Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 288: Holding Zhiyun's Thighs and Waiting for Takeoff

The successful tape-out of the X86 low-power CPU from Weichi Technology is crucial to Zhiyun Group's PC business.

This means that all components of Zhiyun Group's entire PC business can be independently controlled.

From CPU to memory, to flash memory, VIA also has many chipsets from VIA, namely north bridge chips and south bridge chips.

At the same time, Zhiyun Group also develops and uses auxiliary chips such as CMOS chips and Bluetooth chips.

Some other auxiliary chips can also be found from some good suppliers in the country.

Next is the graphics card field. Zhiyun Group has its own OP integrated graphics, which has been integrated into the WZ4000U chip. In addition to the integrated graphics card, there are two independent graphics card brands: NVIDIA and OPA.

For other products such as power supplies, computer cases, monitors, keyboards, and mice, there are already mature domestic supply chain manufacturers.

It can be said that Zhiyun Group is able to achieve independent control over the entire PC hardware. Even the system, Zhiyun also has the Pangu system, which is the YunLPC OS system developed based on the Llinux system kernel.

Last year, the system was installed on Pangu computers with a purely self-developed SOP instruction set architecture. Pangu computers have now become the preferred office computers for many institutions and enterprises, and the number of installed computers has now reached millions.

We have no choice but to use it because it involves security issues. Not only some institutions, but also some important industries related to people's livelihood have begun to gradually replace their operating systems with this system.

If nothing unexpected happens, in three to five years, the key systems in important domestic industries will all be YunLPC OS systems.

Of course, the YunLPC OS system is fine as the operating system for the office computers of institutions. For the sake of security and controllability, it will be used even if there are no ecological applications.

But it is not reliable for commercial use... There is no way the WIN system's ecosystem is too perfect, and there is no possibility of replacing it in the commercial field in the short term, or even for a long time.

Even within Zhiyun Group, this operating system can only be used as a supplement in some specific areas, and cannot be used as the main commercial operating system.

Of course, despite this, Zhiyun Group is still vigorously promoting the YunLPC OS system, gradually building ecological content, and has a series of support policies for ecological content providers on the system, including developing and providing a series of developer software so that software suppliers can develop software in the system conveniently and cheaply.

At the same time, we donated a large number of Pangu computers for teaching purposes to educational institutions, and wrote relevant guidance, various introductory books and tutorials to promote them in the education stage.

And for the operating system itself for free!
Zhiyun Group makes money from the SOP instruction set CPU and other hardware. As for the operating system, it is given away for free...

In addition, Zhiyun Group is gradually promoting the YunLPC OS system in its own enterprises and related enterprises. It does not have to switch to this system overnight, but gradually adopts this operating system in some special fields, especially those where security is more important.

However, the mainstream commercial office operating system is still the WIN system. There is nothing that can be done about it. The ecosystem accumulated over decades cannot be overturned in one or two years. This has nothing to do with the quality of the operating system. It is purely an ecological issue.

This is also the reason why Zhiyun Group's PC products are still pre-installed with the genuine WIN operating system. Of course, starting last year, Zhiyun Group's PC products also provide the YunLPC OS version, which can also run on computers with the X86 instruction set.

This Zhiyun PC product equipped with the YunLPC OS operating system is several hundred yuan cheaper than the WIN version.

It can not only promote its own operating system, but also give consumers more choices. After all, many computer enthusiasts these days actually install the WIN operating system by themselves. It is also good to buy a computer for a few hundred yuan cheaper and install a pirated WIN system.

Of course, in order to prevent computer novices from purchasing a YunLPC Zhiyun notebook and then installing pirated WIN, and then having a very bad user experience when using the YunLPC OS, various reminders will be made to explain the limitations of the YunLPC OS system in advance.

From X4000 CPUs such as WZ86U to other types of hardware and operating systems, Zhiyun Group has completed a comprehensive layout in the PC field.

And many of its hardware products are at the current first-class level.

Not to mention flash memory, Zhiyun's flash memory is one of the best in the world today, and belongs to the same series as Sixing's flash memory products. It is a truly high-end product, widely used in various smart terminals, PC products and even enterprise-level servers.

As for running memory, Zhiyun's memory particle technology has reached the level of 3 nanometers. The DDR1600 3 frequency memory products launched on the market are also top-notch products at present, and the performance of LPDDR1600 on mobile terminals is even more outstanding. They are all top-level memory products that can be used in Zhiyun S series mobile phones.

The price of this top-level memory is still quite high. The price of Zhiyun Semiconductor's LPDD3 1600 memory particles for mass supply is twelve US dollars per GB. This refers to the price for manufacturers to purchase in bulk, not the price for consumer terminals.

The WZ4000U CPU uses an nm process, which is designed to compete directly with Intel's fourth-generation Core.

Combining all of the above, the new generation of PC products to be launched by Zhiyun Group in the second half of the year will be able to continue to maintain its high-end reputation without falling. At the same time, there will be no need to limit sales as it does now due to Intel's CPU bottleneck, because without the top-level Intel CPU, the foundry cannot produce it.

At the same time, Zhiyun Group is unwilling to use the previous generation of outdated chips to maintain production capacity, which would damage its own brand.

Therefore, starting this year, Zhiyun Group has given priority to the production and sales of high-priced and high-configuration computers. The 13GB version of YunBook128, which is the low-configuration version, is out of stock.

Because Zhiyun Group has used its limited Intel top-level CPUs to produce the higher-priced and more profitable 13GB version of the YunBook 256.

But this situation will change completely after this fall!
Xu Shenxue is very much looking forward to this!

----

At Wichi Technology, after seeing the crucial WZ4000U chip, I also took a look at the two desktop CPU products, WZ4000 and WZ2000.

Zhao Wangge, CEO of Wistron, said: "Our WZ4000 high-end desktop chip has not yet been successfully taped out. Some problems broke out after the last tape-out, so we can only continue to improve it."

"But it is considered a successful tape-out. This chip will not be able to get the corresponding production capacity for mass production this year, so it is acceptable to postpone further improvements appropriately!"
Xu Shenxue naturally explained why he couldn't get the production capacity, because this chip uses an 18-nanometer process.

During the planning stage last year, we actually only planned for the 28-nanometer process. However, after considering that the 18-nanometer process had been broken through, we temporarily changed the plan and adopted the 18-nanometer process for the design of the next-generation flagship chip.

After all, the WZ4000 architecture represents the high-end flagship chip of Wichita Technology. The standard voltage is used for desktop, and the low-voltage version is used for mobile.

This represents the reputation of Weichi Technology, or the reputation of Zhiyun Group, so they would rather postpone the release than rush to launch a 28-nanometer product to the market.

Zhiyun’s products, whether they are terminal products or new products, are all high-end... at least there is a high-end series for branding.

Therefore, the flagship chip of X86 must adopt the 4000-nanometer process, which is true for the mobile WZ4000U and the desktop WZ.

However, Zhiyun Microelectronics' 503-nanometer process production capacity is extremely limited. Currently, the only chip factory capable of mass production of 502-nanometer process is Factory No. 4000 in the Shenzhen Base, and the factory's designed capacity is only 504 pieces per month. After the production of S and S chips, only a small amount of production capacity is left to supply WZU and S chips used in tablet computers.

After meeting the needs of the above-mentioned chips, there is no extra production capacity.

If you want to expand production capacity, you need to wait until the No. 14 factory in Tongcheng base is upgraded and renovated. Tongcheng No. 14 factory, and even the important upgrade and renovation project in Zhiyun Microelectronics, have very advanced equipment, so they also have great feasibility of upgrading technology and relatively low cost. They are currently being upgraded and are expected to be put into production by the end of this year.

By then, Zhiyun Microelectronics' 18-nanometer process production capacity will be able to increase to 90,000 pieces per month, initially meeting the demand for various advanced chips.

Zhao Wangge, CEO of Wistron, said: "With the current limited production capacity of 4000nm, it is impossible for the WZ using the nm process to be mass-produced this year. The earliest will be after January next year."

"However, our entry-level chip WZ2000 will be mass-produced and sold this year."

"The chip has been successfully taped out and is undergoing various follow-up tests. It is expected to be launched on the market in the second quarter."

"Because the chip uses a 28-nanometer process, which is Zhiyun Microelectronics' second-generation low-power 28-nanometer process, although the production capacity of this process is relatively tight, we can still grab some production capacity. In addition, the design, tape-out and production costs of this process are relatively low, which is conducive to our control of chip costs and subsequent selling prices, so as to gain good market competitiveness."

"For this chip, we also use our self-developed WZ architecture, also known as the 'Shenlong architecture', using our self-developed super multi-threading technology and dynamic main frequency technology, and also integrate the OP graphics processor architecture."

"In terms of design concept, although this is an entry-level chip, we still apply some design concepts and technologies of flagship chips."

"Our design indicators for this chip are higher than the Core i3 3nd generation series, but lower than the Core i3 rd generation. After all, our process is nanometers, which is a little behind the nanometers of the Core i rd generation, but better than the nanometers of the nd generation."

"What we are striving for is that we can accept some performance gaps caused by backward technology, but we cannot accept non-technological problems."

"The complete WZ2000 chip, which is the ideal design indicator, has dual cores and four threads, 512KB of L3 cache, 3.5MB of L300 cache, a maximum main frequency of 1GHZ, a design power consumption of watts, and is equipped with an OP graphics processing core, with a maximum GPU frequency of GHZ."

"In terms of memory support, it supports DD31600 dual channels and a maximum of 32GB of memory, using our WZ1250 interface architecture."

"According to our actual tests, the overall performance of our WZ2000 chip is weaker than Intel's third-generation Core i3 flagship product in office areas such as large-scale office software and daily multi-tasking support, but better than the second-generation Core i3 product. This is mainly due to the limitations of the production process."

"As for game performance support, it is about the same."

"Generally speaking, the performance of our chips is still competitive in the market, provided that the price is not set too high."

"After conducting research, our marketing department focused on the prices of Intel's and AMD's competing products of the same level, and finally formulated a pricing system. The initial retail price is between 500 and 700 yuan. The price positioning varies according to the main frequency. Overall, the price is cheaper than Intel's competing products."

"The entire series is divided into four types according to different main frequencies. The low-end version is the WZ3.2 with a maximum main frequency of 2010GHZ. The market price is expected to be yuan. The overall price is cheaper than Intel's competing products, in order to enhance market competitiveness and compete for the entry-level market."

“往上还有主频3.3GHZ的WZ2020，主频3.4GHZ的WZ2030，主频3.5GHZ的WZ2040。”

"However, the above four models are all the same and use the same production line. After the chips are produced, we will test them. If some of the transistors are damaged or the main frequency cannot meet the design requirements, we will lock the frequency and sell them as low-end versions."

After the production of CPU and even GPU products, the finished products are tested and those that fail to meet the design indicators are locked in frequency, or even the core is shielded and sold as low-end versions. This is a routine operation for major chip companies, and Zhiyun is no exception.

The S series and W series in mobile phone chips and the WZ series in PC products all operate in this way.

Therefore, strictly speaking, of the WZ2000 chips, only the 2040 model is designed, and the rest fail to meet the design indicators and are locked in frequency and sold as 2010/2020/2030.

Of course, if low-end chips sell better at that time, it will be impossible for Weichi Technology to produce a low-end version specifically for consumers. Either it will be out of stock, or it will simply sell the full-blooded version of 2040 after locking the frequency.

After reading it, Xu Shenxue also directly experienced the performance of a desktop computer with a WIN system equipped with a WZ2040 chip. To be honest, the performance is pretty good, the computer runs very smoothly, and there is no difference between it and those using Intel chips or AMD chips.

At this time, Zhao Wangge said: "In addition to the standard voltage version of our WZ2000 chip, there is also a low-voltage version WZ2000U for the mobile market, with two main frequencies of 2.4GHZ and 2.5GHZ."

"Although our group's own PC business does not use this level of CPU, a large number of mid- and low-end notebooks on the market will still use this level of CPU. Our CPU has a cost-effective advantage. At the same time, we use the 28NLP process, which is quite good in terms of low power consumption. We should be able to gain a part of the market."

"This chip is well made. Since it has been successfully taped out, we will choose an appropriate time to put it on the market for sale. By then, we will do a good job in marketing and gradually expand the market in the domestic market, with a focus on increasing contacts with PC manufacturers."

"After all, the current CPU market is still dominated by branded machines, especially low-voltage ones."

"But although the main sales channels are branded machines, the DIY market is still needed to build a reputation and build a good reputation."
"When you conduct marketing in the future, you should pay more attention to the word-of-mouth guidance of the DIY market."

Zhao Wangge said: "We plan to hold a press conference in April to release this WZ2000 chip and start selling it on the market at the same time. In terms of marketing, our subsidiary is not yet perfect and has no experience, so we have also applied for support from the marketing department of the group headquarters."

Xu Shenxue said: "Well, the marketing department of the group headquarters is pretty good. I'll tell Old Ji to send a project team to support you!"

----

After Xu Shenxue returned to the group headquarters, he went straight to Ji Chenghe and told him about this matter. After hearing that the entry-level chip from Weizhi Technology was about to be released, Ji Chenghe pondered for a few seconds and immediately said to Xu Shenxue: "In the field of X86 chips, we are considered a novice, and Intel and AMD entered the market very early and have accumulated a rich reputation. If we want to achieve a breakthrough in the market, I am afraid we have to use our own brand of Zhiyun to drive it!"

"Mr. Xu, I have an idea. Let's find a first-tier brand computer manufacturer and jointly develop a desktop PC product with them."

"We have not yet entered the desktop field. At the same time, our all-in-one computers and mini hosts are mainly high-end products, which are not suitable for entry-level desktop chips. Therefore, it is necessary to find a partner to cooperate with."

"We will create a co-branded desktop computer and an entry-level notebook computer, and use our group's own brand appeal to initially open up the market!"

"At the same time, these co-branded desktops and ordinary notebooks can also be purchased and used as low-end office computers for our group and its affiliated brother companies."

"In addition to our own YunBook, our group and our sister companies have also purchased a large number of PC brand desktops and ordinary notebooks. Our purchase volume alone is not small, enough to serve as a start-up order!"

Xu Shenxue thought for a moment and said, "That's a good idea. Let's give it a try. Also, be careful not to bring in any random brands. Find some PC manufacturers with good reputation and strong capabilities, and with whom we have a traditional cooperative relationship!"

Ji Chenghe said: "We have cooperation with several domestic PC manufacturers, but most of our office equipment is Tongfang computers, which are all OK. In addition, the company is also our self-developed computer partner, purchasing our SOP instruction set CPU and launching their own Pangu computer. Although the sales volume is not very good, their intention is commendable."

Xu Shenxue said: "Then let's choose them and ask them to come up with a preliminary plan. Now we have entry-level dual-core chips, and next year we will have flagship quad-core chips. Let them come up with a plan together."

Soon, Tongfang Technology received an invitation for cooperation from Zhiyun Group!
After receiving the cooperation invitation, they felt like pie in the sky... because this is Zhiyun Group, the world's top multinational company.

Every day, countless companies want to squeeze in and become partners of Zhiyun Group, but most of them are customers rather than partners...

The same goes for Tongfang Technology. Like other domestic and international PC manufacturers, although they have cooperation with Zhiyun Group, the scale of this cooperation cannot be called true cooperation. They simply purchase Zhiyun's memory products and CPUs with SOP instruction sets, and then install them on their PC products.

At the same time, Zhiyun Group also purchased a large number of their desktops and ordinary notebooks for office use. This kind of cooperation is actually not very large.

Even this level of cooperation could not alarm the top management of Zhiyun Group. Zhiyun Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Zhiyun Group, was responsible for the chip business, and the logistics department of Zhiyun Group directly purchased the computers.

However, this time it is a little different. This is an invitation for cooperation from Zhiyun Group headquarters.

After receiving the invitation, Tongfang Technology attached great importance to it and quickly held an internal meeting. The next day, a team of more than ten people flew directly to Shenzhen.

Then they met Ji Chenghe and Zhao Wangge from Weichi Technology.

It was only at this time that they realized that Zhiyun Group had developed the X86 chip, wanted to bring it to market, and chose them as a potential partner.

They didn't hesitate at all about this and agreed directly without even bargaining over the details of the cooperation.

This is the super thigh of Zhiyun Group. You finally have the opportunity to hold it, so why are you hesitating? Don't even think about it, just hold it and wait for takeoff.

Why? There is no special reason. If it is a domestic listed company, if it announces a cooperation plan with Zhiyun Group today, it will hit the daily limit on the same day...

Shareholders are very favorable towards any company related to Zhiyun Group and have great expectations for it.

Although Zhiyun Group is not listed in China, it has a huge impact on the domestic stock market. After all, a large number of Zhiyun supply chain companies and partner companies are listed in China. Zhiyun Group's every move is directly related to the stock prices of these partner companies.

From a macro perspective, except for a few unlucky companies, most companies that cooperate with Zhiyun Group often see a significant increase in revenue and profits, and then their stock prices also rise rapidly.

Tongfang Technology did not hesitate at all about this matter with obvious benefits, and did not bargain. In short, Zhiyun, whatever you want, then we will do it.

"Mr. Ji, please let us know about all the subsequent cooperation matters. We will fully cooperate with you. For this co-branded computer project, we will set up a project team when we return, provide the highest level of treatment, select the most capable technical personnel, and provide the most sufficient research and development funds. Give us one month, at most one month, and we will be able to come up with a complete machine solution based on the WZ2000 chip for you."

In fact, one month is not a short time. After all, the X86 chips produced by Zhiyun Group, like those of Intel and AMD, are all based on the X86 architecture and have great versatility. Although the motherboard also needs some adjustments, the overall time is not big. With the strength of such a professional PC manufacturer, there is still no problem.

What's more, Zhiyun Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Zhiyun Group, will provide all core components from CPU to discrete graphics, memory and chipsets. As long as the other party has this demand, we can provide core components and corresponding technical guidance.

Ji Chenghe said: "I am familiar with the strength of Tongfang Technology, otherwise we would not have found you to cooperate in this joint PC product."

"We have almost finished the preliminary discussion here. I personally have a very good impression of you. I guess Director Xu's meeting is also over. Let's go, I'll take you upstairs to show your faces."

"Go up and explain your plan to Mr. Xu. As long as Mr. Xu agrees, then the matter is basically settled."

As he spoke, Ji Chenghe restrained his expression a little, and then said: "You only have one chance, so make the most of it!"

After saying that, Ji Chenghe smiled again: "But don't be too nervous, our CEO Xu is still very easy to talk to."

When the person in charge of Tongfang Technology heard this, he was somewhat nervous.

For Zhiyun Group, this co-branded computer project is just a marketing attempt to promote its own X86 CPU. Whether it succeeds or not, it will not have much impact.

With Zhiyun Group's strength and brand appeal, even if it suffers a temporary setback, it will be able to fill the market with the WZ2000 chip and put it on the purchase lists of major PC manufacturers... and when the flagship chip WZ4000 starts shipping early next year, it will be able to rely on this chip to directly impact the high-end performance market.

Therefore, Zhiyun Group is interested in cooperating with Tongfang Technology, but it does not necessarily need it.

But it is different for Tongfang Technology. Although they are also a first-tier PC manufacturer in China, they are not having an easy time, mainly because they are impacted by a large number of international brand machines, which results in their low market share even in the domestic market.

At this time, Zhiyun Group gave them an opportunity to develop a co-branded computer, which was equivalent to directly taking them off!
With the huge brand appeal of Zhiyun Group, even if this is just a co-branded brand and not a true Zhiyun brand, it can still bring huge attention and market.

Of course, the premise of everything is to have high product quality.

After the person in charge was brought to the office floor of Liuhe Investment by Ji Chenghe, he soon saw Xu Shenxue in Xu Shenxue's office.

The person in charge described in detail some of the plans for the co-branded computer they were preparing, especially the design concepts and product ideas.

Xu Shenxue had limited attention for such a small project, so after listening for three to five minutes, he said, "I feel relieved to let you guys make the co-branded computer. What you just said, Mr. Lin, is all good. I only have two requirements. First, the product must have industrial aesthetics. To put it simply, it must be good-looking. Whether it's a desktop computer case or a notebook, it must look good."

“Second, and most importantly, the quality must be good.”

“It may even be a little less cost-effective, but it must be of excellent quality and stable performance, and it must not freeze with a blue screen while the computer is in use!”

President Lin said, "Mr. Xu, we at Tongfang Technology have been making computers for many years. We have accumulated some technical experience in various fields and are confident in product quality control. We will definitely not delay Zhiyun's plan!"

Xu Shenxue said: "Since you have this confidence, then let's do it well. This time we will make an entry-level model. If it does well, we can wait until our WZ4000 chip is mass-produced next year, and then we can work together to create a mid-to-high-end brand!"

"For example, you can make a dedicated gaming laptop, directly using our high-performance standard-voltage WZ4000 chip, paired with our NVIDIA discrete graphics card, and add your technical accumulation, and then we can make a high-end gaming laptop priced at or yuan."

When Mr. Lin heard Xu Shenxue talking about high-end notebooks priced at ten or twenty thousand yuan, he couldn't help swallowing his saliva. This kind of high-end gaming notebook field is something he has always wanted to enter, but he couldn't.

The price is too high and the potential consumers are limited. These small number of potential consumers are more savvy than each other and they all look at the price-performance ratio and the brand, which makes it difficult to do.

However, if Zhiyun leads them to do this at that time, the success rate will be much higher.

Even if they are not Zhiyun brand, and they cannot directly say that they are Zhiyun brand laptops and desktops, but as long as they are allowed to mention the words "Zhiyun cooperation" or "Zhiyun version" or "Zhiyun procurement version" during promotion, it will be enough to bring them huge benefits.

After the preliminary decision was made, Mr. Lin went downstairs with a beaming face, and then looked at more than a dozen subordinates who were looking expectant: "Let's go, I'll treat you all to a big meal."

A middle-aged man asked anxiously, "Did you get it?"

President Lin said, "We got it. I just met with President Xu, and he personally agreed to it. Not only this project, but he also mentioned a high-end gaming laptop project. This time, we've got a big shot!"

"If this is done well, it will probably double our revenue!"

"We'll wait for our company's legal department to come over and finalize the contract details before signing!"

"But we are also very pressed for time. Mr. Dong, you guys have to fly back tonight and immediately form a project team. Then you have to work overtime and come up with a complete machine solution within a month. This includes not only a desktop solution, but also a notebook solution."

"Time is very tight. They will hold a press conference in early May to officially announce the WZ2000 chip, and they will use our computers for demonstration at the press conference."

"This means that our co-branded computers can also be promoted on a large scale through their publicity channels, so research and development must be accelerated. We must come up with a plan within a month, and then urgently manufacture a demonstration prototype. We can't delay for even a day!"

After the people from Tongfang Technology left, Ji Chenghe went back to Xu Shenxue's office and reported some recent sales reports.

Xu Shenxue felt that it was okay. At this time, Ji Chenghe also concluded: "The sales of products in various business departments of our group are good. Except for PC products, which have a shortage of CPUs and lead to poor production and sales, all other types of products have maintained a relatively good growth rate."

"In particular, the group's flagship S series mobile phones have continued to sell well, with sales increasing by 18 percent last month compared to last year."

"Today's high-end market has gradually become saturated. Due to the restrictions of various countries' economies and consumption levels, it is difficult for our S series products to have a relatively large growth rate. In addition, the first half of the year has always been a period of weak sales for us. An 18% sales growth rate is already quite good."

“For the A series, the year-on-year growth rate is also 7%, which is considered to be quite satisfactory!”

"For the C series, we started operating it as an independent brand last year, and the growth rate is good, reaching 12%."

"In the mobile phone category, the bulk of our revenue and the main growth rate still rely on our S series mobile phones, and the growth rate of the S series mobile phones mainly comes from our domestic market and emerging markets in ASEAN. This is mainly because the economic development of our domestic and emerging markets such as ASEAN is relatively rapid, and consumption capacity has further increased, which in turn has expanded the growth of our S series mobile phones."

"In addition, our smart watches, Bluetooth headsets and other products are also growing at a good rate."

"Our smartwatch products grew by 15 percent year-on-year last month, and the new products released this spring are quite competitive in the market."

"As for Bluetooth headsets, our sales have continued to be hot this year, with sales reaching more than 3 million units in the first quarter, and we expect to reach 4 million in the second quarter."

"The sales of this Bluetooth headset product are showing a steady upward trend, and the updates to some hardware performance are not that frequent. At the same time, at the autumn launch conference this year, we will also release a noise reduction version, which is expected to further increase sales. This year, sales are expected to reach more than 20 million units."

Xu Shenxue said: "We have created a market for the Bluetooth headset category. The next step is to maintain sales and expand our advantage. While fruit and other manufacturers have not yet developed corresponding competitive products, we will expand the market as much as possible and set an industry benchmark. When fruit and other manufacturers' competitive products come out, we will be able to suppress them!"

Ji Chenghe said: "According to our intelligence, Fruit and Sixing also established Bluetooth headset projects last year. However, they are restricted by the communication protocol and it is impossible for them to produce it in a short period of time, unless they are willing to ignore the brand and directly produce a Bluetooth 4.0 product!"

"Of course, they will probably develop their own communication protocols, or push for further improvements to the Bluetooth communication protocol. We estimate that they will be able to produce corresponding products next year. This year, we will continue to monopolize the market!"

As for the Bluetooth headsets launched by Huaqiangnan and some small and medium-sized manufacturers, Zhiyun Group has ignored them. These copycat Bluetooth headsets all use Bluetooth 4.0, and the gap in data transmission speed with Zhiyun's self-developed Bluetooth 4.5 is too big, and there is no way to compare them at all.

The only competitor is the Bluetooth headset from sister company Vicoo Electronics. They also use the Bluetooth 4.5 protocol, but their market positioning is different. Vicoo Electronics's price positioning is only three or four hundred yuan. Bluetooth headsets at this price are far behind Zhiyun Bluetooth headsets in terms of sound quality, battery life and other aspects.

There was some impact, but the threat was not great.

Ji Chenghe continued, "The sales growth of tablet computers has slowed down this year, mainly because the usage scenarios of this product are limited. The light office market that we jointly promoted with Apple in the past two years has now receded after a period of enthusiasm."

"Tablet computers have been severely impacted by thin and light notebooks, as well as large-screen mobile phones. Based on recent market changes, colleagues in the marketing department have determined that tablet computer sales may decline starting next year!"

"At the same time, we have also noticed that the current usage scenarios of tablet computers have begun to shift from light office scenarios to learning and education, and gaming/movie viewing scenarios. However, these two usage scenarios have also been impacted by large-screen mobile phones and thin and light notebooks. At the same time, our tablet computers are somewhat expensive, and there are still limitations when shifting to these markets. They are not as adaptable as those of Wecoo Electronics and other domestic tablet computers!"

"On the contrary, the tablet computers of Vico Electronics are more adaptable because they are mainly in the market of 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, especially when parents buy them for their children as learning tools, and young people use them to watch TV series and movies, and play some small games."

Xu Shenxue also anticipated this: "The tablet category itself is subject to certain limitations, and it is reasonable that the sales growth rate has declined now."

Not only is Zhiyun's tablet computer not growing very fast, but the growth rate of tablet computers from its main competitors, such as Apple and Sixin, has also begun to slow down this year.

Of course, even with the slowdown, this year's tablet market is still very large, and there will be a significant increase compared to last year. Many analysts believe that this year's tablet market is expected to have sales of around 250 million units.

Zhiyun, Fruit and Sixin, together with major first-line brands such as Google and Microsoft, occupy the main high-end market. The rest are second- and third-tier tablet computers from some domestic manufacturers represented by Wecoo Electronics, which mainly sell tablets between one thousand and three thousand yuan, especially in the market of more than one thousand yuan, which has achieved substantial growth.

However, this has nothing to do with Zhiyun. Zhiyun's tablet computers all start at three to four thousand yuan, and are considered high-end tablet computers.

Xu Shenxue: "We will continue to produce tablet computers. Even if the market declines next year, we still have the brand appeal and can maintain a certain market share."

"As a response, we will continue to focus on ultra-thin notebooks this year. After adopting our WZ4000U chip, our notebook products will not have any hardware restrictions. We will impact the market in autumn and offer appropriate discounts. Well, isn't Double quite popular recently? We can take this opportunity to offer discounts and boost sales."

"The light office market has great potential. Whether we are selling ultra-thin notebooks or tablets, no matter what product we use, we must seize this usage scenario!"

"Finally, as for this Bluetooth headset, we need to further promote it. Although the expected sales volume of 4.5 million units is not bad, the potential market is still huge. After all, there are so many people who own mobile phones. As long as they own our Zhiyun mobile phones, notebooks, tablets, and smart terminal products under Weiku Electronics that are also equipped with Bluetooth chips, the owners of these products will all be potential users of our Bluetooth headsets."

"Some marketing efforts can be done appropriately to promote a new lifestyle to boost sales."

"We strive to make our Bluetooth headsets replace traditional wired headsets as much as possible."

In this regard, Ji Chenghe said: "In terms of the promotion of the new lifestyle, our marketing department is actively inserting advertisements into some urban-themed TV series and movies around the world to promote the new smart life. It is expected to appear on a large scale in TV series and movies around the world in the second half of the year, setting off a new era of smart life."

Xu Shenxue said: "You are an expert in this area, so I won't say much, just keep it in mind!"

Xu Shenxue stood up and said, "By the way, Hailan Automobile will release a high-end sedan model for executive use in a while. I have seen the prototype of that car before. It is quite good and suitable for use as an official car. Please arrange to purchase a batch for use as company vehicles."

"You can get one if you want. I'll have them make you a bulletproof one!"

Ji Chenghe was very interested in this: "Mainly for administration? Something like the Mercedes-Benz S-Series or the BMW 7?"

Xu Shenxue said: "The price is similar, but the market positioning is different. It is not so old-fashioned, and the main feature is high-tech elements. The model is between a coupe and a large luxury car. In addition to riding, it is also suitable for driving yourself."

Ji Chenghe said: "That's fine. Although I ride in bulletproof cars more often when I'm on business trips abroad, I haven't bought one myself yet. I'll have fun getting one!"

(End of this chapter)