Digital Theory: iQOO is undergoing a transformation to reach the top 6

At the iQOO3 launch conference in the first half of this year, iQOO brand president Feng Yufei announced the achievements of iQOO in more than a year since its establishment. He cited data from the well-known market research organization GfK and said that since the third quarter of 2019, iQOO has become the TOP7 brand in the Chinese market.

As for how to define TOP7? iQOO product manager @戈蓝V said that iQOO only makes Snapdragon 800 series high-performance mobile phones, and it is not easy to rank seventh. The top ones are Huawei/vivo/OPPO/Apple/Honor/Xiaomi (ranking is in no particular order, Xiaomi includes Redmi), all of which are role models for iQOO to learn from.

Interestingly, iQOO, which achieved TOP7, is not satisfied and is still working hard to hit TOP6. The specific performance is as follows:

1. Expanding the product line: After the release of iQOO3, many careful netizens found that iQOO's product line has undergone tremendous changes. From the original digital series and Neo series, the new Z series and U series have been added, and the chips used have also been changed from Qualcomm to MediaTek.

After expanding its product line, iQOO's product price coverage has also expanded from the original 1,998 yuan to 4,098 yuan to 1,198 yuan to 5,498 yuan. The wider price coverage means that more people will be exposed to iQOO's products.

Data from Zhihu expert @安乎都護府长史 shows that as of June 2020, after expanding its product line, iQOO's cumulative year-on-year growth rate reached 101.40% as a whole, achieving good results. At the same time, iQOO's market share also reached 1.14%, consolidating its position as the top 7 in China.

Image source: Zhihu

2. Make up for product shortcomings: Although iQOO has achieved the top 7 domestic ranking in just over a year, its products have also been criticized. For example, the camera of the mobile phone is not good, and people joke that it can only be used to scan QR codes. For example, iQOO 3 does not have a high refresh rate screen, which is too obvious compared with other brands' flagship phones.

The official also realized the shortcomings of the product. Before the release of the iQOO 5 series, Feng Yufei, president of the iQOO brand, specially issued an open letter, emphasizing the original intention of the iQOO brand: iQOO will focus on the group of users who love iQOO and serve these users who know mobile phones and the Internet best; iQOO will bring users products with ultimate performance and first-class e-sports experience, and become the mobile phone brand that understands users best, making every encounter full of expectations.

Judging from the configuration of the iQOO 5 series, the official also listened to the users' complaints and made up for the shortcomings of the product. Samsung's GN1, periscope lens, 120Hz refresh rate screen, etc. all appeared in the iQOO 5 series, solving the shortcomings of the iQOO 3 in one fell swoop. More importantly, it also uses 120W ultra-fast flash charging, which can fully charge a 4000mAh battery in 15 minutes, giving many users who love the iQOO brand a big surprise.

3. Expand brand influence: Before iQOO 3, iQOO’s fans and users were limited to digital enthusiasts and King of Glory game players. In order to expand iQOO’s brand influence, iQOO began to collaborate with well-known IPs, such as launching the iQOO 3 Transformers Limited Edition and the iQOO Z1 One Piece Limited Edition, becoming the world’s top partner of BMW M Motorsport, and launching the iQOO 5 Pro Track Edition and Legend Edition.

Through collaboration with well-known IPs, the iQOO brand has gradually become known to groups such as anime fans and racing fans, and the brand influence of iQOO has also been expanded accordingly.

4. IoT layout: From iQOO's application for trademarks such as iQOO BOOK, iQOO Pad, and iQOO Watch, we can see that iQOO is also planning to enter the IoT field. Its products will not be limited to mobile phones, and it will launch laptops, tablets, smart watches and other products in the future.

Image source: National Intellectual Property Administration official website

In fact, iQOO has already had some clues about its layout in the IoT field. For example, the early iQOO smart screen projection only supports mobile phone mirroring to computers and TVs, and cannot be operated in both directions. In the iQOO 5 series, this function has been upgraded to multi-screen interaction, which not only allows you to play games and watch TV series on a large screen, but also supports drag-and-drop file transfer, chat, drag-and-drop to edit mobile phone files, and computer-side phone calls.

As for the reasons why iQOO is planning IoT, there are two specific reasons. First, it is a major industry trend. Huawei and Xiaomi have made great achievements in IoT planning for many years. This year, OPPO has also started to make products other than mobile phones, such as smart watches and smart bracelets. As a sub-brand of vivo, iQOO should keep up with the industry trend. Second, IoT has a great impact on the sales of mobile phones. The well-known digital blogger @摩卡 once said that the competition between smartphone manufacturers has upgraded from a single category of mobile phones to a competition of mobile phones + true wireless TWS headphones + watches. Apple, Samsung, and Huawei have all completed their plans and just need to continue to iterate and upgrade. Other manufacturers are trying their best to make watches and headphones. Now, if headphones, watches, etc. are not done well, it will not simply reduce performance, but will directly affect the sales of mobile phones.

From expanding its product lines to laying out IoT, I see that iQOO is undergoing a transformation. In order to hit the TOP6, iQOO is really trying its best!