The first generation of Xi machine products has just been online for 10 months, and Xueersi has hurriedly launched the second generation of products. The unforeseen and shorter frequency of new products have been criticized by some parent users. Recently, a number of parents reported to a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that they had just purchased Xueersi's first-generation Xi machine during the "Double Eleven" period, and they received the news that the second-generation product was updated and listed. If you want to trade in a generation of products, the official depreciation recovery price of a generation of products is even less than the price of the Xianyu platform. In this regard, many parents think that Xueersi "looks ugly". Judging from the new second-generation Xi machine products on Xueersi, the price has been greatly increased compared with the first-generation products, but the course has not been updated. In the eyes of industry practitioners, the core value of the learning Xi machine lies in its courses, and the hardware cost is not high.
(Image source: Taobao "Xueersi Flagship Store")
"Double 11 is still on sale"
In the past week, Chen Qing has been opening the bow left and right, hoping to return the first-generation Xi machine he bought at Xueersi a month ago at the purchase price. The reason is very simple, "Double 11 is still on sale, Double 12 is iterating, and dare to treat China's biggest promotional festival as a fan harvest festival".
This time node of pushing the new one made a generation of Xi machine parents, including Chen Qing, very angry: if you "bought it on Double Eleven", just past the free no reason trial period, it is impossible to return it, you can only choose to either sell it in idle fish, or let the official recycle it second-hand. "Some parents in our parent group are busy, and after buying it on Double 11, they just opened the package and inspected the goods, but they didn't use it much, so they were replaced. Chen Qing said.
Also feeling "cut leeks", as well as the first batch of users of the Xi generation of learning machines - Xiaozhi's mother, only 10 months after starting, saw the news of the equipment upgrade.
"Although the official statement is that the first generation of Xi will still be updated, we have all used electronic products and know that the sustainability of this so-called update is doubtful. Xiaozhi's mother sighed that although she was born to sell courses, Xueersi started to learn Xi machines, which is faster than Apple's update frequency. "But the point is, hardware is not his advantage, the course is, does the course really need such a high frequency of hardware iterations?"
The depreciation cost of the official version is not as good as that of Xianyu
A reporter from Beijing Business Daily combed and found that compared with the release time of the two generations Xi of Xueersi, there was only an interval of about 10 months. Among them, the first-generation Xi machine was released in early February 2023, and the second-generation Xi machine was released on December 19, 2023.
In terms of price, the first generation of Xi machine Xueersi xPad starts at 4599 yuan, and the second generation of Xi machine is divided into xPad2 Pro and xPad Pro Max two versions, the first price is 6599 yuan and 8599 yuan respectively.
For parents who have just bought a first-generation Xi machine and want to replace it with a second-generation machine, Xueersi has launched a depreciation and renewal policy this time, according to the rules of the event, all users who purchase a first-generation Xi machine on or before December 19, 2023 can participate in the depreciation and renewal. In addition to the normal performance of the machine, the deduction standard also makes special requirements for the activation time of the machine. Specifically, if the machine is activated on or after October 1, 2023, the depreciation deduction is capped at 70%, if the activation time is between July 1 and October 1, 2023 (exclusive), the deduction is capped at 60%, and if the activation time is before July 1, 2023, the deduction limit is only 50%.
(Image source: Xueersi official website)
According to this rule, the maximum deduction amount for the 128GB/256GB generation Xi machine is 3219.3 yuan and 3849.3 yuan respectively, which also means that parents need to add an additional 3000 yuan to exchange for the second generation of new machines.
At present, on the Xianyu platform, the idle selling price of the generation of Xueersi Xi machine ranges from 3000 yuan to about 4000 yuan, and many idle prices are higher than the highest recovery deduction price of 3219.3 yuan given by the official.
Regarding this deduction plan, Chen Qing, who purchased the school Xi generation learning machine on Double 11, expressed resistance. Referring to this calculation method, Chen Qing needs to spend a total of more than 7000 yuan before and after to get a Xueersi xPad2 Pro that is currently priced at 6599 yuan. It's just that I don't know about the release of new products, and if I buy a generation of products for a month earlier, I will spend an extra 1,000 yuan, which makes Chen Qing feel very wronged.
Sun Zhifeng, a partner at Beijing Chance Bridge Law Firm, told Beijing Business Daily that when after-sales products, consumers can enjoy the right to return and exchange goods in accordance with the law and the agreement with the merchant. If there is no agreement between the parties, and if the first-generation Xi machine and the second-generation Xi machine are not the same product, then the consumer cannot claim the right to return or compensate the first-generation machine because the second-generation machine is listed.
What exactly was updated
The interval is only 10 months to release the new machine, what exactly has the new generation of Xueersi Xi machine updated? According to the customer service of Xueersi store, the curriculum resources of the second-generation Xi machine and the first-generation Xi machine are the same. The anchor of the live broadcast room who sells Xueersi and Xi machine also said that the essential difference between the second generation and the first generation is the hardware, and there is no difference in software.
Judging from the comparison screenshots sent by Xueersi's customer service to the reporter of Beijing Business Daily, most of the updates of Xueersi Xi machine focus on hardware and functions, including screen size, battery capacity, camera, precision learning, etc., and the updates of the relevant courses are not mentioned.
(Image source: Taobao "Xueersi flagship store" customer service)
In this regard, some users of the first generation of Xueersi Xi also expressed their dissatisfaction with the software function upgrade of the second-generation product without synchronizing the first generation. For example, the precision function of Xueersi 2nd generation Xi machine has been upgraded, and this function will not be synchronized on the first generation of products. "Hardware upgrades can be understood, why software is treated differently", "If you have a plan to launch a new one, why don't you make it clear in advance, it's really ugly now". Many parents expressed their dissatisfaction on social platforms.
In order to understand more about the update of the second generation of Xueersi Xi machine, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily contacted the relevant staff of the future, and the relevant person in charge of Xueersi Xi machine said that during this period of time after the launch of the first generation of digital series of Xueersi Xi machine, the team received a lot of expectations from users for large-screen products. This release is the flagship product of Xueersi Xi Learning, xPad Pro series, a total of two versions have been launched, in addition to the screen size and memory capacity, the performance of the two versions is basically the same, users can choose according to their own needs.
In response to the depreciation and renewal policy launched this time, the relevant person in charge of Xueersi Xi Machine said that the main consideration is to give priority to old users, so that more first-generation users can experience new products in a more convenient way.
In the eyes of industry insiders, the hardware of the newly launched second-generation Xueersi Xi machine is the biggest update, but the advantage of Xueersi is not here.
Liang Zhenpeng, an observer analyst of the home appliance industry, said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Business Daily that the Xi learning machine is still a tablet computer in essence, and the main power to support parents to buy a learning Xi machine lies in the software and curriculum support inside the learning Xi machine.
"From a cost point of view, the hardware cost of a learning Xi machine may only be one or two thousand yuan, but this does not prevent a Xi learning machine from being sold for five or six thousand, or even seven or eight thousand. In Liang Zhenpeng's view, the premium of the learning Xi machine lies in the software and course content it carries. As a result, the Xi machine market as a whole is still a profiteering market, and because the amortization of the cost of Xi machine education by various manufacturers is not transparent and uniform, it is difficult for parents to compare prices and measure products from the perspective of software.
"At present, the Xi market is quite profitable and growing rapidly. Liang Zhenpeng said that although in his view, the Xi machine is a profiteering product, but electronic consumer products are still free pricing, and market supervision is difficult to reach. "From a regulatory point of view, the current government department's supervision of Xi learning machines is more focused on the educational content of the product than the price. Liang Zhenpeng said.
Beijing Business Daily reporter Zhao Boyu