Qiku phones are waiting for third-party apps to be pre-installed, free of charge

Zhou Hongyi said not long ago that he wanted to "add trouble to the mobile phone industry", and now he has started to do it, and the trick is still "free". Don't even think about getting a mobile phone for free, the "free" here is not for consumers, but if you are an app developer, in theory, you will have the opportunity to pre-install your work on Qihoo phones without spending a penny.

Yesterday afternoon, Zhou Hongyi communicated with the media on the 15th floor of 360 headquarters, but the topic was not the meal he had with Lei Jun in Guiyang the day before, but the "basic application crowdfunding plan" of Qihoo mobile phones.

Open almost all applications to third parties for free

The paid pre-installation of apps was originally an important source of income for mobile phone manufacturers. According to Zhou Hongyi, Coolpad originally imagined that this would also be a major source of income for Qiku. But now, Qiku's "Basic Application Crowdfunding Plan" has voluntarily given up this source of income.

This decision was not an easy one. Zhou Hongyi said that the reason why this matter was not mentioned at the Qihoo brand launch conference on May 6 was because there was "internal disagreement" at the time.

The "Basic Application Crowdfunding Plan" means that the 360 ​​OS installed on Qihoo will open basic applications to third-party apps. It will no longer develop these functions from scratch, but will focus on security, power saving and other aspects.

(Plan map released by Qiku official website)

From the published plan, Qiku has opened almost all the most commonly used mobile phone applications to third-party apps, from compasses, calculators, voice recorders, and notepads to social networking and e-commerce. The selected apps will be pre-installed on Qiku phones for free. In addition, these apps can be uninstalled. According to the 360 ​​official website, the app screening process includes: developer registration, user voting through 360 Mobile Assistant, and review by Zhou Hongyi and experts.

Zhou Hongyi said that during the screening process, they would abandon prejudices and be willing to accept apps developed by other mobile phone manufacturers. "Although Smartisan is also making mobile phones, if everyone thinks that one of their apps is good, I will talk to Luo Yonghao about it"; they are willing to accept apps from old rival Tencent, "If everyone recognizes WeChat as the most popular social application, we will not hesitate to pre-install WeChat"; they do not exclude small developers, and even if it is a personal work, as long as it is beautiful enough, easy to use, gets enough votes, and meets 360's technical requirements, it will be pre-installed on Qihoo phones for free.

Impact on all parties

For 360 OS, although it lost the income from paid pre-installation by adopting this crowdfunding method, it also saved the time and manpower cost of developing many basic apps from start to finish.

For small and medium-sized apps such as notepads and calendars, this is a good opportunity. Being selected as a pre-installed app by 360 OS is a good publicity. The number of pre-installed apps depends on the shipment volume of Qiku phones and the number of 360 OS installed. According to Zhou Hongyi's words, 360 OS should be compatible with Dasheng phones and Coolpad phones.

For ordinary users, being able to uninstall and replace basic applications such as notepad and calendar is a good experience in itself. In addition, because 360 ​​OS does not charge for pre-installed apps, it has the capital to restrict app behavior, which also helps to improve user experience. As Zhou Hongyi said, "I can't restrict you if you spend money on software," "but if you come for free, you have to respect the rules of my OS."

In the selection of apps, voting and expert review may have limited effects. For categories such as social networking, video, e-commerce, navigation, and music, no matter how much voting and review, the same few apps will be selected. In addition, as long as it is voting, the problem of "the choice of the majority may not be suitable for everyone" must be solved. Zhou Hongyi made two suggestions on the spot. First, users should indicate their gender and age when voting, which will help to form a personalized app list for a certain group of people and facilitate users to choose when they turn on their phones for the first time; second, when evaluating the app list, in addition to relying on the Qihoo mobile team and the designers, programmers, and product managers on the 360 ​​mobile forum, it is also necessary to cooperate with the media.

addendum

In addition to the "Basic Application Crowdfunding Plan", Qihoo Mobile also released some other information:

1. Qiku is also interested in Internet finance

Someone asked Zhou Hongyi at the scene: At the previous Qihoo brand launch conference, you said that mobile phone hardware will be priced close to cost. Now that 360 OS is open to third-party apps for free, are you worried about profitability?

Zhou Hongyi: Don’t worry about that. I can engage in Internet finance in the future. Xiaomi is already exploring this. I think this is a very smart approach.

2. Equity crowdfunding has reached an agreement with a financial institution

According to Pan Zhiyong, vice president of Qihoo 360, "We have reached an agreement with a financial institution on a plan through a trust."

Zhou Hongyi: "We still hope that at least tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people will participate."