Although a full month has passed in 2024, the 2023 mobile phone industry data just released by various institutions can pull people back to the old year to review in just one second.
In the past 2023 year, when almost everyone has accepted that sustained economic growth is not taken for granted, IDC and Counterpoint have pointed out that "China's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2023 has achieved ** for the first time after 10 consecutive quarters of year-on-year decline", which instantly rekindled the industry's confidence. At this time, confidence is more precious than **. After all, the haze of "the longest replacement cycle in history" has not completely dissipated, and many players still have concerns.
The waves of the mobile phone industry have been surging several times, the ranking order has changed, and some players have even left the table ahead of schedule, but there are always some players who lift their weights and land smoothly when the industry cycle changes drastically.
In the past 2023, some people lamented the dissipation of science and technology dividends, and the next outlet for confusion is **. However, there are always enterprises that are still firmly crossing the river by feeling the stones when great changes occur at the bottom of the economy and technology at the same time, such as vivo, which promotes the AI large model to be implemented on the mobile phone side, so that ordinary people can truly experience the intelligence of the large model at low cost, or will leverage the extension and huge space of the industrial chain.
In an increasingly uncertain business environment, there are people who try to understand the cycle, and vivo's answer is to keep its own pace. vivo has never had traffic from the sky, and it exploded overnight, but it has a steady step by step.
A long-termist's sense of relaxation
Immerse yourself in the cause, go through the cycle, and long-termism.
In the past two years, industry observers have always mentioned these keywords when they mention vivo, and I would like to add a "sense of relaxation" to it.
In today's online social context, relaxation is also considered a sense of luxury. Because there are very few people or enterprises that really relax, which requires inner stability and calmness. And this calmness comes from the accumulation of long-term and effective efforts, and you can calmly deal with anything you encounter, so that you can show a sense of relaxation.
And vivo's sense of relaxation comes from many aspects.
One is to have consistent confidence in the industry. Although many people believe that mobile phones are the most brutal and fully competitive industry, Hu Baishan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of vivo, recently said in public: "In the past, it was said that the necessary conditions for life were sunshine, air, water and food, but now mobile phones must be added." Mobile phones also have the need for continuous updates and iterations, and have the natural advantage of going through cycles, so we have always judged that the mobile phone industry is the best industry, and there is no one."
Indeed, from socializing to food delivery to bike sharing, to utility bills, a range of lifestyle services can be enjoyed within a single mobile phone.
The second is that vivo has maintained a steady pace over the yearsLong-term and continuous investment in scientific and technological innovation, do not disrupt their rhythm due to changes in the general environment. An intuitive case is that in the first year of the epidemic, vivo set up a first-class research institute to focus on more cutting-edge technologies for more than three years. Another example is the drudgery of the image chip that has been working hard, and the scarcity of returns is inversely proportional to high-intensity work, but vivo has been gritting its teeth and insisting. A few years later, in 2023, vivo's new technology has opened a crazy plus more mode, such as the launch of a new technology brand "Blue Technology" in November, from the blue crystal chip technology stack that realizes dual-core collaboration with vivo's first 6nm process technology self-developed image chip V3, to the blue ocean battery life system with the first three industry technologies, and then to the industry's first open-source 7 billion parameter large language model on the landing terminal side. and the Blue River operating system, these four technologies have caused a sensation in the industry, and the technological gluttony brought by this developer conference in 2023 has allowed vivo to achieve both a short-term outbreak and a more systematic brand communication.
In the past nearly 30 years, vivo has gone through multiple industrial cycles from landlines, wireless fixed**, to feature phones, and then to smartphones, but it has always given people the illusion of being unassuming, not chasing the wind, and even a little "tepid".
vivo has always done what we can, doing what we can do, including what we can do when we jump. We focus on the markets that vivo has the ability to cover. Hu Baishan's words make people see that this company, compared with too many friends and businessmen, seems more chill, and the narrative is more realistic, which is a classic interpretation of vivo's corporate temperament.
And this probably stems from the culture that vivo has always emphasized.
vivo makes sure to always do the right thing** – ECR
vivo has always had a corporate motto that has been inherited for many years, "do the right thing, do the right thing". But how can you tell if you're doing the right thing? vivo is not a pat on the head to make decisions, but has a set of mature formulas**, that is, ECR.
In the ups and downs of the cycle, vivo continues to increase its investment in the long track, and uses the 'ECR' management method to test the health of the business and whether it is doing the right thing. Hu Baishan once said this when talking about ECR.
Drucker pointed out in the book "The Practice of Management" that what enterprise managers need is not the "business environment" in the minds of ordinary people, but the tools that can be free to think and plan without being subject to the economic cycle.
ECR has proven to be an effective tool for vivo.
"ECR" refers to the three closed loops of experience, business and recognition, which is the ultimate goal of testing the health of vivo enterprises, with a sequence and a focus at different stages. Hu Baishan believes that when a product does not solve user problems, there is no "cause" to talk about business closed-loop and mental closed-loop, and it is necessary to put the user's experience in the first place, whether it is to enter a new category or enter a new country, and only after completing the closed-loop experience can we consider the closed-loop of business and mind.
After having a closed-loop experience and a closed-loop business, the ultimate goal is to pursue the brand to leave a deep impression in the hearts of users, so that the product can be sold at a premium. Just like the successful launch of high-end flagship phones such as vivo X100 and vivo X Flip, it has helped brands develop high-end user reputation and achieved in-depth penetration of the core circle and consumption scenarios.
If ECR is the best side of vivo's management, then user-oriented innovation is the core philosophy of vivo's business operations, and doing things around user needs is also the starting point and foothold of all its business activities.
vivo always adheres to "user-oriented innovation". In fact, the long-term growth password of the brand is hidden in the user's preferences, and even the games they play and chase can derive all kinds of consumption concepts and mobile phone culture. vivo integrates innovative R&D into real-life scenarios and returns to user needs. And those needs that directly hit the pain point can penetrate the screen and pass through the user's heart, and the trust built by the user will come naturally.
When the environment changes, enterprises should follow the needs of users to change, not in the same place, carved the boat for the sword, user needs, user orientation, is always the biggest core of vivo. Hu Baishan emphasized.
Therefore, we see that vivo has done a series of things under this set of methods, joining forces with Zeiss, setting up vivo communication research institutes, and constantly iterating self-developed image chips. And the market has proven that these are the right things.
The key to a small company is to seize an opportunity; The key to a medium-sized company is to have a group of relatively strong executives; The key to a large company is to have the right processes and values. "Someone once summed up the law of enterprise development in this way, vivo is a living model.
According to the 2023 mobile phone market data released by Counterpoint Research, vivo won 16The 9% market share won the first place among domestic mobile phone brands, ranking second in the Chinese market, second only to Apple; Coincidentally, recent data from Canalys shows that vivo shipments in 2023 will be 445550,000 units also lead the domestic brand.
For vivo, this is not an unexpected joy, but should be regarded as "exploding as scheduled". It is precisely because of the causes planted earlier that the fruitful results of 2023 will be fruitful.
A big year for the explosion of vivo product technology
Flipping through vivo's annual record book in 2023, small steps and fast running, and more flowering are the main themes.
In terms of products, the vivo X Flip, which has a new way of interacting, and its stylish bag combination have become the "conspicuous bag" of vertically folded mobile phones in 2023; The second-generation horizontal folding mobile phone vivo X Fold2 has comprehensively advanced in terms of giant screen experience, productivity innovation, Zeiss image and exterior design, and has achieved "all-round and thin and light", and won the double championship in sales and sales on multiple platforms such as Tmall and JD.com on the first sales day. The cumulative sales of the annual flagship vivo X100 series reached 1 billion yuan on the first sales day, setting a new high for the first sale of vivo mobile phones, and the sales volume increased by 740 compared with the previous generation. The vivo S18 series is pre-installed with the Blue Heart Small V, with the blessing of the Blue Heart large model and OriginOS 4, and the first-day sales volume of all channels is 143% of that of the previous generation, breaking the first-sales growth record in the history of the S series.
In terms of technology, vivo has blossomed more in terms of imaging, AI large models and blue technology on the X100 series. In 2023, the "big optical strategy" jointly carried out by vivo and Zeiss will enter a new stage, and vivo X100 Pro will become the only product in the industry to obtain Zeiss APO certification standards, and vivo and Zeiss will jointly set a new industry standard in the field of imaging.
In 2023, the long-term technology accumulation has won vivo a "ticket" to a new world - an AI model. vivo's first device-side large model has become the target of the landing of mobile phone large model applications. Vivo's 7 billion parameter model is also the first open-source model in the mobile phone industry.
The AI model is destined to be a "giant" war in which financial resources and technology are indispensable. In the world of large models, new stories may unfold at a speed and breadth that none of us have ever seen.
According to Counterpoint Research, global generative AI smartphone shipments will reach about 47 million units in 2023, accounting for about 4% of total smartphone shipments. Global generative AI smartphone shipments are expected to exceed 100 million units in 2024.
New requirements are also created in new patterns. The implementation of vivo's large model on the device side will allow the intelligent mobile phone to continue to extend in the industrial chain, or leverage a new growth engine.
The technology brand "Blue Technology" released by vivo is full of black technology. The BlueOS operating system, which took six years to develop, integrates AI large models into the underlying design, giving the operating system the ability to recognize complex intentions and make inference decisions. The Blue Ocean Carbon Element recombination technology not only increases the battery capacity of mobile phones, but also shortens the charging time ......
This year, vivo was also active on a bigger stage. In the past, the mobile phone streets in major cities across the country were tantamount to the "Yellow River Road" in the mobile phone industry, and there was always a touch of "vivo blue" on these streets.
In 2023, vivo will have a bigger "Yellow River Road" to show its style. For example, we joined hands with global strategic partners to participate in the 6th China International Import Expo and jointly held vivo ZEISS joint imaging activities; Officially signed a contract to become the exclusive mobile phone supplier of the Hangzhou Asian Games, etc., which made vivo stand on a larger display stage.
This year, vivo is also continuousBuild a platform to make friends and expand the industrial chain. As Hu Baishan said, the prosperity of the mobile phone industry is not only a manufacturer and an industry, but the collective prosperity of tens of millions of first-class chains behind it. What position the mobile phone industry achieves, what is the position of the industrial chain behind it. Under the same conditions, vivo gives priority to the domestic ** chain, and its cooperative enterprises include BOE, Sunny, Tianma, Qiu Ti, Visionox, etc.
In fact, vivo has been able to traverse the mobile phone communication circle for 30 years, in addition to the company's cultural orientation and technology accumulation, it also has the companionship value of mutual achievement with users, as well as the industry value of going to the upstream and downstream of the first chain.
In the complex cycle again and again, vivo has changed and remained unchanged, such as actively embracing and changing emerging technologies such as large models, allowing vivo to keep pace with the times and calmly enter the second half and write new stories; The unchanged innovation and exploration around user needs has also allowed vivo to successfully go through different cycles and always maintain the young attitude of the brand.