Recently, a rumor that "Yin Shuijun, the head of Weilai mobile phone, will resign, and Bai Jian, the head of hardware, will also be in charge" has spread on the Internet, according to people familiar with the matter, the news comes from Weilai's internal email.
In the afternoon of the same day, one of the protagonists of the rumor, Bai Jian, vice president and head of hardware of Weilai Automobile, responded on his personal Weibo, ostensibly saying that he would officially take over the mobile phone department of Weilai, and then he would do a good job in the interconnection of drivers and mobile phones.
Source: Weibo
In addition, Bai Jian also said that in the future, mobile phones and cars will be more closely connected, the cockpit and entertainment media-related (non-security) parts will become more and more volatile, and the performance and iteration will become more and more mobile-oriented. Now the image foundation of NIO's mobile phones is very good, and NIO has the ability to develop its own ISP.
Judging from the attitude of Weilai's official performance, the temporary change of leadership has no impact on Weilai's mobile phone business, and the degree of attention has been improved, and there is even a feeling of eagerness to show off "muscles" to the outside world.
Although the surface is calm, Xiao Lei smells a different flavor from it.
The day and night of NIO phones
In February 2022, news that NIO was going to enter the mobile phone industry was already circulating on the Internet, but at that time, NIO's official response had no news to disclose, which temporarily interrupted Volkswagen's speculation.
In August of the same year, Weilai suddenly established a company called Weilai Mobile Technology Co., Ltd., whose business scope includes information system integration services, mechanical equipment research and development, mobile terminal equipment sales, artificial intelligence application software development, communication equipment sales, wearable smart device sales, smart vehicle equipment sales, etc. Li Bin, the founder of NIO, also publicly stated in an interview that NIO's mobile phone is being promoted.
At this point, everyone found out that NIO really wanted to make mobile phones. On September 21, 2023, at the NIO Technology Innovation Day, Li Bin showed the outside world the first high-end smartphone built by a car company - NIO Phone.
Why is it a high-end smartphone, because its entry-level model is more expensive than the iPhone 15 in the same period.
Performance version (12GB+512GB) 6499 yuan
Ultimate version (12GB+1TB) 6899 yuan
EPedition（16GB+1TB）7499元
In terms of hardware, the NIO Phone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 processor as standard, a 6.81-inch 2K resolution OLED curved screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, a 50-megapixel main camera, an ultra-wide-angle and periscope telephoto, and an IP68-rated dust and water resistance, a 5200mAh battery, 66W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Source: NIO
In terms of software, it is equipped with Wei's self-developed SkyUI system, which focuses on a pure, zero system advertising and zero commercial pre-installed App.
From the perspective of software and hardware alone, NIO Phone seems to be really an Android flagship, but perhaps the release time encountered Huawei Mate 60 series and Apple iPhone 15 series, the two major mobile phone circles instantly took away most of the attention, or the public's suspicion of car companies making mobile phones.
Anyway, in addition to saying at the beginning of the release that "sales seem to exceed expectations, and production has begun to be scheduled until the end of November", NIO has not announced the specific sales of NIO Phone, and it is rare for users to publish their experience on major Internet platforms.
The few comments that appeared also basically expressed the view that "non-car owners should not buy, car owners should buy carefully", and some consumers said that NIO Phone lacks many of the features that Android flagships should have. Whether it is easy to use or not is a matter of opinion, but it is a fact that NIO Phone is likely to be cold.
NIO Phone真是李斌缓解焦虑的良方吗？
For a long time, Li Bin has not hidden the fact that NIO's mobile phone is not profitable. He once explained to Weilai that he made mobile phones: "It's not because mobile phone companies are making cars, and it's not because Weilai doesn't make money to make money with mobile phones, but Weilai users need a mobile phone that connects seamlessly with Weilai." ”
Source: Screenshot of the WeChat group of NIO car owners
"Seamless connection with NIO" is one of the original intentions of NIO's mobile phone. Another important reason is that a survey report shows that about 60% of NIO car owners use iPhones. The news that Apple, Xiaomi and other mobile phone manufacturers will build cars is no longer news, and Apple cars are likely to take away a large number of NIO owners with their ecological advantages. In the face of potential risks that may arise at any time, I believe everyone can understand why Li Bin made up his mind to build a mobile phone.
But is NIO Phone really Li Bin's antidote to anxiety?
At least in the eyes of the capital markets, this is not a wise move. In the case of serious losses, it still spends money to earn money, which is an act that capital will never allow. On the eve of the NIO Phone launch, sensitive capital was the first to react to NIO's stock.
Source: Straight flush
On September 19, 2023, NIO's U.S. stock fell 17.07% in a single day, even if NIO announced new products such as the self-developed LiDAR main control chip "Yang Jian" and the global operating system "Tianshu SkyOS" for smart electric vehicles on September 21, the Science and Technology Innovation Day, it was difficult to stop the stock market from continuing to fall, and it continued to fall by 4.2% on the day.
To this day, NIO's U.S. stock price has not returned to the level before September 19, 2023. While there are many reasons for stock volatility, NIO Phone is at least one of the influencing factors.
Excluding the factors of the capital market, how much impact will the temporary change of leadership have on NIO's mobile phone business? In Xiaolei's view, perhaps the impact is far less than the outside world speculates. For a long time, netizens have jokingly called NIO Phone the car key of NIO to express that there will be no non-owner consumers except for the car owner who may buy it.
According to Li Bin, he didn't plan to sell a few units, and the profit per unit was about 1,000 yuan. Even if every NIO owner buys one, based on NIO's cumulative delivery of 449,594 vehicles as of December 31, 2023, it will only be a profit of 450 million yuan. Compared with the annual investment of 500 million yuan in NIO's mobile phone department, it can't even break even.
Before joining NIO, Yin Shuijun, the former head of NIO mobile phones, was the president of Meitu Mobile, and after joining NIO in 2022, he was mainly responsible for the mobile phone business landing projects. Now that the Weilai mobile phone has been officially launched, Yin Shuijun's main task has been completed, and in the face of the uncertain prospects of the Weilai mobile phone, it is reasonable to choose to withdraw.
The two parties parted peacefully, and the handover was clear and clear, and the impact on NIO Phone, which had a mediocre response in the market, was minimal. If you insist on talking about the impact, it may only increase the anxiety of the boss Li Bin.
Mobile phone manufacturers are making cars, why can't car companies make mobile phones?
A few years ago, mobile phone manufacturers made cross-border cars, which was still big news that shocked the whole network, but now everyone is no stranger to this kind of behavior. Huawei and Xiaomi have successfully squeezed into the automotive industry in their own ways, and the popularity is quite high.
Last year, Huawei relied on the Wenjie series created in cooperation with Celis to start the first shot, and then cooperated with traditional car companies such as Changan, BAIC, and Chery to launch the Hongmeng Zhixing Alliance, which was in the limelight for a while.
After 3 years, Xiaomi also successfully built its first smart car, SU7. And at the recent Xiaomi automotive technology conference, most of the car information in addition to the price was shown to the outside world, including some self-developed leading technologies.
Source: NIO
With a mature enough software ecosystem, they can seamlessly connect with the vehicle machine system, and they can also surprise the public in terms of intelligent driving. For mobile phone manufacturers, it is a second opportunity to give full play to their advantages.
On the other hand, the process of reverse manufacturing mobile phones by other companies is not so smooth. Gree, Weilai and other companies are facing the same problem when making mobile phones, that is, it is not difficult to make mobile phones, but the difficult thing is how to sell them. As the only car company, NIO has the highest attention among the mobile phone companies in the future, after all, it is not ordinary people who can go against the tide.
However, the mobile phone industry and the automotive industry are just the opposite, the automotive industry has the blessing of the new energy outlet, and it is very likely to run out of cross-era opportunities, and the mobile phone industry has long been saturated, and players in the game are struggling to survive.
As a newcomer to the mobile phone industry, the original NIO Phone has barely passed in terms of software and hardware, and NIO has begun to take shape in chips, OS research and development, industrial design, channel systems, etc., and also has the ability to develop its own ISP. However, compared with mobile phone brands that have been deeply cultivated for many years, it is difficult for NIO mobile phones to make a name for themselves in the extremely involuted domestic mobile phone market.
Write at the end
Although the outside world is generally not optimistic about NIO mobile phones, this may also be the final way for car companies, and the only difference is that NIO goes first. No, Polestar, a joint venture between Geely and Volvo, is also planning to release a smartphone with the brand's name this year.
As Bai Jian, the new head of Weilai's mobile phone, said, the connection between cars and mobile phones will be closer in the future, which is also the focus of all car companies. Geely's acquisition of Meizu last year was largely due to its desire to rely on Meizu's mature software system to create a better in-vehicle system for Geely Group's models.
The same is true of the Hongmeng and surging systems developed by Huawei and Xiaomi, and the interconnection of people, cars and mobile phones is the general direction of smart cars in the future.
Source: NIO
Therefore, NIO's mobile phone cannot be called a "mistake". All brave people who dare to go first are worthy of admiration. It's just that Xiaolei thinks that maybe Weilai mobile phone slightly modifies the strategic direction, and the situation may be diametrically opposite.
If NIO mobile phones are not sold separately, but as an additional benefit of NIO car owners, will it be easier for consumers to accept them? The high price of NIO mobile phones can also match the price of the whole vehicle, and will have more flexible room for price adjustment, rather than being criticized by consumers for being too high as a separate individual.
Secondly, the connection between NIO mobile phones and NIO is still waiting for an irreplaceable function. If this function is not possible with other mobile phones, and can greatly enhance the driving experience of NIO car owners, this will be a lore, and it will also become the foundation of NIO mobile phones in the mobile phone market.
All in all, whether NIO phones have a "future" depends on the development of NIO. In the early days, the new car-making force Yusan, "Wei Xiaoli", has taken the lead in achieving profitability, Xpeng has increased its revenue and narrowed its losses, and Weilai is also in a state of loss due to factors such as investment in battery swap stations.
Before NIO runs out completely, NIO still needs to endure this difficult time.
CES (Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show) 2024 is in full swing, Lei Technology editor "Yi Tianming" is reporting directly on the scene in Las Vegas, USA, welcome to get CES2024 first-hand observation on Lei Technology's WeChat (ID: leitech), Weibo, and micro headlines.