The cool thinking behind the smart hardware frenzy: How many pseudo just needed?

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested." "It is Jiang Yang not know how many times to refuse the invitation of various internet organizations." As vice president of ink weather, the head of air fruit, he has also been invited to participate in the smart home standard discussion by unknown organizations. China RFID Industry Alliance Secretary-General Ouyangyu all the year round to participate in Intelligent City Research. What impresses him most is that a state-level impoverished county, which has not enough basic bandwidth, has to carry out intelligent cities.

This upsurge is not unreasonable. Cisco's latest report shows that in the next 10 years, the Internet of things will bring a huge market worth 14.4 trillion dollars. Internet for all things to provide a platform for communication, including intelligent medical, smart grid, intelligent education and many other hot industry applications, but also with cloud computing, large data, mobile Internet and other closely related, has a broad market prospects. The Internet of Things is considered to be the next economic growth point after real estate, and it has become the hot spot of the national government at home and abroad.

As the key element of the Internet of things, intelligent hardware also became popular. The latest statistics show that in 2014, there are 25 hardware manufacturers through VC and other means to achieve financing, Preangel angel investors Wang Lijie more than 20 more than a dozen intelligent hardware companies.

Does this market really exist?

Smart hardware market is not everyone imagine a blue sea, thousands of network CEO Shangzhonghong told business value reporter, "Intelligent hardware start-up failure rate is very high, from the product angle of up to 95%, from the company's point of view also has at least 85%." "Entrepreneurs often want to take a product into the first, but ignore the smart hardware just need may be a pseudo proposition." These intelligent products are designed to help people live more comfortably, and are not an integral part of people's lives like air. Haier has launched the u+ platform plan since 2000, but 14 years later, Haier has not made much contribution in this field. We can't help but ask, does this market really exist?

As an observer of the rise of smartphones, Jiang Yang has different views. In his view, today's smart hardware is likely to go the way of smart phones.

Before the iphone came out, smartphones were thought to be bogus. People think that a cell phone can call, text messages on the line, do not need additional functions. At that time, the Nokia Intelligent Machine Engineers and Jiang Yang chat, said he was very ashamed, has been the function of the team to feed them, the smart team in the company's position is not high. Until the iphone came out, the concept of smartphones was defined.

In fact, in 2008, the iphone's first-generation phone did not win the function of Nokia E71, the function is not important, it is important that users how to perceive the function of the iphone, apparently at this point to win. In Jiang Yang's words, "the most important thing is to have products out." "Of course, the product here refers to the ability to launch a strong challenge to existing industries."

Far across the ocean in the United States, nest to 3.2 billion U.S. dollars by Google revenue in the bag, is considered to be Google Layout smart home market when the important pieces; founded just 4 years, Nest was quickly ranked among the 10 major U.S. thermostat suppliers, after the ranking of the first Honeywell. We know that the thermostat field has been relatively mature, nest still in a short period of time will be a large number of automatic end of the building to fight for decades or even a century old company "down".

The key to winning the nest is that it does not make a fuss about mobile devices or smart panels, as most vendors do, but rather thinks about designing service parameters as a housekeeper, based on the space environment and user needs.

What is the high threshold of smart hardware?

The nature of the internet of things determines its relatively decentralized form, from the Internet of things to the introduction of the end product is a long process. Because many of them are cross-industry, they need to be more focused, but also work closely together. "Beyond the technical challenges of the past, more challenges are actually new and never have been," Li Tingwei, president of the Greater China region, told business value. ”

The team management, manufacturing process and control of the supply chain in the hardware research and development process are undoubtedly the three mountains in front of the start-up companies, especially the Internet companies without a lack of hardware research background. Programming-born Jiang Yang does not have a hardware background before adding ink weather. Air fruit is an unprecedented challenge for ink weather and Jiang Yang. Hardware product development involves many people, there are problems, it is clear who is responsible for a certain degree of difficulty. "Soft and hard cloud comprehensive management Office" is the Air Fruit Team Micro-group name, Jiang Yang role is the first time to find out the problem and solve, to avoid the dispute between the staff. Jiang Yang that this is his greatest value to the team.

Smart hardware for the product profile has a very high demand, strange appearance will leave consumers a bad first impression. The Moto Smart watch won plaudits for its relevance to the popular Aesthetic round dial design. "Business value" reporter in Shanghai Internet of Materials Innovation center of the unveiling ceremony, saw a large number of Exhibitors intelligent hardware products. One of them impressed the journalist not because it was too good, but because it was so weird. If it is not a staff introduction, it is difficult for reporters to connect the objects and rings in front of them. This product is similar to the function of a smart watch, but it appears in the form of a ring. Smart ring and smart watch, smart hand ring compared to the process design is more difficult, it is smaller, consumers have a near-demanding appearance.

The factory is a completely unfamiliar environment for internet companies, which can be said to be a nightmare for internet companies. "Make me exactly the same as an apple!" "This is a way for many internet companies to make demands, and it often makes factories feel confused." Hardware production process has more than 20 ways, different materials, different processes out of the sense of digital, only accurately describe each link in order to get the desired products. Although the current yield of air fruit has reached 80%, the most dismal time is just 6%.

Internet companies that are accustomed to fast iterations are scrupulous in the face of hardware production. Turman last year in the case of only a design plan, rashly began to book, underestimated product production difficulties led to watch design, production into a passive rush, and eventually become a "jump ticket" bitter fruit. In 2011, the "Network Health scale", which was launched by the plump net, neglected the processing process of the factory, the chip was not supplied, and eventually led to the delay in delivery, and for all the subscribers, it caused the economic loss of million dollars.

Bo Tong and the Shanghai City of Things Networking Center, the Shanghai Municipal government, Jiading to create the Shanghai Internet of materials innovation base. Li Tingwei told reporters, "Our industry chain people are here, together to create an ecosystem." No matter what the difficulties, can be resolved here. "Here, Bo Tong will provide ODM manufacturers to help developers build, stock, warehousing." The Master Rice Masters program has brought many world-renowned design gurus to Shanghai, including Apple's former design guru Aislinger, and the team that is in Shanghai's networking innovation base will have the opportunity to have the master design the product for them. Once the idea is approved, it will apply to the government's Innovation fund with the help of the Shanghai micro-system of CAs. These measures have reduced the threshold to some extent and accelerated the conversion of creativity to application.

When can we detonate consumer enthusiasm?

The market of smart hardware products, despite the enthusiasm of young consumers, but also a lot of people in the purchase after the big call, smart hardware products are often in the fresh after the "limbo". Li Tingwei said,

"There is no explosive growth in smart homes because there are too many alternatives," he said. For example, with the app, we can sit with the hands of air-conditioning, but actually stand up and take one step can be done. Everyone has been exploring, now realize the control and connection, this is the first step, but also need to be based on this control and connection to obtain large data, really for ordinary people to bring benefits. ”

In Ouyangyu's view, the most closely linked to consumers can detonate the market. Recently, Ouyangyu to each door of the house has a pair of children "gadgets", the price is within 10 yuan, a shelf door, a shelf, left home when the door closed, once the door opened can be issued an alarm, using the RFID technology. And can direct hit consumer pain point of the products are not many, most intelligent hardware products from the real intelligence is still a long distance.

Ouyangyu told reporters that his body many indicators are high, sometimes snoring in the evening will be apnea. "The products on the market are copies of the past blood pressure, heartbeat, and a sudden stop of breath, the alarm can ring, save my life, such things do not." "In the area of food safety, which is closely related to the common people, intelligent hardware products are rarely involved.

Unlike in the past, the age of IoT will face a greater challenge, and the determinants of success have grown from a single variable to several variables. In China, especially in this fast-changing market, everything is unknown. Many of the things that you used to think mature are becoming immature, and there are many immature things, but slowly become mature. Li Tingwei told reporters, "It is difficult to use the right and wrong, mature and immature to describe the internet industry chain, because there are mature parts, there are immature parts, from the overall business model, I believe there are many immature." That's why it gives thousands of entrepreneurs plenty of opportunities.

"In the era before the internet of Things, Bo Tong only worked with leading companies in the market, but the era of IoT changed the industry's innovation model, and small companies could become a great company," he said. ”

This is also the charm of the internet of things, small companies can instantly ignite the enthusiasm of the market.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)