After a bad start, where will Huawei and Xiaomi’s PC journey go?

A year later, Huawei launched the second generation of Matebook, which is involved in the PC industry. From the product form point of view, compared with the previous two-in-one notebook, this time there are more pure notebook X and D series. Huawei even claims that the X series will compete with Apple's MacBook.

However, the cruel reality is that the PC industry has been declining for many years. Lenovo, HP and Dell, whose combined sales account for more than 50% of the personal computer market, have also been unable to reverse the downward trend and have all experienced declines.

MateBook also failed to escape the fate of PC. According to Taiwan Electronic Times, the first generation of MateBook has only sold about 700,000 units worldwide since its launch, which did not meet expectations.

In this regard, Huawei Terminal COO Wan Biao said in an exclusive interview with Tencent Technology, "Because the sales channels of laptops are different from those of smartphones, we have made great efforts. It should be said that from the perspective of consumer reputation and market sales, we have met internal expectations." As for this year's goals, he did not disclose them.

The Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air, which was released at the same time, also performed poorly, with only about 500,000 units sold, or tens of thousands of units sold per month on average. Faced with the PC industry being constantly criticized, where will the PC industry of mobile phone manufacturers go after their unsuccessful start?

Market segments are opportunities

After years of fierce competition, the PC industry has now entered an era of oligopoly. After ranking first in global PC shipments for 14 quarters, Lenovo's strategy of grabbing the market with low profits was finally broken. In the first quarter of this year, HP topped the list with a 1.4% advantage. Lenovo currently ranks third after Dell, followed by Apple and Asus.

Although the PC market is in an overall decline, the stock market is still strong. According to statistics from some institutions, there are still a considerable number of users who use old PCs that are more than 5 years old, which means that there is still demand for PCs in the market. In the Chinese market, this number is as high as more than 55 million units.

Therefore, PC is still a huge market, still a blue ocean, and still an important entry point for capturing user needs, and the competition for existing users will be even more intense.

Huawei believes that the decline of the PC industry is a manifestation of drastic changes in the industry, but with the gradual rise of concepts such as mobile office, the PC industry may see a turnaround in the near future. This turnaround is to focus on niche markets and seize existing users through strategies that are different from those of traditional PC manufacturers.

Wan Biao said that the iteration cycle of smartphones is 12-18 months, while that of PCs is 3-5 years. The reason for the longer iteration cycle is the lack of innovative products to stimulate consumers' purchasing desire.

He believes that when artificial intelligence, big data, mobile phones, wearable devices, PCs and other terminal products are interconnected, many new spaces and fields will be created.

"Huawei's decision to make PCs is based on comprehensive considerations. We believe that Huawei can seize opportunities with its strength." Wan Biao said that Huawei's notebook market should currently expand the market share and make its products high-quality and solid, rather than simply pursuing specific product sales.

It is understood that the MateBook X released this time focuses on flexible business, with a starting price of 6,988 yuan and a top configuration of 9,988 yuan; the MateBook E continues the two-in-one design of the first-generation MateBook, with a starting price of 4,988 yuan; and the MateBook D focuses on wide-view business audio and video, also with a starting price of 4,988 yuan and a top configuration of 7,288 yuan. It can be seen that Huawei is trying in different segments. In addition, Huawei is also paying attention to gaming laptops.

It is reported that in 2016, global shipments of gaming laptops reached 4.5 million units, and the Taiwan supply chain expects this number to increase to 5.8 million units in 2017, an increase of almost 30%, which is very eye-catching in the overall downward trend of the notebook industry.

Analysts point out that as people's demands for PCs are becoming more and more demanding, how to further meet people's requirements for PCs in terms of intelligence, humanity, and lightness is precisely a challenge and opportunity for future innovation in PC products.

However, traditional PC giants have also realized that PC has entered a new period of transformation. Simple product forms can no longer satisfy users, so they have combined with big data, cloud computing, etc., and accelerated their penetration into the commercial PC market while competing for the personal PC market. For example, Lenovo's "device + cloud" strategy and Dell's merger with EMC.

It is foreseeable that mobile phone manufacturers have opportunities in the PC market, but the competitive pressure they will face in the future will also be greater.

Cross-border is the biggest challenge

Mobile phones and PCs are the two most popular categories of 3C products, but their operations are different, especially in terms of supply chain management, which is also the biggest challenge facing mobile phone manufacturers.

The notebook products of Huawei and Xiaomi are produced in an OEM model, so their precise control over the quality and cycle of PC products is naturally far inferior to that of smartphones. In actual market sales, they are unable to provide timely feedback to market demand.

For example, in the field of smartphones, Huawei has its own chips; Huawei's notebook products need to use processors from Intel, and software applications and other adaptations need to be sought from Intel.

In addition, Huawei laptops use Microsoft operating systems, which means that if Huawei wants to make a good laptop product, it needs to coordinate with manufacturers such as Microsoft and Intel and optimize the product in all aspects.

In addition, in terms of channels and marketing, the user awareness of PCs and mobile phones is also very different. At this stage, notebook users tend to use them less frequently, while smartphones are used more frequently. Even in terms of product functions, smartphones are compatible with PC functions. Some flagship phones on the market are not inferior to PCs in business office performance.

Along with the decline of PC, its channels are also shrinking. The once large computer stores are now very rare, replaced by mobile phone specialty stores. This is also the link that many mobile phone manufacturers are currently investing heavily in, but it cannot be shared with PC products. The reason is that compared with the short cycle and high return of smartphones, PCs are just the opposite, and channel dealers are more willing to choose to sell the former.

Huawei and Xiaomi are just starting out on the PC road. In the long run, there are opportunities. The lack of products, channels, and marketing will take some time to accumulate. The key lies in how mobile phone manufacturers can quickly find the right market segment based on their own advantages. Even if it is to build a fully connected ecosystem, it is necessary to find a breakthrough.

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.