Five major trends for smartphones in the second half of the year Breaking the boundaries of mobile phones, will car systems become large tablets?

In the second half of the year, five major smartphone trends emerge These trends break the boundaries of mobile phones and raise the question of whether car systems will become large tablets

【phoneauto】The latest data shows that despite the continued popularity of this year’s 618 shopping festival, there is no obvious sign of recovery in the smartphone market. Will this trend change as a large number of new phones flood the market in the second half of the year?

In the first half of the year, the mid-to-low-end smartphone market started to become overcrowded, with more emphasis on specifications and prices, while high-end smartphones focused on improving imaging systems, attempting to differentiate themselves through hardware, algorithms, and chips. Looking at the details, as the popularity of the mid-range market continues to rise, especially the intensifying competition among smartphones priced around 3000 yuan, the special configurations that were originally exclusive to high-end flagships will be “downgraded” in the second half of the year. For example, the Huawei nova 11 series will continue the Kunlun glass and Beidou satellite features of the Huawei Mate and P series. Another example is the Redmi K series, which inherits Xiaomi’s imaging technology.

In addition, the high-end market represented by foldable phones cannot be ignored. With the Huawei Mate X3 and Honor Magic V2 as leading examples, the foldable screen market will inevitably move towards being “lightweight and powerful” in the second half of the year.

• The Xiaomi 13T Pro has obtained NBTC certification and is expected to be released in September with a price exceeding 7000?
• Motorola Moto G14 new phone price exposed, this configuration is actually less than 1000 yuan?
• Honor X6a officially released, equipped with Helio G36 processor, priced at approximately 1200 yuan

At the same time, under the leadership of brands like Huawei and Meizu, the integration of “car” and “phone” has become a new choice for major manufacturers to expand their system boundaries. The automotive intelligent experience will undoubtedly undergo new changes with the influence of smartphone manufacturers.

All these signs indicate that smartphone manufacturers will go further down the path of “rolling” in the second half of the year. In response to the development trends of smartphone manufacturers in the second half of the year, phoneauto has launched a series of special topics titled “Five Trends in the Smartphone Industry in the Second Half of the Year.” This article focuses on the topic of “smartphone manufacturers entering the car market.”

With the increasing trend of electrification, intelligence, and internet connectivity in automobiles, car infotainment systems are constantly being upgraded and improved to provide drivers with better driving assistance, entertainment, and safety features. In the process of development, more and more smartphone manufacturers have started to enter this field, cooperating or competing with car manufacturers, attempting to bring better infotainment products to consumers. So why do smartphone manufacturers start to “neglect their main business”? Can they really make future car infotainment systems better? What impact will this have on the future automotive market? After reading this article, you may understand.

Looking back 10 years ago, the automotive industry and the smartphone industry were like “two completely different worlds”. It’s hard to imagine that they would be so closely intertwined after 10 years. However, with the improvement of automotive intelligence, the large center console screens that used to only appear in luxury cars have gradually become popular, and the level of intelligence in vehicles is also constantly increasing. In the eyes of many manufacturers and analysis institutions, the future car infotainment system is becoming a mobile terminal device similar to a smartphone, and the car infotainment system is the foundation for vehicles to become mobile terminals.

For smartphone manufacturers, choosing to enter the car infotainment market can be seen as both forced and voluntary. On the one hand, it goes without saying how competitive the domestic smartphone market is today. Xiaomi has personally entered the car manufacturing industry, and Huawei is also expanding into the automotive business, all to seize the trillion-level growth point of the new energy vehicle market. By entering the automotive industry, smartphone manufacturers can seek new growth points and profit space, while also leveraging the automotive market to enhance their own brand value and influence.

In addition to passive transformation of the racetrack, mobile phone manufacturers are also laying out in the automotive field to actively seize the advantage. The current automotive industry, especially the new energy vehicle industry, is in a key period of transformation and change, with new technologies, new models, and new players constantly emerging, bringing new opportunities and challenges to the industry. By entering the in-vehicle system field, mobile phone manufacturers can, on one hand, seize advantages, occupy favorable market positions and competitiveness. At the same time, they can also expand their business scope and profit models, realizing diversified and cross-border development.

Mobile phone manufacturers choosing to venture into other areas definitely need some unique skills, otherwise why would others choose you? Although making cars may be a bit ahead for mobile phone manufacturers, the in-vehicle system is indeed somewhat familiar. Especially in the current trend of larger in-vehicle screens, many consumers think, “Isn’t the in-vehicle system just a larger tablet?”

Although we can’t say that, mobile phone manufacturers have their unique advantages in making in-vehicle systems. First of all, they have stronger software and hardware coordination capabilities. They have years of accumulation and experience in the smartphone field, with a deep understanding and mastery of coordinated development and optimization of software and hardware. They can customize and fine-tune the in-vehicle system from multiple aspects such as chips, operating systems, app stores, and cloud services, improving the performance and user experience of the in-vehicle system.

For example, Huawei has introduced software bus technology in its HarmonyOS, achieving seamless connection and interoperation between different devices. When users use a Huawei phone and enter the HarmonyOS cabin, the apps on the phone can seamlessly transfer to the in-vehicle screen, greatly improving the user experience.

Mobile phone manufacturers also have a rich ecosystem. Mobile phone manufacturers have a huge user base and abundant application resources in the field of smartphones, which can bring more content and services to the car. They can achieve data and information synchronization and sharing between mobile phones and car systems through interconnection, allowing users to enjoy convenience and comfort in different scenarios.

Lastly, mobile phone manufacturers have a greater brand influence. Compared to many current car system providers, mobile phone manufacturers have higher visibility and reputation in the field of smartphones, which can bring more user recognition and trust to the car system. They can enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of car systems through their advantages in technological innovation, product design, and marketing promotion. Huawei’s HarmonyOS smart cabin has gained a lot of points in consumers’ impressions. Meizu’s Flyme Auto has also become a major selling point for the first car to be equipped with it, the Lynk & Co 08.

Of course, anything that has benefits will also have risks and doubts. First and foremost, mobile phone manufacturers entering the car system market will face higher industry barriers. As shown by Evergrande’s car manufacturing venture, it may not be difficult to make a car, but making a good car is not a simple task. The automotive industry is a highly specialized and standardized industry, with strict requirements and standards for the safety, stability, and compatibility of car systems.

When a mobile phone system crashes, the problem can usually be solved by forcibly restarting it. However, if a car system suddenly crashes, the severity is definitely not on the same level. Especially now that more and more car manufacturers are starting to eliminate physical buttons and integrate functions into the car system, if the stability of the vehicle’s car system cannot be guaranteed, it may have a fatal impact on driving safety.

Although logically speaking, the car infotainment system and the smartphone system have many similarities, from regulatory restrictions to stability requirements, the car infotainment system is more stringent. This means that smartphone manufacturers cannot simply port the system to the car, but instead must invest more effort and money in adaptation and development. This means that the car infotainment system is not just a simple tablet, but it will become the central and soul of a car. Whether car manufacturers are willing to sacrifice their “soul” is also a difficult problem facing smartphone manufacturers.

Compared to smartphone users, the demands of car users may be more complex. Car users are a diverse and personalized group, with different demands and preferences for the functions and experience of the car infotainment system. For example, performance car users who pursue driving experience may have different demands from users who pursue “smart home” comfort and technological sense. This requires smartphone manufacturers to fully understand and meet the needs of users when developing car infotainment systems, and also requires good communication and collaboration with car manufacturers in order to create products that meet the market and user requirements.

Currently, the number of smartphone manufacturers crossing over to the car infotainment market is still very limited, mainly Huawei, Meizu, and Xiaomi, which is about to launch mass-produced cars. Although the number is small, their presence has had a “catfish effect” on the entire car infotainment market and even the entire automotive market.

Smartphone manufacturers crossing over to the car infotainment market can promote technological innovation in car infotainment systems. Their presence can bring more technological innovation and product updates to the automotive industry, improve the performance and experience of car infotainment systems, and meet the diverse needs of users. At the same time, it can also stimulate the innovation awareness and motivation of car manufacturers, promote technological progress and development in the automotive industry.

Mobile phone manufacturers entering the automotive field will also bring more competition and challenges to the automotive industry, increasing market uncertainty and complexity. Mobile phone manufacturers will not only cooperate or compete with traditional car manufacturers, but also compete or cooperate with other mobile phone manufacturers, creating a multi-party game situation. This is both an opportunity and a pressure for the automotive industry.

More importantly, the emergence of mobile phone manufacturers has also increased people’s attention to car machines and promoted the formulation of unified standards for car machines. Due to their own advantages and characteristics in software and hardware, ecology, and branding, mobile phone manufacturers may propose or advocate for new technical standards or communication protocols to adapt to their own products and services. This may encourage more communication and coordination in the automotive industry, forming a more unified and open standard system.

Once upon a time, Apple played an important role in the automotive industry with its CarPlay, making support for CarPlay a major selling point for vehicles. However, now domestic mobile phone manufacturers have taken a step ahead of Apple and directly developed in-car systems. As the saying goes, outsiders are often the ones who disrupt an industry, and with the successive entry of Huawei, Meizu, Xiaomi, and other mobile phone manufacturers, the future of mobile phone manufacturers making car machines is expected to become a new trend in the mobile phone industry.

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