"From today, we will gradually say goodbye to MIUI!" On October 17, Lei Jun announced his farewell to MIUI. A week later, the complete system architecture of Xiaomi Pengpai OS emerged. "Xiaomi Pengpai OS is officially released, and Xiaomi has opened the leap of 'full ecosystem for people, cars and homes'," Lei Jun said.

After 13 years of exploration and 7 years of research and development, can Surge OS bring Xiaomi into a new era? The key is to shift gears from mobile phones to cars. In other words, the success or failure of Xiaomi Auto is the core of whether the "full ecosystem of people, cars and homes" can be realized.

Since Xiaomi officially announced its car manufacturing plan on March 30, 2021, there have been constant rumors in the industry. Although Xiaomi rarely makes official responses, it is not difficult to see from its ambiguous attitude that Xiaomi cars are no longer mysterious.

Last month, there was news that Xiaomi Motors is expected to get approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in the next two months, and at the latest by the end of the year, and that Xiaomi Motors can be mass-produced with the approval. So, can the "first car for young people" arrive as promised? Will Xiaomi Motors change its name to "Surge Motors"? These questions are of concern to thousands of Mi fans.

Pengpai OS, how to create a “complete ecosystem for people, cars and homes”?

Although Xiaomi only started developing the car OS system in 2021, it has been on this road for ten years.

Xiaomi started working on MIUI when it was founded in 2020. Although it only improved the interaction layer based on the native Android system, it also made a lot of "magic changes" in the system framework, performance scheduling, and kernel capabilities. For example, in 2013, Xiaomi launched the process alignment wake-up mechanism, which was half a year ahead of Android. The runtime permission management launched to protect user privacy was nearly three years ahead of Android.

With the IoT business taking the lead, Xiaomi released the connection protocol for IoT devices in 2014;

In 2017, Xiaomi officially released its self-developed Vela OS, which is scalable and customizable, supporting various types of devices from simple to complex, and gradually unifying the IoT device ecosystem. Currently, the installed base has reached more than 20 million units.

In 2019, Xiaomi began to develop Mina OS, a purely self-developed general-purpose system, in parallel, and conducted small-scale mass production verification on some products. It was also successfully run on mobile phones in the laboratory. Some of the technical achievements have also been integrated into Xiaomi Pengpai OS.

These self-developed results laid the foundation for the development of car OS. At the beginning of 2022, Xiaomi decided to unify the software architecture of MIUI, Vela, Mina, and car OS. Since then, the underlying merger of Xiaomi's operating system has been completed, and the "full ecosystem of people, cars and homes" has been opened.

From the birth of Xiaomi Surge OS, we can see that it has been carrying the burden of the entire ecosystem since its birth, and saying goodbye to MIUI is just a matter of chess. Lei Jun also said, "At present, Xiaomi has more than just smartphones, but also a huge smart ecosystem across more than 200 categories, and the entire ecosystem of people, cars and homes is about to be closed. In the era of the Internet of Everything, the complexity and number of operating system branches involved in various devices, and the ecological connection barriers caused by different systems and protocols may exceed many people's imagination."

This means that a system base is needed to open up the ecosystem. As the name suggests, the "people, cars and home full ecosystem" is centered on "people". Smartphones should be the best control terminals and devices. "Cars" are the upcoming Xiaomi cars, and "homes" refer to Mijia smart home devices. Currently, Xiaomi has a huge smart ecosystem with more than 200 categories, and the "people, cars and home full ecosystem" is about to complete a closed loop.

Xiaomi Surge OS completely breaks down the barriers between hardware devices, allowing all devices to use a unified connection protocol. Xiaomi has created a full-end security system that runs through the kernel layer, service framework layer, and cross-end layer. In particular, a completely independent self-developed microkernel security system is enabled at the kernel layer to ensure security from the bottom up.

Surge OS connects the Xiaomi ecosystem like capillaries, and it is almost certain that it will be installed in Xiaomi cars. However, time is of the utmost importance. When many powerful companies have already started to accelerate, Xiaomi is still tying its shoelaces. When the price war in the electric vehicle industry is bloody, how much chance does the newly launched Xiaomi car have?

Xiaomi Motors is no longer mysterious despite keeping its mouth shut

As of September, Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. has registered multiple trademarks of Xiaomi Pengpai and XIAOMI HYPER, and the international classification involves scientific instruments, transportation vehicles, etc. In addition, the company has also registered the trademarks of REDMI HYPER and HYPERCHARGE, and the current status of the trademarks is under registration application.

It is worth mentioning that Xiaomi has not disclosed which specific products or services the "Pengpai" trademark will be used for, but it is not difficult to speculate that it is likely to be used for Xiaomi's new generation of smart hardware products, or services related to cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data. Some netizens even said that Xiaomi cars will be changed to "Pengpai Automobile". Xiaomi has maintained its usual "silent" attitude towards such speculation.

In fact, rumors about Xiaomi Car have been constantly emerging since the end of August this year. Although Xiaomi has remained tight-lipped, from the content of the leaks, we can basically grasp the basic information of Xiaomi Car.

First of all, the appearance. On August 18, a netizen on Xiaohongshu allegedly exposed a road test video of Xiaomi Auto in Xinjiang, saying that he saw four Xiaomi cars on the Urumqi-Changji urban expressway. On August 19, Lei Jun posted a group of pictures on Weibo. In one of the pictures, the banner read "Fight for Xiaomi Auto!" and the location was shown in Xinjiang. On the same day, Xiaomi Group President Lu Weibing, Xiaomi Auto Vice President Li Xiaoshuang, Shunwei Capital Investment Partner Hu Zhengnan and others also appeared in Xinjiang.

From the leaked spy photos, the Xiaomi car will be a fastback coupe with a low posture and a long front, and a sporty style. At the same time, according to the previously exposed test car information, the size of this car is 4860 mm (length) / 1980 mm (width) / 1666 mm (height), and the frameless door design enhances the stylish appearance.

Secondly, in terms of performance, on August 19, Hu Zhengnan posted on Weibo, "Today, the engineers played a prank on me. At 8 o'clock in the evening, they threw an electric car with a remaining range of 152 kilometers at 8 o'clock, and asked me to take three strong men back to the destination 85 kilometers away. The ambient temperature was 37 degrees... They underestimated my golden right foot and stepped on a straight line for you. When we arrived at the destination, the remaining mileage showed that there were still 90 kilometers, and the energy consumption was 8.8 kWh." In just a few dozen words, the energy consumption information of Xiaomi Automobile was "inadvertently" revealed. Although this information is a bit exaggerated based on the current technical basis, it also indirectly shows Xiaomi's confidence in its electronic control.

Tianfeng International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said that the key selling points of this car are autonomous driving technology, software ecosystem, 800V fast charging and power configuration. It is reported that Xiaomi Auto will use Qualcomm's car chipset, most likely Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295. This chipset has been used in the Jiyue 01 model jointly developed by Baidu and Geely, and the new car will also support Apple CarPlay interconnection, allowing users to seamlessly connect their Apple devices.

In addition, the new car is expected to adopt an 800V battery system and a ternary lithium battery with a capacity of 101kWh, which will help achieve an impressive range, which is expected to exceed 700 kilometers.

In terms of intelligent driving, Xiaomi seems to be ready. Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi has formulated a full-stack self-developed strategy. The automotive R&D team has expanded to 2,300 people in 2022. As of October 18, 956 patents have been applied for. At the same time, the company is also continuously investing in upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain.

What is most noteworthy is that the research report also revealed the price of this new car. The estimated selling price will be less than RMB 300,000, and the shipment volume is estimated to be 50,000 to 60,000 units. If it can be close to or even lower than RMB 250,000, sales may still have room for improvement.

Can it become “young people’s first car”?

In 2021, Lei Jun said in a live broadcast that two-thirds of users want Xiaomi cars to be priced above RMB 100,000, and 8% want them to be priced above RMB 200,000. The prices revealed today also show that Xiaomi caters to users' hopes of making mid- to high-end cars, but whether the final price will be lower than RMB 250,000 remains to be seen.

At present, people born in the 1990s and 1995s account for more than 60% of the main consumption in society. Xiaomi has created a tacit understanding and resonance with young consumers since its birth, and the brand impression of "the first mobile phone for young people" is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Will Xiaomi become "the first mid-to-high-end car for young people" in this car manufacturing?

As mentioned above, Xiaomi's exterior design adopts the fastback shape that young people like nowadays, and incorporates sports car elements to meet the aesthetic tastes of young people. In addition, young people are more receptive to and eager to try new smart technologies, and Xiaomi has built its own software ecosystem in terms of intelligence.

Xiaomi Pengpai OS has set four goals since its architecture design, namely, achieving the best single-end performance; AI empowerment, becoming the "smart brain" of the entire ecosystem, providing proactive services to users; more convenient and efficient connections; and achieving full-end privacy, security and solid protection. With the technical advantages of the Xiaomi ecosystem, there is no need to worry about the intelligence of the car system, and functions such as intelligent voice control, smart home interconnection, mobile phone senseless unlocking and magnetic charger are all available.

It is reported that Xiaomi's new car will also be equipped with 3 laser radars and 4 millimeter-wave radars and advanced driving assistance systems, such as "Xiaozhi" Pilot, which provides a zoned automatic parking function. The smart experience that young people want is no problem, but the question is whether Xiaomi has achieved "what others don't have, I have, and what others have, I have better"?

According to the 2023 Young User Auto Consumption Insight Report, unlike those born in the 1990s and older, those born in the 2000s tend to buy cars for leisure and entertainment, and are more receptive to domestic brands and new energy vehicles. There is no shortage of models that attract young people in the price range of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, such as the leading new car manufacturers Weilai and Xiaopeng.

The ET5 recently launched by NIO is called "the first pure electric car for young people". It also adopts a fastback design and a closed large front surround. As NIO's second mass-produced car, it has outstanding performance in performance, handling, appearance, interior and other aspects. The starting price of the vehicle is 298,000 yuan; as for Xiaopeng, according to a previous research report by China Merchants Securities, young users under the age of 30 account for 55.8% of Xiaopeng, and among people who purchased G3 and P7 in 2020, the proportion of 18-39 years old reached 69.05%.

In September this year, NIO delivered 15,641 vehicles and Xpeng delivered 15,310 vehicles, ranking fifth and sixth in the new energy rankings, respectively, and maintaining their leading positions. It is not easy for Xiaomi Motors to enter this list. In the case of high homogeneity in appearance, intelligent driving and price, Xiaomi Motors, which has not yet been mass-produced, needs to rely not only on its fan base, but also on its own unique ecosystem. After all, compared with new forces, Xiaomi's smart hardware can form a natural connection with the automotive ecosystem.

Data shows that as of June 2023, the number of monthly active users of MIUI worldwide reached 606 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. Among them, the number of monthly active users of MIUI in mainland China reached 149 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%. This data is undoubtedly glamorous, but for Lei Jun and his Xiaomi Auto, the most important question at the moment is: Among these 149 million users, how many people will be converted into the first batch of users of Xiaomi Auto? After all, a car worth hundreds of thousands of yuan is not like a mobile phone worth thousands of yuan. Young people can afford it on impulse.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.