Is it the user experience that makes Xiaomi and Meizu beat vivo in system upgrades?

In 2016, the two domestic mobile phone brands, vivo and OPPO, took the lead and defeated many online Internet brands by focusing on the offline market, achieving impressive results. However, vivo, which seemed to be going smoothly, does not seem to be doing well recently.

Slow system upgrades spark user outrage

Why do I say it’s not going to be easy? Because the latest vivo mobile phone is on the “315” list.

This matter started with the release of vivo X9 and Funtouch OS3.0 in November 2016. At the press conference in November, the latest version of Funtouch OS3.0 system released by vivo mobile phone was not compatible with models released before vivo X9, which caused dissatisfaction among many X7 series users.

Later, due to the feedback from many users that old users were not taken care of, vivo announced that it would upgrade other mobile phones to the lite version, which brought the matter to a temporary end. The official announcement was issued on December 9, 2016 and the internal test recruitment was held on January 5, 2017. After the internal test was completed, many users reported that vivo simply made a new theme based on the original Funtouch OS2.5 and pushed it to users as Funtouch OS3.0 lite, which once again caused users to roar.

Many users said that other phones have already been upgraded to Android 7.0, but Vivo has only changed the theme of the original Android 5.1 system in a month. Some users also said that they would never buy Vivo phones again. Then Vivo announced a plan to upgrade to Android 6.0.

The time was postponed to March 2017. Many netizens said that the previous upgrade to the lite version was just delaying the time. It would have been fine if they had just said when it would be released. Instead of pretending to be rich, many users were not angry about the upgrade time, but felt cheated.

Now many mobile phone manufacturers have gradually embarked on the road of upgrading to Android 7.0. In fact, the requirements of vivo users are not excessive. Domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi and Huawei have already begun to adapt certain models, and foreign Samsung and Sony are also upgrading their systems. So why is vivo, a manufacturer with relatively large shipments in 2016, "late to the game" in upgrading its system?

Good mobile phone sales ≠ good user experience

Vivo just likes to "sell" mobile phones. Whether it is advertising or marketing, Vivo may be better, but Vivo has not done much in terms of user experience. In a sense, Vivo's mobile phone has little highlights in terms of user experience. Many industry insiders attribute the success of Vivo mobile phones to advertising investment and a large number of offline physical stores.

The reason why mobile phones sell well is not because of the product and user experience? In fact, this can also be seen in the new mobile phone products released by vivo.

In terms of parameter configuration, the vivo X7 launched in mid-2016 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, while the new vivo X9 launched at the end of last year uses Snapdragon 625 processor. Although the 625 uses a more advanced process, there is still a certain gap in actual performance compared with the 652.

From the data comparison of AnTuTu test, Snapdragon 652 is ahead of Snapdragon 625 in comprehensive performance, while Snapdragon 625 is much worse than 652 in single-core performance.

This has also led many users to infer that the reason why vivo does not upgrade the system for old products is that it is worried that if the system is upgraded to the previous generation of mobile phones, the performance gap between the two will be further widened, which will be detrimental to the sales of new products. After all, if the old mobile phone is more powerful and easier to use than the new mobile phone, it is a result that neither new mobile phone users nor vivo itself want to see.

With overwhelming TV commercials and program sponsorships, from software to hardware, vivo's sincerity in making products is becoming increasingly difficult to detect. However, for a domestic mobile phone manufacturer, the impressive sales performance and the progress of the mobile phone itself are difficult to maintain on the same baseline. Such a brand prospect is undoubtedly worrying.

As the saying goes, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." Vivo's successful marketing methods have become a benchmark for other domestic mobile phones to look up to. However, this market height has naturally put more pressure on Vivo. As the saying goes, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world." Consumers' purchasing impulse is only the first step to the success of a mobile phone brand. Using products and experiences to cultivate user stickiness rather than relying on annually changing sponsored TV programs may be the correct development path for an "international giant."

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.