "far ahead" aura, the market performance of the nova 11 SE would not be too bad. However, the fact is that the Snapdragon 680 processor it carries does not match its price, and it has been criticized by consumers for being "less cost-effective". Previously, Huawei had already embarked on the road of high-end with the Mate series and P series, and performed well in the high-end market. The launch of the Mate 60 series has seized the market share of the iPhone 15 series in one fell swoop.

At the same time, within a few days of the first sale of Huawei nova 11 SE, whether it is offline stores or second-hand platforms, the price of new machines has fallen.

In the high-end market, where is Huawei's low-end series going?

It was criticized when it was listed

As a mobile phone after the Huawei Mate 60 series, nova 11 se failed to win the halo of "far ahead" after it was launched, but was complained by many consumers and even pollen. 

The reason is mainly because of the Snapdragon 680 processor it carries, and the starting price of 1999 yuan is too high, which is compared with other brands of mobile phones by consumers.

In the official flagship store of JD.com, in the case of the same Snapdragon 680 processor, OPPO A36 6GB+128GB is currently priced at 749 yuan, with sales of more than 200,000 pieces; vivo's iQOO U5x 4GB+128GB is priced at 719 yuan. The difference is that Huawei nova 11 se running memory and storage capacity are larger than the previous two, is8GB+256GB, in addition, it also has 32 million high-definition selfies and 100 million pixels of light and shadow portrait function, compared with the previous two mobile phones, its advantage is also in the image.

Regarding the imaging function of the nova 11 SE, a Huawei store sales in Zhengzhou also affirmed, "This mobile phone is suitable for taking pictures, brushing Douyin, and can meet daily use." ”

However, judging from the current market situation, the Nova 11 SE is currently in a difficult position, and the price is diving since its launch at the end of October.

Half a month after the listing, Lu Jiu Business Review visited Huawei stores, and the sales said, "Now this mobile phone is not too long on sale, and the goods are relatively small, and there are currently 256GB out of stock in the store, and there is only one black 512GB." If you think about it, you can get a little more discount and drop it directly by 300 yuan. ”

According to the sales, the 512GB configuration is 2199 yuan, and after the price reduction, it is 1899 yuan, which has been reduced by more than 13.6%, and is even lower than the official price of the 256GB version.

At the same time, on Xianyu, the Huawei nova 11 SE has also received a cold reception. In his post, a seller pointed out that the price of the new 256GB configuration mobile phone is 1678 yuan, and the price of 512GB is 1888 yuan, both of which are more than 300 yuan lower than the official price.

While some other popular models require a price increase to be available, the Huawei nova 11 SE was reduced in price shortly after its launch, indicating that the market has a low price acceptance of the phone.

For a long time, the nova series has been positioned as a mid-range product for Huawei's mobile phones, and the main target group is young users, and the current Snapdragon 680 processor obviously cannot meet the needs of young people for mobile phone performance. As a mobile phone equipped with HarmonyOS 4 when it is launched, it is officially advertised that it can be used with peace of mind and smoothness. However, on many review sites, the Snapdragon 680 processor launched 2 years ago is already a low-end and backward processor. Because of this, the nova 11 SE has persuaded many young people who are waiting to see off.

Regarding the advantages and applicable groups of the mobile phone, the above-mentioned sales said, "The price of this mobile phone is 2,000, and there is no particularly outstanding advantage." However, it is definitely no problem for the elderly to use it, and it is not recommended for young people to use it. ”

Similarly, according to a young Huawei fan, "I don't recommend the Nova 11 SE for the time being, mainly because the processor is not very good, and the others are okay." ”

Huawei is thriving in the high-end market

With the successive releases of the iPhone15 series and Huawei Mate60 series, as well as the acceleration of the new products on the folding screen track, the high-end mobile phone market is showing a trend of "a hundred flowers blooming". Among them, Huawei undoubtedly has the ability to compete with Apple. 

According to IDC data, in the first half of 2023, Huawei ranked second with a share of 15.6% in China's mobile phone market share of more than $600, second only to Apple, and higher than the sum of the four mobile phone manufacturers OPPO, Xiaomi, Honor, and vivo, and achieved outstanding results in the high-end market.

On the one hand, Huawei has successfully established a high-end image with the Mate series and P series, which have been widely recognized by the market and consumers, and on the other hand, as a pioneer and leader in the folding screen mobile phone track, Huawei has also successfully occupied the minds of consumers.

According to the 2023 China Folding Screen Consumer Insight Report, Huawei ranks first in the ranking of folding screen mobile phone recommendations by virtue of its first-mover advantage and product advantages. Not only that, in the first half of this year, the new Huawei Mate X3 was fried by scalpers to sky-high prices, and consumers need to increase the price by 5000 yuan if they want to buy it, which shows its strong product power.

In the second half of this year, Huawei's high-end flagship Mate 60 set off a rush to buy, and offline stores once became a check-in place for consumers. For a long time after the launch, the store was still overcrowded, and even consumers had to increase the price to buy it. Due to its popularity, in order to prevent scalpers from increasing prices and meet the purchase needs of more consumers, Huawei Mall has launched the "90-day reservation subscription" activity on November 6, and orders placed by consumers during the reservation subscription period will be shipped in random order.

In addition, Mate 60 Pro, with its leading edge in satellite communications, has been emphasized by CEO Yu Chengdong many times at the press conference as "far ahead", and the term has also been selected as one of the top ten hot stalks of Sanlian Life Weekly in 2023, and its influence in the technology circle should not be underestimated.

Huawei's foothold in the high-end market is inseparable from the support of self-developed high-end technologies. In the fields of 5G, chips, and AI, Huawei has a large number of patents, which has also become the confidence to compete with other mobile phone manufacturers.

As the world's leading 5G technology provider, Huawei has made major breakthroughs in the 5G field. In addition, Huawei's self-developed Kirin chip, which also has faster speed and higher performance, is an important support for Huawei to enter the high-end market and is recognized by the market.

In the view of a mobile phone dealer in Guangdong, the reason why Huawei is called a high-end brand is mainly because of its completely independent domestic technology, "The technical content of systems and chips is very high, and the chips used in other brands of mobile phones are foreign." ”

Now, Huawei is back with Kirin chips and HarmonyOS OS, and the outstanding performance of the Mate 60 series is enough to show the strong momentum of Huawei's high-end flagship.

However, when Huawei is thriving in the high-end market, and the low-end market has been quietly occupied by other mobile phone manufacturers, how can Huawei fight back?

In the low-end market, how Huawei re-entered

For a long time, in the low-end market, cost performance is a key word that consumers can't live without. According to iiMedia Research, in 2022, 49.6% of Chinese smartphone consumers will pay attention to the price when buying a mobile phone. 

Especially in the sinking market, consumers are more sensitive to price, and the cost performance of mobile phones is particularly important. Previously, Lu Jiu Business Review visited a number of mobile phone stores in Zhengzhou, and more than one dealer said that compared with high-end mobile phones, the sales of thousand-yuan machines are considerable.

Lu Jiu Business Review learned that in Jingdong's 1500-2000 yuan mobile phone list, Redmi Note 12 Turbo sells 500,000 units, and the current price starts at 1599 yuan. And Honor, as a former sub-brand of Huawei, now launches mid-range products that seem to perform better. In the first half of this year, the launch of the Honor X50 has become an important driving force for increasing Honor sales. At present, on the Jingdong platform, the sales volume has exceeded 500,000 units, and in the Jingdong 1000 yuan-1500 yuan cost-effective mobile phone list, the glory X50 has been at the top of the list for 39 consecutive days.

The two mobile phones of Honor and Redmi, the 16GB+512GB Honor X50 in offline stores and the 16GB+256GB Redmi Note 12 Turbo on JD.com, in terms of price, are consistent with the nova 11 se with 8GB+512GB configuration after the price reduction in offline stores. However, whether it is offline store sales or e-commerce rankings, the first two are ahead of Huawei's corresponding product sales.

At present, among Huawei's full range of products, the Changxiang series is positioned in the low-end, of which 8GB+128GB Huawei Changxiang 50z, the price in Taobao's official flagship store is 999 yuan, equipped with NA processor, and the sales volume shows that 50,000 pieces have been sold, and the sales performance is good.

As a mid-range nova series, it is unlikely that the price will drop to about 1,000 yuan at present. At present, nova 11 se has only sold more than 5,000 pieces on JD.com, compared with the sales of 410,000 units sold in the first hour of the Redmi Note 13 series, the first sales results are not too good, but the official price has not decreased, still starting at 1999 yuan.

Although the current market situation of the nova 11 SE is not optimistic, Huawei is also improving the performance of the new generation of products. According to some digital bloggers, the Huawei nova 12, which is positioned as a mid-range, may be equipped with a Kirin chip and is expected to be launched by the end of the year.

As Huawei's self-developed product, Kirin chips will have unique advantages if they are covered in mid-range products. If this is the case, the nova 12 will appeal to a younger group of consumers. The above-mentioned pollen said, "I just need to change my phone, and if the Huawei nova 12 can use the Kirin chip, I will buy this." It can be seen that the mobile phone processor and its corresponding performance are still important factors for young consumers to consider. Huawei's high-end brand still has full potential for the pulling power of low-end mobile phones.

Judging from the current situation, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor equipped with the nova 11 se is gradually withdrawing from the market, and the Kirin series processors may take on a heavy role in the future.

In any case, how to set prices reasonably and how to re-embrace young people and young people in small towns will become a must-answer question for Huawei mobile phones.