Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 632 Economic Locomotive S-Series Mobile Phone
August 6, Zhiyun Group headquarters.

Xu Shenxue, Ji Chenghe, Senior Vice President of Zhiyun Group in charge of marketing, Wang Lintu, Senior Vice President of Zhiyun Group and President of the Smart Terminal Business Unit, and more than ten other senior executives of Zhiyun Group held a final strategic meeting to discuss the launch and sales of the new S21 series mobile phones.

At the meeting, Wang Lintu introduced the brand-new S21 series mobile phones to everyone!

As Xu Shenxue listened, he looked at the S21 Max in his hand. Beside him were the S21 Max Pro, which was from the same series but had a larger screen, as well as the S21 standard version and S21 Pro, which had slightly lower performance.

The new generation of S21 Max series phones has not changed in terms of its main appearance features. It still features a capsule-shaped full screen, a metal frame, and a glass back cover.

However, the metal frame of this S21 Max has changed, and its color is different from that of previous models.

At this moment, Wang Lintu pointed to the S21 phone picture on the PPT and explained: "This year we have made changes to the mid-frame material. The S21 standard version and the S21 Pro version continue to use the L35 aluminum alloy material that we have used in previous generations of models. This material has good thermal conductivity, a hardness of 165/HB, a yield strength of 495 MPa, and a tensile strength of 517."

"Since its use in the S15 series mobile phones, our exclusive L35 aluminum alloy material has consistently ranked first among the best aluminum alloy materials for mobile phones!"

"This will continue to be used in both the standard and Pro models this year!"

"In this year's S21 Max and S21Man Pro models, we have adopted a brand-new steel-aluminum composite material, GL21. This material is superior to L35 material in many mechanical properties. It has better wear resistance and better bending resistance!"

"It also has excellent anodizing capabilities, allowing for a variety of different color combinations!"

"Although the cost is higher than that of aluminum alloy, it is lower than that of stainless steel and titanium alloy. The yield rate can be well guaranteed. In the process of large-scale production, we can guarantee a yield rate of 78%, which is not much lower than that of aluminum alloy metal frames!"

"In addition, and quite importantly, this material also has a certain degree of thermal conductivity!"

"In the A20 phone released at the beginning of the year, we used titanium alloy material for the first time in the flagship version of the A20 phone. However, the feedback was not good. This is because the back cover of the phone itself is made of glass, which has poor thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of the titanium alloy material in the metal frame is too low. In addition, some internal space design deficiencies resulted in poor heat dissipation performance of the A20 flagship version, which was criticized by users!"

"This year, we adopted a brand-new self-developed steel-aluminum composite material in the S21 high-end model. Although its strength is slightly lower than that of titanium alloy and stainless steel, the difference is not obvious in daily use and even in common drop tests. However, it has better processing performance, lower cost and better thermal conductivity!"

"In particular, its thermal conductivity is an essential element for maintaining the powerful performance of our S series phones!"

"After all, as our mobile phone performance continues to improve, especially the performance of GPUUI and NPU in the new generation of SOC chips, the instantaneous power consumption is relatively high when performing local AI calculations, which puts forward better requirements for the heat dissipation of mobile phones!"

"From a heat dissipation perspective, aluminum alloy metal frames are the best, but their insufficient hardness and other properties are no longer enough to support the needs of flagship models, especially in recent years, many mobile phone manufacturers have started to use stainless steel and titanium alloy materials... This has put us at a certain disadvantage in our advertising!"

"After all, ordinary users don't care about the huge differences in computing power, especially the NPU core, between these brands' phones and our S-series phones, which leads to different heat dissipation requirements!"

"They just keep saying our phones are made of aluminum alloy... while their phones are made of titanium alloy!"

"Given this market situation, coupled with the performance differences of various materials, we made a comprehensive selection and ultimately chose this steel-aluminum composite material developed by Anlong Precision, which takes into account both thermal conductivity and other physical properties!"

"And this also brings a clear benefit: the cost of this GL21 material is not too high, only about 10 percent higher than that of the L35 material."

As Xu Shenxue listened, he also felt the metal frame made of the GL21 material. Looking at the surface, it was somewhat similar to stainless steel, and the feel was also similar, but there were still some obvious differences.

At this point, Wang Lintu continued, "In addition to the significant changes in the metal frame material, the new MAX model also features a significant change in the back glass, making it more drop-resistant than the back glass used in previous generations of phones."

"The same applies to the front glass of the screen; its wear resistance is even better!"

"At the same time, the new generation of OLED screens has also been optimized for our new under-display ultrasonic fingerprint recognition module!"

"This year, we will equip the MAX and MAX Pro models with both 3D face recognition and in-display ultrasonic fingerprint recognition modules, completely solving the problem of the lack of an important front-facing unlocking scenario for mobile phones: unlocking the phone when not looking at it!"

As Wang Lintu spoke, a demonstration screen appeared: a person was sitting at a desk, and after receiving a message on his phone, he glanced at it, then reached out and gently pressed the lower part of the screen, and the phone unlocked randomly.

Wang Lintu continued, "In order to ensure absolute security, our S series phones have always been subject to relatively large restrictions on the unlocking solution. In the early days, we used a capacitive press fingerprint unlocking solution, and later we started using a 3D face recognition solution in the S15 Max."

"While using 3D facial recognition makes unlocking the phone very convenient when you're looking at it from a certain angle, the advantage of fingerprint unlocking—where you don't need to look at the phone—is lost!"

"We also cannot use under-display fingerprint unlocking technology, as its security is insufficient as a payment-grade unlocking solution!"

"Later, we continued to invest in the research and development of under-display ultrasonic unlocking solutions. Although we developed a usable technical solution a few years ago, it still has certain shortcomings in terms of cost, size, and security. It may be usable for other manufacturers, but our S series phones cannot accept these shortcomings."

"Therefore, Wanjin Technology has been continuously advancing the under-display ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking technology in recent years, and it is gradually maturing and being commercialized!"

"At the beginning of this year, the third-generation under-display ultrasonic unlocking solution was applied to the A20 series phones, and the response was quite good. We continued to improve it, further reducing its size and enhancing security, especially making significant technological advancements in liveness detection!"

"The improved fourth-generation under-display ultrasonic technology will be applied in the MAX and MAX Pro high-end models, working together with the 3D face recognition module to meet the unlocking needs of all usage scenarios!"

"Our fourth-generation under-display ultrasonic fingerprint recognition technology has excellent liveness detection capabilities. It not only detects liveness through sound waves themselves, but also uses our AI core to sense and analyze the bioelectricity on a designated screen area in real time. Only when the biometric features of the two match can the device unlock!"

"Our technical team has tried almost all the hacking methods currently available on the market, and so far has not found a way to fool our new generation of under-display ultrasonic fingerprint technology... From a security perspective, it is a payment-level unlocking solution that is sufficient to unlock our S series phones!"

"Of course, to avoid unknown risks, we will not open the under-display ultrasonic mode as a payment-level mode for the time being, and it is only limited to phone unlocking and regular unlocking!"

"At the same time, this is also a market strategy to continuously develop our 3D facial recognition technology and currently the only payment-level unlocking mode available!"

These days, mobile phones are basically all full-screen phones, and their unlocking methods are also different. Currently, the only unlocking methods that are generally recognized as meeting payment-level requirements are 3D face recognition and capacitive press fingerprint unlocking.

The industry currently believes that under-display optoelectronics and under-display ultrasonic technologies are insufficient as payment-level unlocking solutions.

Zhiyun Group used 3D face recognition on the S20 series phones and started using under-display ultrasonic fingerprint recognition on the A20 phone.

The new S20SX also uses 3D face recognition on the SX/SXL models, which are being cleared out of inventory. However, some older SX models still sold in some emerging markets still use fingerprint recognition.

The new cloud brand uses a cheaper under-display optical sensor and a side fingerprint sensor... However, although the new cloud phone is cheaper, it still doesn't use 2D face recognition to fool people... 2D face recognition can be unlocked with any photo, so it has no security whatsoever.

Although the NewCloud brand focuses on the mid-to-low-end market and has separated from the Zhiyun brand, it is still a product under the Zhiyun Group and would not do such a thing... Although few users of NewCloud brand phones care about security!
However, just because users don't care about security doesn't mean that manufacturers can ignore it!
Therefore, the use of under-display photoelectric recognition for the Xinyun brand is already the bottom line for products under the Zhiyun Group...

Other companies, like Apple, use 3D facial recognition, while some older models still use fingerprint recognition...

Huawei has also started using 3D face recognition in its flagship models, and they will also add a fingerprint sensor and an in-display optical fingerprint sensor to assist in its use.

Samsung uses some under-display ultrasonic technology in its flagship models, but also uses under-display optoelectronic technology in some other models.

Then there are Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo, as well as Vcool Electronics and some other second- and third-tier manufacturers. Their mid-to-high-end models are basically all under-display fingerprint recognition, and some of them will add side or rear capacitive fingerprint recognition.

To save costs, low-end models don't even have under-display fingerprint sensors; they just have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 2D face recognition feature.

And you know what? Unlocking with 2D facial recognition is incredibly convenient... How convenient? Well, let's put it this way: it's possible to unlock the phone using a photo of someone who looks similar to the owner!
In terms of security, the key point is that "something is better than nothing"!
Each of the above unlocking solutions has its own advantages and disadvantages, but none of them can cover all use cases.

Including the 3D facial recognition technology promoted by Zhiyun Group... This technology has the best security, extremely fast unlocking speed at a certain frontal angle, and is also the most convenient... Simply put, it unlocks with a glance! However, under non-eye contact conditions, or if the frontal angle is insufficient, then it cannot unlock!
In practical use, this defect manifests as follows: when people are sitting and have their phones on one side of a table, they cannot unlock them without turning to the side or picking up the phone!
This kind of usage scenario is very common among working and studying groups... It's normal to put your phone aside while working, and if you receive a message on your phone while working, being able to unlock it with one hand and glance at the message becomes a strong need.

There will also be other use cases... though not many, there will always be some.

Therefore, 3D face recognition cannot cover all usage scenarios, and it also needs a front-press unlocking solution as a supplement!

At the same time, this additional unlocking solution must be secure enough... Zhiyun S series phones have always placed great emphasis on security.

Currently, the solution for Zhiyun Group's S21 Max and S21 Max Pro is to use the fourth-generation under-display ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking solution as a supplement!

Xu Shenxue is no stranger to under-display ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking solutions, as the previous A20 series phones already used Wanjin Technology's third-generation under-display ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking solution.

While Wang Lintu was explaining, Xu Shenxue also used it. After registering his fingerprint, he placed the phone on the table with the screen off, then tapped the screen with his finger. After the screen lit up, a fingerprint icon appeared on the bottom of the screen. He then placed his finger on it and unlocked the phone smoothly.

Then he placed his finger directly in the ultrasonic fingerprint collection area under the screen and tapped it lightly. After the screen lit up, he put his finger down and pressed it lightly. This time the process was even faster... The screen unlocked almost simultaneously after it lit up.

It's quite convenient!
At this point, Wang Lintu began explaining the other features of the S21 series phones, the most important of which should be the S1203 chip.

This chip is said to use the N4 process... In fact, the N4 process is the low-power process of Zhiyun Microelectronics' five-nanometer process, which can also be called the second-generation five-nanometer process.

However, for marketing purposes, the name N4 process was specifically used, and it was advertised as an equivalent four-nanometer process.

Therefore, the relationship between N4 and N5 processes in Zhiyun Microelectronics is somewhat similar to the relationship between 12nm and 14nm processes.

Although the performance is stronger, it still belongs to the same process node in essence!
Zhiyun Microelectronics is mass-producing the S1203 using the N4 process in a 5-nanometer wafer fab, and does not require a more advanced semiconductor factory.

Compared to last year's S1103, this year's S1203 has seen an overall performance improvement of about 15% in both CPU and GPU areas.

However, there is a significant performance improvement in the NPU core that provides AI driving capabilities, because this year's S1203 chip uses dual NPU cores.

The goal is very simple: to further enhance local AI computing power to meet the needs of more local AI functional software.

For example, when organizing and categorizing local photo albums by people or items, the analysis and organization process becomes more accurate and faster...

The album management module in the Zhiyun S series phones has many functions. For example, when the keyword is set as "document", the album management function will analyze all photos in the album that contain various documents or similar documents and collect them into a separate album.

It will also provide some basic functions such as background removal and background replacement in the local photo album. For example, you can directly change the color of clothes and the background of people in the photo album. These functions require the AI ​​core, namely the NPU core, to provide computing power support.

Another important function is to provide offline local translation functionality for the local translation module... Zhiyun's translation module is directly connected to Yun AI, and can perform both local and offline translation.

The offline translation uses Yun AI, whose artificial intelligence translation function is very powerful. It can translate all sorts of random things, including slang, internet memes, dialects, and numerical symbols.

Now, the Zhiyun S series phones aim to take this further, turning the cloud AI translation function into a local offline AI translation function.

Image processing or generation, language translation, and text generation or modification are the three most important functions of Yun AI when it is geared towards individual users. Now, the S-series mobile phone project of Zhiyun Group is gradually localizing these functions!

Localization is not only to allow users to use the service when they are not connected to the internet, but also to save the huge computing resources in the cloud... Providing users with these basic free Yun AI artificial intelligence services also requires computing power costs.

Replacing some of Yun AI's cloud services with local computing power can reduce the computing cost of cloud services... This computing cost may not seem like much at first glance, but considering the large number of mobile phones in stock and the frequent usage needs of users.

Especially now that more and more users are getting used to using Yun AI for various operations, the cloud computing power cost of Yun AI will become higher and higher in the future... Now, Zhiyun Group is trying to save on cloud computing power costs by strengthening the local AI core computing power to replace computing power.

This is the main purpose of Zhiyun Group in significantly strengthening the NPU core, or AI core, when designing the S1203 chip... to improve the user experience of using AI functions locally, support more local AI functions, and at the same time save Yun AI's computing power costs.

However, this also leads to higher instantaneous power consumption and heat dissipation issues for mobile phones... Increased power consumption can be solved by solid-state batteries!

The high energy density of solid-state batteries not only brings longer battery life, but more importantly, it can provide greater power support for mobile phones to support their higher power consumption.

The result is a greater power consumption and the resulting heat dissipation problem. The Zhiyun S series phones have adopted a number of measures to enhance heat dissipation. For this reason, they do not use the titanium alloy mid-frame used by other manufacturers, but instead use steel-aluminum composite material to ensure the thermal conductivity of the metal mid-frame.

As power consumption and heat dissipation requirements continued to increase, engineers at Zhiyun Group's S-series phones began to consider using aluminum alloy metal frames in models for the next few years, and also considered optimizing the back cover, such as using both glass and metal materials.

As the computing power inside a mobile phone increases, so does its power consumption... and the heat dissipation problem becomes increasingly prominent. At that time, mobile phone heat dissipation will become a very challenging issue for mobile phone engineers.

The metal frame material has changed, a dual unlocking solution of 3D face recognition and under-display ultrasonic fingerprint is adopted, and the local AI computing power has been greatly improved... These are the main changes of this year's S21 Max/S21 Max Pro compared to last year's models!
On the surface, this change doesn't seem significant, at least not in terms of appearance. Whether it will substantially stimulate users' desire to upgrade is hard to say. For users of the Zhiyun S series phones, those bought a few years ago are still usable, and the new phones don't offer much change, so why bother upgrading?

However, the adoption of a dual unlocking solution combining under-display ultrasonic fingerprint technology and 3D face recognition technology will help attract some users of mid-to-high-end models from other mobile phone brands to upgrade to the Zhiyun S21 Max/Max Pro model.

In response, Ji Chenghe's marketing department will focus its marketing efforts on this dual-unlocking plan.

At the same time, they remarketed the concept of AI phones, emphasizing the phone's powerful local AI computing capabilities and other related concepts.

The goal is to stabilize sales of the S21 series phones this year... Yes, this year, the target for Zhiyun Group's S series phones is not growth, but to stabilize sales!
With global smartphone sales declining year by year, for the S series, which has huge sales volume and targets the high-end market, maintaining sales volume is a victory... as for increasing sales, we can't expect.

In order to stabilize the sales of the S series phones, various departments of Zhiyun Group have also gone to great lengths.

Even Xu Shenxue himself had to personally endorse and even praise the S21 phone at the launch event!
Xu Shenxue was praising and endorsing the project from above, while Ji Chenghe was preparing to promote it in various occasions. Meanwhile, the various departments of the marketing department were carrying out targeted marketing activities globally!

Regardless of the circumstances, we must stabilize the sales volume, revenue, and profits of the S series phones.

Only by stabilizing the sales of the S series phones can we stabilize the entire smart terminal business, and thus stabilize a series of related businesses, including software and internet services.

Although the S series mobile phones are no longer the most profitable single product in the Zhiyun Group, the APO series computing cards have become the most profitable single product in the Zhiyun Group since the beginning of this year.

However, for the entire Zhiyun Group, the S series mobile phones remain the most important core product, without exception!

Because the S series phones have never been just a single phone; they come with a whole host of related services.

For Zhiyun Group, it's like the locomotive of a high-speed train, pulling a whole bunch of carriages behind it.

It is not only an indispensable engine for Zhiyun Group, but also for the entire domestic consumer electronics industry chain.

A rough estimate suggests that the market size of the S series phones alone is around 1.5 trillion yuan, while the market size of the supply chain and related derivative industries it drives is even larger.

No one can ignore such a product; even Xu Shenxue must take it very seriously.

(End of this chapter)