Huawei P10 mobile phone flash memory scandal intensifies. Where will China's pride go after the crisis of trust?

With the explosion of Samsung Note7 and the freezing of iPhone, domestic mobile phones are booming. The competition for the dominance of Chinese mobile phones has begun. Among all major manufacturers, Huawei has the highest popularity. However, the good times did not last long. The release of Huawei P10 seems to have covered the glamorous Huawei with a layer of veil.

First, it was revealed that the screen had no coating and the oleophobic layer on the surface glass had been cut. After removing the original film, the Huawei P10 screen felt dry and hard, and fingerprints gathered all over the screen, which was inconsistent with the identity of a 4000+ flagship phone. Just after the rumors died down, the P10 was exposed to mix eMMC5.1, UFS2.0 and UFS2.1, which pushed the ill-fated P10 to the forefront.

Why does false advertising occur so frequently?

Looking at the development of mobile phones in recent years, it is not uncommon to see people replacing one product with another. As a major domestic manufacturer, Huawei is not the first time to do such a thing.

In 2016, the slogan "P9 is comparable to SLR" was popular in the mobile phone circle, and the official microblog with beautiful women was also very eye-catching. Then someone pointed out that the picture was not taken by Huawei P9, and gave evidence; the camera of P9 is also from Sunny (Ningbo Sunny), but the Leica logo is written on the back, so the question is whether the Leica-certified lens is Sunny's or Huawei's?

In fact, Huawei is not the only manufacturer that has engaged in such fraud. As early as 2012, Nokia's Lumia 920 sample photos were exposed as fake. In March 2014, the sample photos displayed at the IUNI U2 launch conference were revealed to be shot by Sigma, and the photos were taken as far back as 2008. The T1 sample photos displayed on the Hammer official website also contained the words "Creation Software ACDSee Pro 6" in the photo information.

Of course, in addition to these false propaganda, the most difficult thing to understand is the official far-fetched wording. Huawei's answers to various questions about the P10 are even more confusing. Regarding the oleophobic layer, the official said "it's on the film"; the official response to the flash memory incident said "it does not affect the use of the phone." In short, various examples are used to guide consumers to agree with this approach. Some people say "Huawei is not wrong, but the statement is a bit low", but is this "being a whore and wanting to be a saint" routine really good?

Is the experience of using flash memory of different specifications really the same?

In response to the P10 flash memory incident, the official response was that "whether the experience of a mobile phone is smooth is not simply determined by the performance of a single component." What Huawei means is that whether it is eMMC5.1, UFS2.0 and UFS2.1, consumers will ultimately have the same experience. So the question is, are they really the same?

eMMC and UFS are actually two types of flash memory specifications. The main reason why the reading and writing speeds of the two are so different is the control method of the chip.

eMMC uses half-dual-pass and parallel channels, while UFS uses full-dual-pass and serial channels. In the protocol standard, the fastest speed of eMMC5.1 is 400MB/S, and the actual speed is between 260MB/S-300MB/S, while UFS2.0 reaches a speed of 1166MB/S, and the actual speed can exceed 700MB/S. The performance difference between the two is huge, and the speed of UFS2.0 is basically 2-3 times that of eMMC5.1.

The transmission speed actually has a huge impact on mobile phones. To give two simple examples, the startup speed of applications installed in an external SD card is much slower than that of applications installed in the built-in storage. This is one of the important reasons why external flash memory cards are gradually fading out of the stage. Assuming an application is 700MB, it takes one second to open it on a mobile phone using UFS2.0 flash memory, then it will take 2-3 seconds to open it on a mobile phone using eMMC5.1 flash memory.

Supply chain issue or cost issue?

Why did Huawei, which is regarded by the Chinese as a "potential stock" in the industry, do such a thing?

Some analysts say that Huawei did this because of a tight supply chain, but this is not true. Although Huawei is not the world's number one, it is definitely on the list given its size. As a large company, it must have cooperative relationships with many flash memory chip manufacturers. It is definitely not the case that it cannot get chips. Even if it cannot guarantee that the flash memory chips are not from the same manufacturer, it should at least ensure that all use the same specifications.

Therefore, there is only one reason, which is to control costs and increase profits. In recent years, the Chinese mobile phone market has been deeply affected by price wars, with extremely low profits. With the rise in component prices and the depreciation of the RMB, the cost of mobile phones has soared; and Huawei's investment in its own Kirin chips is very large, so it is difficult to maintain the status quo without reducing costs.

This can also explain why a 4000+ mobile phone has no oleophobic layer on the screen and why the flash memory chip has three specifications.

It's not a big deal, so why don't consumers pay for it?

As ordinary consumers, most people don't have such demanding requirements for mobile phones. As long as it is relatively speaking, opening an app and waiting for 2 seconds is no problem for anyone. But why consumers don't pay for it? Ultimately, it is a psychological problem.

In this era of information transparency, all kinds of product information are exposed to people. Huawei made a very low-level mistake. The P10 flash memory incident is like the same price, the same dish, why do some people eat meat and others drink soup?

In addition, more people are disappointed with Huawei's actions. In the minds of Chinese people, Huawei has become the representative of domestic mobile phones. It is really unacceptable that a mobile phone that is already sold at a high price has made small changes in the screen and flash memory.

“To err is human,” and the same is true for businesses, but it is important to admit your mistakes. Trying to cover them up will only backfire.

It is not easy for domestic mobile phones to break through the many established mobile phone manufacturers in the world. Huawei has successfully entered the high-end market and gained recognition in overseas markets, which is well-deserved "Chinese pride". However, this also makes it even more difficult to understand Huawei's "strange" strategy for the P10. The power of the brand is very strong, and the process of building it is even more difficult. The collapse of the brand image may happen overnight, in a detail.

Therefore, large companies are very careful about brand maintenance. In contrast, Huawei did not strive for perfection in its P10 products. It is precisely because of this that Huawei's attitude after the incident has become the focus of public attention. Although the screen layer and flash memory speed are not serious problems and will not become a stumbling block on Huawei's development, a thousand-mile dam can be breached by an ant hole. The way Huawei handles this incident and the impact it has on consumers will also reflect the future of Huawei, a company that the Chinese are "proud of."

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.