"Abandon traditional mobile phones" and "there is no upper limit on the investment in AI mobile phones" ......As the application of artificial intelligence continues to gain popularity in recent years, many domestic mobile phone manufacturers have successively released AI mobile phones or related AI products. What are the similarities and differences between AI phones and traditional smartphones? Is this a gimmick or is it really subverting tradition?
Manufacturers have transformed into AI mobile phones.
Recently, many mobile phone manufacturers such as OPPO and Xiaomi have released AI mobile phones or related applications. For example, Xiaomi released the "Xiaomi AISP", which is an upgraded version of the "Xiaomi Image Brain", and positioned it as "the first AI large-scale model computational photography platform".
Data map. Photo by Chen Guanyan.
Liu Zuohu, Chief Product Officer of OPPO, said, "AI mobile phones will be the third major stage of change in the mobile phone industry after feature phones and smartphones. In the era of AI mobile phones, the mobile phone industry and user experience will usher in revolutionary changes. ”
Huawei's recently released Pocket 2 integrates AI skin analysis and air operation into the mobile phone, and its sun protection assistant can not only detect the intensity of ultraviolet rays and sunscreen application, but also generate skin analysis reports.
Chen Guanzhou, director and general manager of MediaTek, recently said, "As mobile intelligent twins, AI mobile phones will redefine the smart mobile experience with innovative applications that subvert our imagination." ”
There are various signs that this year will be a year of "chaotic war" for AI mobile phones, and there are even opinions that 2024 will be the "first year of AI mobile phones".
However, there is no authoritative definition of what an AI mobile phone is. According to a report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the "next generation of AI phones" defined by IDC use system-on-chips (SoCs) that can run generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models on the device side faster and more efficiently.
Gimmick marketing or real AI?
Some analysts have pointed out that these new devices are arousing strong interest from consumers and OEMs, making AI a key marketing content for recent flagship product launches.
Xiang Ligang, an observer of the communications industry, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Finance that AI functions have actually begun to be integrated into smart phones for a long time, such as managing mobile phone power, shooting, communication, etc. through artificial intelligence, which has further improved the battery life of mobile phones.
However, at present, the so-called AI mobile phone has not changed in essence compared with the original smart phone, there is not much difference, and the promotion of AI mobile phone is also a marketing method for some mobile phone manufacturers, and there are gimmicks in it. Xiang Ligang said.
Data map. Photo by China News Service reporter Tang Yanjun.
Some consumers told Zhongxin Finance, "The main thing to buy a mobile phone is to see whether it meets your own needs, shooting, shooting, chatting, etc., there is not much demand for AI, and I will not buy for the so-called AI premium." ”
In addition, a data consulting company said that from the perspective of mobile phone chips, there are currently only three chips in the world that can meet the AI mobile phone standard. In other words, a phone with these three chips is not necessarily an AI phone, but it certainly is not if it is not.
Small language models may evolve as a result.
Although it is not ruled out that AI mobile phones are suspected of hype, and there are also opinions that the advent of AI mobile phones is far less far-reaching than the original replacement of feature phones by smart phones, the current mainstream view is that AI mobile phones will develop rapidly this year.
According to the latest data from IDC, global shipments of new-generation AI mobile phones are expected to reach 1700 million units, accounting for 15% of the global mobile phone market. By 2027, China's AI mobile phone shipments will reach 1500 million units, accounting for 51 percent of China's mobile phone market9%。
It is worth noting that some mobile phone manufacturers have integrated the large models they have launched into the functions of mobile phones to become AI mobile phones. However, Microsoft Research offers other ideas, "Parameters are variables or adjustable elements that affect the behavior of a model. While small language models (SLMs) have far fewer billions of parameters than large language models, they are still quite large, but they are enough to run offline on mobile phones. ”
Microsoft Research believes that these large models are very large and need to occupy a lot of computing resources to run, so the development of small language models has become very important, "The advantages of small language models in terms of scale and cost will make artificial intelligence more popular." ”