After the bubble, the tip of the smart hardware and the Flames

When the enthusiasm of intelligent hardware entrepreneurs gradually cooled, the OEM and the traditional manufacturers of the smart hardware has begun to gradually enter the public eye, after the bubble, entrepreneurship subsided, the emergence of institutions, smart hardware, another pattern is emerging.

Come to Shenzhen soon can discover, this is called the hardware Hollywood Place, the air obviously did not have last year's fervor, you may say is the entrepreneur more rational, is willing to precipitate down to ponder some things, but I thought more is the setback helpless. Looking back, whether investors, entrepreneurs or the media, in 2013 and early 2014, everyone on the intelligent hardware is no less crazy than the 2000-year internet bubble, all the hot money, all the enthusiasm of entrepreneurs and media strokes are in this direction, but more than a year later, the bubble a poke broke.

Misfit, Mai Kai, Yun Yue, Picooc ... The company that got the money to make a good product, and other once famous intelligent hardware products days may not be so good, I learned is that some made a prototype, but can not be mass production, some volume production, good product rate is less than 50%, or hardware problems, or the algorithm is too imprecise. One time see Cheng old man, he told me, when he wears a well-known hand ring, when he hands out to show strenuous exercise, strenuous exercise is in the rest. Although many wearable products claim to be accurate, you really don't know who to trust. Sometimes a pair of watch hands slide to measure the heart rate and breath, and each result is different.

At this end of the hardware, really let the entrepreneur recruit a fatal blow is the production! Those who have studied abroad or from Kyoto to their identity has an infinite sense of superiority to the factory when a hick think by virtue of their own shiny identity want to let people play with you, the factory does not talk about fun, others want is an order! Intelligent hardware for the factory, is a new thing, in the process of exploration will be uncertain and uncontrollable, although these two factors are often accompanied by innovation, but the factory is the pursuit of income stability. Especially for small factories, they need to survive and need to feed their workers. Perhaps at first, it would be curious to see if everyone was doing smart hardware. But when the toy affects its normal income, it will not hesitate to abandon it. Hundreds of of one-time will make them miserable. If they can't see your future, they won't play with you. Even if you are willing to play with you, there is not necessarily the strength to make good products. In this face of the world, no matter how there is connotation, and ultimately look at the face, the shape of the product will not win in any case consumers favor.

So some people hope that the Fuji Kang, think that there are companies endorsement can rest easy. Look at Turman and billion airlines, you should know what's going on. For such a big company, smart hardware is not its main business, it may just be to put the tentacles in front, explore the forefront, so do not want to be left behind by the times, nothing more. It will not concentrate on the resources to support you to do this thing, so the start-up companies in the process of cooperation, completely in the wrong state, there is no right to speak. A smart watch to do and design is simply the difference between the recent plan to set up their own production line in the village, while another, good product rate is not satisfactory. Foxconn will not take a low stance to focus on such a small team.

When the students are fighting to spit blood, most people originally eager to the crowd reflex-like retreat. Techspace founder Chanson said, "There is a river between the participants and the Watchers, and now the situation is, the person who tried it, some people were badly beaten, and the people who wanted to start a business were afraid to cross the river." "The other side is too cold to be near." So that investors have a sense of anxiety about a project shortage.

And the situation is very contrast to what has been sitting on the OEM manufacturers and internet companies, they like a wake of the beast, got up shaking body, twisted neck ready to do a big fight, all in this year concentrated into. From the visual data, according to the call time revealed that now they have received the project, the proportion of startups and large companies in half, and in Shenzhen, the local Huaqiang Cloud valley, the proportion rose to 30%, of which OEM manufacturers accounted for 20%, the transformation of large companies accounted for 10%; even in the network of hardware entrepreneurs, The ratio also increased to 10%, the higher the ratio. Although it is a partial understanding of some cases, but enough to glimpse.

BAT, Millet, 360, music, etc. large Internet enterprises in the intelligent hardware layout for all to see, but not to mention, in fact, more not so huge less high-profile listed companies, large and unknown traditional enterprises and foundry factory is another huge group can not be ignored. Among them, some used to help people to do the hardware program outsourcing companies, and some were to do enterprise-level CNC products companies, but also to overseas enterprises to do foundry factories, their products may be temperature control, watches, smart lights.

For example, do the universal router born to do the air purifier of the galactic cloud; has made tablets and other digital products to make smart watches easy square digital, do electronic cars and IC design to do smart equipment Desay, struggling to enter the intelligent home of shun Zhou technology ... And, of course, there's a bunch of Huaqiang north, you can't name it. But have a wealth of hardware experience on behalf of the factory.

These enterprises have a common characteristics, but also can be said to be weak, they can realize that the previous kind of products to go channels, stuffy way to make money more and more not in line with the mainstream, but also eager to shape their own brand, but do not know how to build their own visibility and brand, So the birth of some like Huaqiang Cloud Valley, such as brand and market planning outsourcing companies, even before the roll call time also announced the abandonment of the public, more inclined to packaging and marketing. In addition to relying on the original channels and outsourcing, they are also keen to participate in various online activities, the promotion of the public, began to use such as micro-letter, micro-bo such a social platform.

But the advantage of these factories is that on the one hand, in the past to do enterprise-class products of listed companies, ordinary large traditional enterprises, they have other aspects of product income to support the development of intelligent hardware business, there is enough money to try the wrong, do not like entrepreneurs to worry about survival or death of such a human burnout problem. On the other hand, most of these enterprises have accumulated in the hardware field before, familiar with the industrial chain of hardware products, in the production of hardware less mistakes. When they wake up, open their eyes and follow the direction of the fallen entrepreneur, they see the smart hardware that a tempting ocean, the fire of passion is burning more and more flourishing.

With the expansion of the hot and cold difference, a new pattern is forming, the start-up company gradually sadly away from the field, the big company gradually stage, the protagonist changed the candidate. Unlike many people who think that the smart hardware sector is an entrepreneur's paradise, I think that this area, like any other area, is home to big organizations and is more brutal for startups, on the internet, A small company may soon be able to pull away from the big companies behind them by virtue of their strong executive power and the flexibility of small firms, and quickly grow into giants such as Google and Facebook, but in the area of smart hardware, because of the long cycle of hardware manufacturing itself and the strong demand for various resources, The two major advantages of startups on the Internet, speed and flexibility are not available at this time, so it is not easy to have the opportunity, of course, I do not object to part of the long tail market has the opportunity to this view.

If you really want to say that this is their paradise, I would like to understand that, such as Seeed, FabLab, Arduino, such as the Organization for some like DIY geek provide a variety of modular tools, let them build their own gadgets, such as the Assembly of their own cars, their own robots, On the spacecraft around the freedom to change the lights, add cameras and so on, from the DIY process, they feel fun, do not care about survival, do not care about sales, of course, at this time, you just like other ordinary consumers, is a maker, not an entrepreneur.

Finally can not help but spit slot, start-up companies are gradually shrinking, but why do people continue to do intelligent hardware incubator? Presumably, they think that smart hardware is a trend, but they don't know what to do, but they have to do something.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)