When will the smart hardware fire up?

Absrtact: When will intelligent hardware be able to fire? This is probably the hardest question to answer in the IT industry right now. Recently, Millet launched 79 Yuan Smart bracelet, and Lenovo also launched the Internet entrepreneurial Platform and released the platform to hatch the first batch of three innovative products: intelligent

When will the smart hardware fire up? This is probably the hardest question to answer in the IT industry right now.

Recently, Millet launched 79 Yuan Smart bracelet, and Lenovo also launched the Internet entrepreneurial Platform and released the platform "Hatch" The first batch of three innovative products: smart glasses, smart routers and intelligent air purifier. The giant's entry, a time of intelligent hardware concept was once again pushed to the top of the heat wave.

The rise of the last wave of mobile internet, entrepreneurial environment is also improving, the various manufacturers want to follow this wave, by virtue of a "card" and capture the psychology of hot spots, have killed will go in. A lot of real gold and silver smashed down, but whether for investors or entrepreneurs, the so-called "explosion" when can appear, when the market can mature, we all have no bottom.

Intelligent hardware distribution platform naming Time CEO Zhang You told the 21st century Economic report that last year, the platform's smart hardware products about 200, and this year only half, this number has increased 5-6 times.

Smart hardware is going to be the next wave, but why is there no real product that can impress people at home? According to the 21st Century Economic Report reporter survey, the industry chain is not mature, entrepreneurs and supply chain contradictions between the various aspects are now prominent problems.

At present, Shenzhen and Beijing are staging smart hardware "tale of a city." These two local entrepreneurs have different knowledge backgrounds, different specialties, and different problems, but who can win the lead in the end?

The whole market, it seems, is still waiting for the maturity of the industrial chain, while also waiting for a real burst point.

The savage period of the industrial chain

In Shenzhen Huaqiang North, the smell-sensitive sellers are already selling smart hardware, including smart watches, hand rings and other products that measure data on various signs. Huaqiang north of the electronics market even opened a "wearable equipment zone", is currently attracting investment, and launched the "first three months rent-free" benefits.

However, according to the 21st Century Economic Report Field survey found that the area has more than 20 counters, but the manufacturers only five or six, the entire area is empty. And the overall product is very rough, electronic market operators are mainly selling mobile phones and tablets, when the reporter asked whether the smart watch to sell, the seller from the warehouse to take out products.

"Few people ask, it's hard to sell, so there's still a cell phone in the closet." "There are sellers tell reporters, some peers will boast every day can sell hundreds of smart watch, or a foreigner came to make a big list, but in fact basically are bragging."

As a daily contact with consumers of Huaqiang North Channel business, to a certain extent they reflect the market response and demand. Now there are a lot of information about smart hardware on the Internet, but they are still unwilling to invest, mostly just chasing the trend of some small attempts, or because of the original OEM manufacturers have business dealings, emotional help on behalf of the factory put products on the counter display.

At present, many of the original factories in Shenzhen have moved to Dongguan, these factories are basically the original production of mobile phones or tablets, and they also received a number of smart hardware small orders. "The overall share of this list is largely negligible. "A generation of factory officials told reporters that if the market did not see a lot of reliable products, in fact, reflects the industrial chain has problems."

Since the advent of smartphones, the entire industry chain has changed. Before the manufacture of traditional hardware equipment, from the chip, to a large design house will be the foundation of the hardware and software solutions are realized, and then to OEM, ODM manufacturers will produce products, and finally sell this product to consumers, the middle are stronger manufacturers to intervene.

"And now the smart hardware is a blooming stage, the strength of the manufacturers to enter relatively small, and smart hardware is to make a variety of things intelligent, do something thousands of things, so that the current industry entrepreneurs everywhere." "The above-mentioned plant owner told reporters that unless you see the product will be sold out of the possibility, or will not be random orders." "If the product comes out at this time, but it doesn't sell, there's a risk for the factory," he said. ”

Looking at the current "blossom" of intelligent hardware products, generally can be divided into four kinds: one is in the traditional home appliances or electronic products on the improvement of products, such as intelligent sound, intelligent routers, etc., the second is based on the mobile phone industry chain to improve, do the extension of mobile phone terminal, including smart hand ring, smart watch, Some intelligent watches have relative independence. Third, by virtue of their own hardware technology, independent development of hardware products, and often this type of products on the market has not appeared; four, according to the needs of users creatively introduce a product concept, but still in the conceptual stage.

The industry chain, it seems, has yet to meet the development needs of the industry.

Complex upstream supply chain

This July, hammer phone founder Luo published a "Tears" announcement, said that they encountered a supply chain problems, including "product line is not running-in", "workers on the new model assembly operation is not skilled", "the initial supply of materials instability", "quality control standards are not fully unified" and other complex factors.

This situation is almost commonplace in the smart hardware industry. By the end of last year, the technology that produced smart watches was also encountering a jump in the product. Turman Watch claimed to have 18,698 bookings within 14 hours, originally announced the delivery time of November 11, but due to supply chain problems, until December 22 Turman only issued the first batch of 500 testing machines.

Turman technology director of the supply chain VP Lanxiao told reporters that before the Turman jump ticket is to make a perfect surface of the watch, but encountered some specific problems. "First screen and frame from the plane to make curved, the frame made of plastic will rebound, if the metal does not meet the design we want, the final plastic and metal combination, the product quality is not satisfied." ”

In fact, there are two intelligent hardware developers in China, one is the background of the Internet company, with a good idea to dabble in smart hardware; the other is a hardware company background, according to the reality of their own hardware technology to come out to do products. "The two developers, based on the geographical background of two locations in Beijing and Shenzhen, are roughly half the same." Zhang You told reporters.

And for developers in the background of internet companies, the biggest headache now is the opaque supply chain.

A domestic developer once handed over the product to Foxconn, but finally ran into the problem of capacity-skipping. "Foxconn accepts a project that is highly valued at the top level and says it will use their strictest standards and procedures." "The problem, the developers say, is that the lower-level executive doesn't think so, they just get paid and it's hard to make products with the strictest standards."

"There are a lot of developers who think that I'm handing it over to Foxconn and they're doing it for me. "The entrepreneur says that the grassroots workers are somewhat inert."

For example, there are a number of standards for manufacturing in the electronics industry, and if customers do not have a contract, the plant will naturally be manufactured according to the simplest standards. "For example, a USB http://product.it.sohu.com/list/subcate_682_1.html interface, if I did not ask the factory how many times the interface should be able to plug, the generation of the factory will use the lowest standards." The developers complained.

"For the factory, they are mainly making small manufacturing profits, and they have invested a lot of mold and other costs to produce, it is difficult to ask them to be as innovative as the Internet." "3db Hardware founder Zhu Jizhi said that for those who have venture into the Internet companies, innovation has failed to have the money to burn, but for the factory, to let them casually modify the equipment is not possible, unless there is such a big Apple orders."

In particular, such large-scale factories as Foxconn, all of which serve Apple, Samsung and previous Nokia, are not necessarily small factories, and the system may react more slowly. Zhu Jizhi says the phenomenon is essentially a matter of human management.

In addition, there are many problems with the docking of entrepreneurs and suppliers. Reporter learned that sometimes some large suppliers at the bottom of the staff will be rent-seeking, the key components will often appear because of some factors out of stock, so that developers are greatly diverted.

And if the components buy fake or quality problems, small entrepreneurs can only consider themselves unlucky, suppliers will have staff costs and communication costs, it is difficult to directly help some small entrepreneurs to solve specific problems. "And these problems can be solved without money." ”

Some developers say that many domestic handset manufacturers will use the shell produced by a brand manufacturer, but they have avoided the brand because of their experience with the supply chain. "Because the brand executives are constantly in turmoil, they will have supply problems, and from this example, we can see how complex the supply chain industry itself is." ”

"Lab Products"

But in the eyes of upstream supply chain practitioners, they are only responsible for manufacturing, and there is no responsibility and cost to take on the various "bizarre" needs of entrepreneurs.

The director of the Dongguan Plant told the 21st century Economic report that they often received orders from companies to produce "laboratory products".

"Once there was a government agency that found us wanting to do a product, the function is to monitor some criminal suspects, size like button batteries, but also not easy to find and easy to recycle." The official said that although the price is very good to talk about, but with the current industry average level of technology can not get out of this product, so refused.

Viano, another foundry manufacturer in Dongguan, is now receiving a list of smart watches produced by a subsidiary of an operator. But because of the first version of the product, their factory out of the low yield, the manufacturing cost is very high.

Viano Deputy general manager Gao Songyi said, the production process, the layout of a standard production line, and then copy the second third line, the general will encounter problems. "Now the second edition of the product, at the beginning of the design, the factory and the customer began the technical exchange, the product entered the mass production stage." ”

Shangan, director of the Department of Core City Development, told the 21st century economic reporter that he had been exposed to a lot of entrepreneurs will encounter supply chain problems. For example, an entrepreneur produces a smart stereo, with the supply chain docking in a variety of situations.

"Stereo is actually a relatively simple product, after all, the original industry has been relatively mature, developers think they only do software is very easy, and sound manufacturers received this list is also very happy." Shangan said that since the sound maker had not done this kind of hardware, it started to charge about 100,000 of the development fee.

In fact, Internet entrepreneurs in the Internet product development that a set of ideas is not suitable for hardware: Internet products are generally the first idea, as the industry changes the idea of evolving, in the Internet products only need to upgrade the version of the iteration, and sometimes the pursuit of rapid speed, because if this product is not novel, It's hard for consumers to pay. But in hardware, this kind of thinking does not apply.

"Developers from the market or prospective customers receive different information, that some features are not joined to sell completely, and voice control and other functions not only modify the software can be successful." Shangan said that the entrepreneurial team to find audio manufacturers to communicate, but manufacturers modify product molds and recruit new engineers need development fees, repeatedly such exchanges, manufacturers simply do not do.

In fact, in the supply chain problem solving, the human factor is more prominent. "Then the team found someone who knew the hardware and finally solved the problem," he said. "Shangan said.

Even big companies like Apple have problems with the supply chain, the key is the ability of entrepreneurs to solve problems, and these problems are not a formula can be solved. For internet entrepreneurs, the lack of hardware industry background is its largest short board, such as the normal quality of the mobile phone industry standard is 3 per thousand, but some do not understand the standards of supply chain companies will even sign with the factory to allow 1% bad rate of the list, this time they do not realize the problem.

Lanxiao told reporters that the previous Turman jump ticket is partly because of the supply chain management deficiencies, she believes that all companies should have their own professional supply chain evaluation control, and later Turman learn from the supply chain professionals to manage the standards of all products for the factory.

"Entrepreneurs should not be expected to have any innovation in the industrial chain, and it is most safe to use standards, cheap and mature supply chains and factories with sufficient production capacity." "Zhu Jizhi to reporters, but some entrepreneurial team, need to understand the hardware professionals to see whether the required components have been mass production, can be purchased through a simple channel." It is difficult to get the information without this type of talent.

Wang Yu, general manager of Intel China Regional online business, believes that innovation should focus on the frontier capabilities of supply chain partners, not too much because you are small in size and not a company that can develop a product for billions of. "If you are not a company like this, you may have to choose a partner in the existing supply chain to guarantee what you are capable of innovating." ”

Technology germination Period

Lack of supply chain control and hardware understanding, the problem is widespread in the Internet companies, and the Shenzhen entrepreneurs, many are from the design house or the generation of people out of the factory, there is technology or production capacity, although they are less in the supply chain management problems, But the production of products is difficult to make people bright. For example, a reporter in Huaqiang north saw the smart watch, many product design and 20 years ago, Japan designed the electronic watch is not much different.

Gao Songyi to the 21st century Economic report reporter said, at present many smart watch bracelet is just a decoration, no way to become necessities of life. They receive orders from subsidiaries of an operator, because the company's first product positioning is the protection of old people and children and other functions, and in the operator's stores have channels to sell, can be a pre-investment prospects.

In fact, the current level of hardware can not even fully achieve a lot of intelligent hardware products known as "smart", so not to be able to meet user needs.

There are two main factors determining the functional direction of smart hardware: chips and operating systems. At present in the choice of chips, many smart hardware manufacturers choose Beijing June Zheng, and MediaTek's MTK2502, while Intel and Qualcomm in this area of the chip is in the stage of preparation for listing. If the power consumption does not require a large number of smart home products, the choice is fair, but wearable equipment requires very low power consumption and small volume, this aspect of the chip is still very small.

and the operating system level, although Google launched the Google wear system, but the current domestic is not open. The general manufacturers are using the Android operating system to do their own optimization, such as no need for the camera on the operating system to cut off this part of the module.

In addition, Song Jiqiang, director of the Intel Center for Intelligent Interconnection Innovation Research, believes that the chip manufacturers in the beginning can not cover many areas of functionality, the middle need to add a layer of module design suppliers. But big design house does not do too many types of modules, need to have some small and medium-sized enterprises designed in different categories of modules to adapt to a certain area of application functions. But these small and medium-sized companies are few and need more to meet different product needs.

However, even if some enterprises have to understand the needs of users, but why do we never see the outbreak point? Wang Yu, from the point of view of hardware technology, the most important problem is that the sensor is too single.

Wang Yu said for example, in the medical field of sensors, in the human body without any trauma, the surface measurement signal is very weak, the need for sensors have a particularly sophisticated interpolation circuit, in the circuit this layer of noise filtration, and then turned into digital signals for post-processing, the cost of this sensor is relatively high. "Previously this type of sensor is mainly provided to the hospital to do the instrument, this magnitude does not come up, compared to the general consumer electronics." Wang Yu told reporters.

And according to the reporter hands-on experience, many intelligent pedometer, intelligent blood pressure meter, there is also the problem of inaccurate measurement accuracy.

Zhu Jizhi said that the user experience involved human perception, and the accuracy of the data will be a reliable value-added services, "it is like operators need to do voice calls to provide other value-added services." ”

Wang Yu said, in addition to sensors, smart hardware needs to break through a lot of things, such as the system of industrial design, functional design and so on. "Consumers of the product appearance with a strong emotional color, I think the traditional hardware design engineers must and a product features and appearance of integrated design of a strong combination of companies, so as to show a truly attractive products." ”

In addition, the reporter learned that the current battery, screen and other upstream hardware technology breakthrough is still in the experimental phase, temporarily not fully meet the intelligent hardware endurance and a variety of appearance design.