The Xingyi Phone 1st generation progressed so smoothly, firstly because Wang Yi provided high-level guidance, planned comprehensively, and avoided many pitfalls.
Secondly, the hardware development team is strong, with excellent execution!
Zhu Changlin and others are former HTC hardware development elites, with considerable strength and rich experience.
Coupled with Wang Yi's guidance, there were basically no problems with the Xingyi Phone's hardware.
But to be safe, prototype testing was done first, followed by engineering machine testing.
To ensure no hardware issues arise.
If hardware issues were only discovered after mass production, that would be a fatal blow.
Like the first generation Xiaomi, with its loose battery and rattling sound when shaken, which caused quite a stir at the time.
The solution was just to put a piece of paper underneath.
The later generation Hammer smartphone also had issues such as an easily bendable body, large gaps in the mid-frame, camera paint peeling, screen degumming, and light leakage.
Some of these were workmanship quality issues, and others were hardware design issues.
But all these can cause fatal blows.
Especially for new brands, one comment about poor workmanship or poor quality, and it's over.
Unless it can be like Apple, even with various problems, even with signal issues criticized for over a dozen generations without change, it is still called a "divine device".
The most successful marketing is called faith!
Brands that can achieve this level are mostly exceptionally successful.
Regarding Apple, Wang Yi is very impressed.
Other brands serve users and listen to user advice.
Apple tames users and makes users listen to its advice!
Bad signal? I won't change it, it's just no signal in remote areas, and a bit slower internet speed!
Ugly notch screen? I won't use a full screen, Dynamic Island is also good!
Slow charging? I'll be slow, Android achieves 200W, 300W fast charging, I'll be 20W, 30W, it's not like it's unusable!
If Xingyi Phone can develop to Apple's level, with such terrifying user faith, then it will be a complete success!
At that time, even if there are hardware issues, users won't mind, and will still buy it as usual.
But now, Xingyi Phone doesn't have this capital.
As an emerging brand, it can only be cautious and strive for perfection.
Hardware and workmanship issues must absolutely not occur!
"Chairman, the first batch of accessories has arrived, approximately 1.5 million sets, enough to mass produce 1.5 million phones!"
Zhu Changlin reported:
"The factory's annual production capacity is around 20 million. If operating at full capacity, it can reach about 1.67 million per month. Considering a slightly lower yield rate in the initial stage, achieving a monthly output of 1.5 million qualified phones is still not a problem!"
Wang Yi nodded:
"Okay, then let's mass produce engineering units first, make 500 units, no, 1000 units, for large-scale testing!"
If testing time is limited, then increase the testing quantity.
If 500 engineering units cannot be tested for a month, then 1000 engineering units will be tested for half a month!
"Once testing is fine, mass production will start late this month, launch in early December, pre-sales, and shipping in mid to late December!"
From mass production in mid-November to market launch in mid-December, there will be exactly 1.5 million units in stock.
At that time, 500,000 will be sold in offline flagship stores and specialty stores, and 1 million will be directly sold online.
Plus the 800,000 units produced in the latter half of December, a total of 2.3 million Xingyi phones shipped in December is sufficient.
The iPhone 4s will only be launched in China on January 13th. Xingyi Phone will go on sale a month earlier, shipping over 2 million units in advance, which shouldn't be a problem.
Even if Xingyi Phone's subsequent sales decrease somewhat after the 4S launch, it doesn't matter.
Apple's sales cycle lasts for a year, while Android phones update quickly, with each new generation having a sales cycle of only about half a year.
The hottest sales golden period is only the first two months after release!
After two months, sales are bound to halve!
This is a curse no brand can escape.
Wang Yi's strategy is to ship 3 million units frantically in the first two months!
In the following three months, sales will halve, and 2 million units will be sold slowly!
This way, within half a year, the first generation Xingyi Phone will be sold out, without price cuts, directly discontinued.
Then, the quad-core version of Xingyi Phone 1 Pro will be primarily promoted!
The development of Xingyi Phone 1 Pro will be much easier.
It doesn't even require development, just replacing the Qualcomm dual-core processor with Nvidia's quad-core processor based on the first generation!
In addition, the battery will be increased to 2800mAh, and a 2GB RAM version will be offered as an option, that's all.
Everything else will be identical to the first generation, directly using the first generation's design and molds.
In contrast, the Xingyi Phone 2nd generation in the second half of next year will need to be developed from scratch, with a comprehensive upgrade!
Why, after Xingyi 1st generation sells out, will it not be mass-produced and sold further with a price cut?
Naturally, the cost of Xingyi Phone 1 Pro will not only not increase compared to Xingyi Phone 1st generation, but will actually decrease!
After all, half a year later, the prices of mobile phone components will comprehensively decrease.
For Xingyi Phone 1 Pro, even if the quad-core processor is a bit more expensive, the prices of other components have dropped, so the total cost will naturally decrease!
At that time, instead of cutting the price by one thousand and continuing to sell the Xingyi 1st generation, it's better not to cut the price and directly sell Xingyi 1 Pro.
This way, more profit will be earned.
Once Xingyi 2nd generation is launched, Xingyi 1 Pro can have a slight price cut later and continue to sell well, thus stabilizing the situation.
"And workmanship issues!"
Wang Yi instructed again:
"Make sure to supervise closely, our own factory is easy to manage, and there must be no workmanship problems whatsoever! Xingyi Phone 1st generation is our reputation. If quality or workmanship issues arise, tell the factory that the management team will be directly laid off! All employees will receive the lowest performance coefficient, and their year-end bonuses will be fully deducted!"
Even at the Xingyi Phone factory, even for grassroots employees, it's basic salary + performance + year-end bonus.
High performance and high year-end bonus compared to low performance and no year-end bonus is quite a big difference.
And performance and year-end bonuses, besides looking at employee efficiency and production capacity, also greatly depend on the yield rate!
"Chairman, please rest assured, I'll go to the factory to oversee it right away!"
Zhu Changlin understood Wang Yi's emphasis on workmanship:
"We'll add two more quality inspection steps to ensure the highest yield rate in the industry!"
Wang Yi nodded:
"You're in charge of this matter, and regarding production capacity, coordinate well with suppliers and have them supply goods as soon as possible!"
"Understood!"
Wang Yi continued:
"Also, the hardware department should continue recruiting, as we'll need to develop Xingyi 2nd generation later, and Xingyi tablets!"
In the future, the apparel industry will generally contract.
In his previous life, brands like Nike, Adidas, H&M, Zara, etc., saw their profits continuously decline in the coming years.
The entire apparel industry is like this, a general trend, and Meiyou, Zhenyou will also not escape this fate.
The electronics industry, however, is constantly growing!
To put it simply, in 2011, Zara and H&M sold items for three or four hundred yuan each.
Ten years later, most Zara and H&M stores had closed, but the prices were still three or four hundred yuan each.
Meanwhile, a Xiaomi flagship phone in 2011 was only 1999 yuan, but ten years later, it would sell for four or five thousand yuan!
Therefore, Wang Yi also had to prepare for a rainy day.
Before the winter of the apparel industry, he would proactively lay out and exert effort in the electronics field!
Not only must phones be made, but the tablet market also needs to be laid out in advance, and even laptops must be made next year or the year after!
The future is a competition of ecosystem "family buckets".
Apple has its own ecosystem "family bucket", with iPhone, iPad, Mac.
Huawei also has its own ecosystem "family bucket", with Huawei phones, Huawei tablets, Huawei laptops, AITO cars...
Even Xiaomi has its Xiaomi "family bucket", with Xiaomi phones, Xiaomi tablets, Xiaomi laptops, Xiaomi cars, Mijia smart home...
Similarly, Wang Yi must also develop in multiple areas!
New energy vehicles are not urgent for now, but phones, tablets, laptops, and smart home devices must all be arranged within two years!
And they must start earlier than Xiaomi and Huawei, do better, and seize the initiative!
The earlier it's done, the greater the advantage; the later, the more passive!
Compared to laptops, tablets are undoubtedly simpler and easier.
"No problem, Chairman, tablets are easier to develop than phones, with not much technical difficulty!"
Zhu Changlin said with a smile:
"Tablets don't need basebands, have more space, and are easier to operate! Developing a tablet after a phone is like a 'dimensionality reduction attack'!"
"Alright, recruit people as soon as possible! Later, it will be divided into two business units, with the phone business unit as the main one, specializing in phone development. Then create a tablet business unit, specializing in tablets!"
"Okay, Chairman."
Zhu Changlin couldn't help but ask:
"So, should laptops also be planned?"
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"No hurry, let's take it one step at a time, launching phones early next month. As for tablets, they can wait until April next year and be released together with the quad-core Xingyi Phone 1 Pro!"
Nvidia's chips happen to not have basebands, so after Qualcomm's quad-core chips hit the market in mid-next year, Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 chips will definitely see a sharp drop in sales and a plunge in prices.
At that time, Wang Yi will order another 5 million quad-core Tegra 3 chips at a low price!
A portion will be used to produce Xingyi Phone 1 Pro, and another portion will directly produce Xingyi tablets!
Alternatively, from the first batch of 5 million Tegra 3 chips, 1 million chips will first be drawn for the production of Xingyi tablets.
When the second batch of 5 million chips arrives later, they can then be supplied to Xingyi phones.
Anyway, Xingyi Phone 1 Pro will be sold from April next year all the way until September or October.
5 million chips in the first half of the year, Xingyi phones won't be able to use all of them.
It's fine for Xingyi tablets to use some first.
The biggest benefit of both using the same chips is resource interchangeability.
Subsequently, Zhu Changlin immediately set off, directly heading to the Xingyi Phone factory.
Meanwhile, Wang Yi went to the software department next door.
These past few days, Yang Yan has been having a headache.
The adaptation progress for Android 4.0 system hasn't been smooth, and there are quite a few bugs.
Time is too tight!
"Chairman, you're here."
Yang Yan hurriedly walked out, with prominent dark circles under his eyes.
Wang Yi waved and called him outside:
"Have you been staying up late often lately?"
Yang Yan sighed:
"I have some insomnia and anxiety."
He was poached by Wang Yi first, followed by Zhu Changlin.
As a result, the hardware responsible by Zhu Changlin progressed rapidly, and Xingyi Phone is about to mass produce engineering units.
But the software department he is in charge of hasn't finished adapting Android 4.0 yet.
There's nothing to be done, the pressure is too immense!
"Don't be anxious, it's not your fault. Android 4.0 was only released in late October, and we're doing deep customization and adaptation, which is indeed a bit demanding."
Wang Yi patted his shoulder:
"How about this, let's first directly adapt Android 4.0 and just get 4.0 adapted well. As for our XUI deeply customized based on Android 4.0, if it can't be completed, we can postpone it."
Yang Yan had a complicated expression:
"Chairman, I know you're considering us. But if Xingyi Phone launches only with native Android 4.0, it won't highlight the unique features of our XUI!"
"This is indeed a problem."
Wang Yi was also a bit helpless.
The awkwardness lies here: Android 4.0 was released too late, and time is too tight!
If we directly launch XUI based on Android 4.0, there simply isn't enough time, unless the phone's launch is postponed to January, which is unrealistic.
If we directly launch native Android 4.0, then at the press conference, XUI, all the fun features and innovations cannot be showcased!
It's a dilemma.
"What should we do?"
Yang Yan sighed, feeling very helpless.
This was also the reason for his recent anxiety.
Wang Yi a thought sparked, and he came up with a good idea:
"How about this, we'll cut down on the features of XUI 1.0! Since time is tight, let's first implement the most important features and the basic framework. Xingyi phones with XUI 1.0 will be directly launched and listed in December. As for other XUI features, we'll also announce them at the press conference, but they will be implemented in the XUI 1.1 version upgrade in January."
"Brilliant, Chairman!"
Yang Yan's eyes lit up:
"This way, we can have the best of both worlds. By implementing only some features, after Xingyi Phone is launched, it can directly adapt to XUI 1.0, and there's plenty of time. Later, through an OTA update to version 1.1, other features can be realized!"
"Yes, let's do that! There's always a way, don't be anxious anymore."
Wang Yi patted Yang Yan's shoulder.
"No more anxiety, no more anxiety."
Yang Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
"How's the image tuning coming along in the imaging department?"
Wang Yi asked.
"With technical support from the Sony team, progress is smooth, and there are no problems. However, the beauty algorithm is still a bit challenging."
"This must be sorted out. The beauty algorithm is one of Xingyi Phone's core selling points, it cannot be cut!"
Wang Yi emphasized.
"Okay, I'll urge them and guarantee it gets done!"
Yang Yan made a pledge.
Wang Yi nodded and turned to leave.
Having recruited so many engineers during this period, if even the beauty algorithm cannot be handled, then it's useless!
With the beauty algorithm, Xingyi Phone can sell at least 2 million more units!
That's right, it's that exaggerated.
Girls simply cannot resist beauty-filtered photos.
Many boys also use beauty cameras when taking photos.
It's a general trend, there's no way around it.
Beauty filters are like nuclear weapons: if no one uses them, then no one needs to.
But once one person uses them, everyone else has to!
What can defeat magic is always only magic.
Subsequently, Wang Yi returned to his office and called Song Sining:
"Sining, how are the accessory factory negotiations going?"
"The negotiations are almost complete. The largest one has some R&D capabilities, and its workmanship and quality are top-notch. It can produce power banks, charging heads, charging cables, wired earphones, Bluetooth earphones, phone cases, and screen protectors. The acquisition price has been negotiated to 10 million, and can't be lowered any further."
"Ten million it is, then. Just acquire it!"
Wang Yi said generously:
"Then immediately start operations to produce these accessories. Bluetooth earphones can be put off for a bit, but charging cables, chargers, wired earphones, phone cases, and tempered glass screen protectors should all begin production. The first batch of stock should aim for 2 million sets. If that's not enough, add more later!"
"Ah? So many!"
Song Sining was startled:
"Chairman, will these accessories sell this many units?"
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"Of course they will. Our first batch of Xingyi Phones is 1.5 million units. Upon launch, compatible tempered glass screen protectors and phone cases won't be available on the market at all; users will only be able to buy them from our official online store and physical stores! There's no worry about them not selling. At that time, they can be sold alongside Xingyi Phones in Zhenyou and Meiyou stores."
"Understood, Chairman."
Song Sining understood this reasoning.
Wang Yi continued:
"Also, produce some selfie sticks, selfie lights, phone stands, and similar items. Aim for millions in production! Half will be sold online, and half distributed to agents and physical stores."
Song Sining immediately grasped the key point:
"These items have low cost, high profit, and good sales, which can bring in terrifying cash flow!"
"Exactly, that's the point!"
Wang Yi continued:
"Also produce some good-looking phone charms and accessories. Like phone cases, for female users, go for an aesthetic style, making them prettier or cuter. For male users, they can be designed to be cooler. Landscape charms are also good, and plain colors are fine too. You communicate these with the designers. Make more varieties of accessory charms, stocking 50,000 units of each type, and then adjust based on market conditions."
"Understood!"
Song Sining agreed to each point.
Don't underestimate these seemingly insignificant items; their profits are really not low.
Current smartphones are just starting out, and accessories are even more a mixed bag.
Let alone selfie sticks and such, even power banks are rampant with counterfeits.
Inferior power banks with exaggerated specifications sell for over a hundred yuan!
In his previous life, not until 2014 did Xiaomi power banks emerge, 10400mAh, selling for only 69 yuan!
This price not only overturned branded power banks but also all the counterfeits.
After all, counterfeit power banks in 2014 still had to sell for over a hundred yuan.
Branded 10,000mAh power banks were all over a hundred!
Redmi phones for 799 yuan overturned counterfeit phones.
Xiaomi power banks for 69 yuan directly overturned counterfeit power banks.
Lei Jun's contribution in this regard was still very significant.
In 2011-2012, power banks were in their nascent stage, and prices were even more expensive!
Wang Yi remembered that in his previous life, he bought a Biao Wang SSK 6600mAh power bank for 139 yuan!
It was barely considered a small brand, with actual capacity less than 5000mAh.
Currently, 5000mAh power banks from brands like Aigo and SCUD cost between 169-250 yuan!
10,000mAh power banks from brands like Aigo and SCUD cost between 300-600 yuan!
Even counterfeit power banks, as long as their actual capacity is around 5000mAh, cost between 130-150 yuan.
Counterfeit power banks costing seventy or eighty yuan would run out of power after charging a 2000mAh device once.
In these times, power banks are just that expensive!
If Wang Yi made a 6600mAh Xingyi Power Bank 1st generation and sold it for 188 yuan, it would definitely sell out!
If he then made a 10000mAh Xingyi Power Bank 2nd generation and sold it for 299 yuan, it would also sell out!
As for profit?
At a selling price of 188, the profit would be at least 100 yuan.
With Wang Yi's own factory and sales channels, a profit of 130 yuan would be no problem.
For the 299 yuan one, a profit of 200+ yuan is certain!
As for annual sales?
Selling 15-20 million units a year would not be a problem.
Xiaomi Power Bank sold 55 million units in three years, with revenue exceeding 4 billion yuan!
The smaller these items are, the more money they make!
In 2011, phone batteries were around 2000mAh, not durable at all, and power banks were in their nascent stage.
To put it bluntly, the entire market was in a blank stage, and at its most expensive stage!
If Wang Yi launched power banks in 2011, sales would be even higher than Xiaomi's, and he would earn more!
Moreover, it's a rigid demand, a must-buy.
Especially Apple users with 1420mAh batteries, which are even less durable.
Particularly when playing games.
Subsequently, Wang Yi drew two sketches for power bank appearances, sent them to Song Sining, for her to give to designers for refinement.
After acquiring the factory, arrange for the factory to produce.
As for battery cells, Wang Yi directly chose BYD.
As a major shareholder of BYD, he ensures the benefits stay within his own domain.
Just a word to Shopkeeper Wang, and the price will definitely be the lowest.
As for the power bank's control chip, it is naturally Texas Instruments.
For no other reason, Texas Instruments' phone chips failed, but its power control chips are very well made and much cheaper than Qualcomm's.
The Xiaomi power banks in his previous life used Texas Instruments chips.
Of course, when Xingyi Semiconductor's own power management chip is successfully developed next year and mass produced, there will be no need to continue purchasing.
At that time, whether it's for phones or power banks, self-developed battery control chips can be used.
Power control chips, like smart home chips, are not very difficult.
Wang Yi entrusted it to Williams.
Williams can just assign a few people, and it can be handled.
After successful development, directly find SMIC for OEM production, mass produce over 40 million units, half for phones, half for power banks.
This kind of power management chip doesn't have much technical content, the process is also low, and purchasing one only costs about ten-something yuan.
Wang Yi's cost for mass producing through an OEM would only be three or four yuan; producing less would be uneconomical.
Produce more, phones + power banks will eventually use them all up.
The specific parameters of the power banks, and pricing strategies, etc., Wang Yi also wrote them in the email.
Wang Yi wouldn't need to worry about the rest; Song Sining would handle everything properly.
A capable assistant is not just a title.
After sending the email, Wang Yi opened the backend data to check recent revenue and profit.
Entering November, domestic Meiyou and Zhenyou "pure desire" style dresses and autumn wear continued to be unsellable.
However, "bare leg artifacts" sold out like crazy!
One week after launch, "bare leg artifacts" became immensely popular, with total sales exceeding three million units!
Not only did it become the sales champion on Meiyou Mall and Meiyou International Mall, but also on platforms like Taobao, JD.com, and Amazon.
Meiyou flagship stores on the four major e-commerce platforms have also remained open and operational.
Although revenue and profit were not as high as Meiyou Mall, they were still very good.
As long as it can make money and generate profit, operations must continue.
If Wang Yi closed the stores and withdrew from the four major e-commerce platforms, those merchants counterfeiting Meiyou would swarm in, and the gains would not offset the losses.
Three million units, revenue exceeded 700 million, profit exceeded 400 million!
One can only say it's profitable, extremely profitable!
A single category of "bare leg artifacts" generated 700 million in revenue in a week, selling 100 million on average per day; it can only be described as insane, utterly insane.
So much so that Chen Chuanqing rushed directly to the factories, demanding that several major factories frantically increase orders and production.
No choice, it was selling too well.
Fortunately, domestic "pure desire" style dresses and autumn wear were currently unsellable, and to prevent excessive inventory, two major OEM factories had ceased operations, and other factories had also reduced their production lines.
And these freed-up capacities were perfectly used to produce "bare leg artifacts"!
Online + offline, domestically and internationally, selling four to five hundred thousand units a day, it's absolutely insane!
Wang Yi's stock of 5 million "bare leg artifacts", he originally thought would last at least two months.
Now, 3 million units were sold in one week, the remaining 2 million wouldn't even last a week!
They could only frantically increase orders.
Judging by this momentum, "bare leg artifacts" selling well for an entire winter wouldn't be a problem.
Wang Yi hadn't imagined that Meiyou's winter crisis would actually be overcome by "bare leg artifacts"!
Of course, down jackets must also be launched next!
And Meiyou Beauty's sales were also quite good.
Although slightly lower than immediately after launch, but combined online + offline daily, revenue remained stable at over 50 million.
Plus Meiyou and Zhenyou in the apparel sector, with over 100 million in domestic online and offline revenue, and over 50 million in overseas revenue.
Currently, the entire Meiyou Group's daily revenue is maintained at around 320 million!
If game revenue is added, it could reach 330 million!
"Protect the Pomelos" currently has 120 million global users, with total revenue exceeding 200 million, but daily revenue is only around 10 million.
After all, it's just a single-player game; one top-up and gems can be used for a long time.
Even so, with two to three hundred million in revenue per month, it is already very successful.
Compared to "Protect the Radishes" in his previous life, it is even more successful.
The reason is that "Protect the Radishes" in his previous life was only domestic, with limited revenue and users.
"Protect the Pomelos" was international from the start, not only having domestic users but also a vast number of overseas users.
Currently, overseas users account for 30%!
Even if the domestic market is saturated, there are still abundant overseas users.
Revenue and profit are naturally many times that of "Protect the Radishes".
This kind of low-cost small game, earning two to three hundred million a month, is already the envy of many.
Not to mention major game companies like Tencent and NetEase, even miHoYo almost had its "Dao heart" destroyed.
When he met CEO Cai a couple of days ago, CEO Cai was still somewhat questioning life.
He just felt that a low-cost small game by Wang Yi earned more than the games his entire department worked on tirelessly every day, he was truly envious and jealous...
What could Wang Yi say?
He could only smile and console,
"Your games will have a better future and prospects..."
But in terms of earning ability?
"Honkai" might not necessarily catch up to "Protect the Pomelos"!
But the significance of "Honkai" is to accumulate experience and talent, and then create "Genshin Impact".
The profitability of "Genshin Impact" is tens of times that of "Protect the Pomelos"!
To Wang Yi's surprise, the sales of the magazine "Youyan" were also very popular.
Priced at thirty yuan per issue, one week after launch, 200,000 copies were sold!
This achievement is not much worse than established magazines like "Men's Attire".
As a new magazine, it is already very successful.
The 2007 issue of "Men's Attire" featuring Aduo sold out 500,000 copies in three days, which was a miracle.
But sales for other issues were only two to three hundred thousand, or even tens of thousands.
The first issue of "Youyan" sold a staggering 200,000 copies in its first week, which is already very impressive.
It is currently still selling well, and eventually breaking through 300,000 copies should not be a problem.
One can only say that after "Love Is Not Blind", Ye Xiaohe is truly popular.
As the cover figure, she sold really well.
Of course, there's another reason, which is that the outfits inside are all current trends.
Many people bought "Youyan" for Ye Xiaohe.
There were female fans, and also male fans.
And many girls bought "Youyan" to learn about the outfits inside!
In university dormitories, a copy of "Youyan" could serve as a style bible, studied by an entire dorm!
Through this, Ye Xiaohe's popularity also rose again.
After all, "Youyan" sales were not only domestic, but also through Meiyou International Mall, and internationally.
Foreigners also need to study fashion.
Many celebrities even had their assistants buy it back to secretly study it.
After all, the outfits in "Youyan" are the most fashionable trends right now!
They are all based on styles from ten years later, naturally crushing current fashion styles.
Two days later, 1000 engineering units rolled off the production line and were all transported back to Xingyi Technology Park.
(End of chapter)