Nokia 6: A sincere test, but the sentiment has been overdrawn

At CES 2017, HMD, a Finnish manufacturer that has obtained the Nokia brand management rights, announced the launch of the Android smartphone Nokia 6 in China. Recently, the new phone was first launched on JD.com, with the 4GB+64GB version priced at 1,699 yuan. It seems that everyone has a lot to say about this phone, and I plan to start with the Android system it uses.

From "not following" to not making trouble

This is an Android phone. Looking back at Nokia's history of developing smartphones in recent years, we can find that, to a certain extent, choosing Android means giving up the "natural pride" (forgive me for plagiarizing the slogan of another mobile phone manufacturer). Deliberately keeping a distance from Android is a kind of pride that must be maintained even if it chooses to stand on the opposite side of the public. If there is anything that can be called Finnish temperament, perhaps this is it.

In the two chaotic years after the first iPhone was released, iOS had an overwhelming advantage in terms of experience, and the non-iOS camp could not come up with a decent competitor. Android was catching up from the ruins, and the main function of smartphones was still multi-touch access to the Web rather than the app store. At that time, Nokia insisted on not betting on the Android camp and heavily relied on the Symbian system, which led to a big mistake.

After that, Nokia had seen the momentum of Android's gradual growth but still did not join it. Instead, it first developed the MeeGo system, which was highly interactive and well-received, and later switched to Microsoft's Windows Phone camp. However, in the era of smartphones, a good system does not mean anything. Because the ecosystem was not established, this persistence or "not following" eventually brought down a mobile phone manufacturer that was once thought to be impossible to fail.

However, before all this happened, when most people were using feature phones and knockoff phones, Nokia had gained the trust of the entire population. Now, "cracking walnuts" and "anti-fall" are used as marketing gimmicks by Nokia officials and the public, and to some extent have become synonymous with Nokia and the youth of a generation; but behind this gimmick is the embodiment of Nokia's classic motto "Technology is people-oriented". They incorporated this motto into their design and production, and made a truly useful mobile phone of that era.

In an era when mobile phones were basically only capable of making calls and sending text messages, and Internet access was extremely expensive, Nokia continued to expand its functions by adding games, music, WAP, Java, and Symbian applications to meet the growing demand for mobile phones. Only mobile phones that truly meet the needs of the public are welcomed by the market, not because of their uniqueness or pure "sentiment".

Even when it was owned by Microsoft, Nokia's mobile phone brand had launched the Android-powered product X, and the parent company, which retained the trademark rights for non-mobile products, had also launched the N1 tablet. Now, they have officially returned to the Android camp, which is also a choice they have to make due to the fact that Foxconn and the newly formed joint venture are still immature and lack the ability. But this is also a basic premise for them to return to their original intention of "technology is people-oriented".

There is still some meaning of "testing the waters", but the sentiment or faith has been seriously overdrawn

As mentioned above, this is not the first Android device under the Nokia brand, nor is it the first Android smartphone. Nokia has previously produced the entry-level phone X, which was priced at 500 yuan at the time, and also produced a mid-range tablet N1 that was basically usable. However, these two "testing the waters" predecessor products do not seem to be an argument to prove that Nokia 6 should not be called a "testing the waters" again.

Nokia X is too "low-end", and the official position is low-end. This phone does not even have a front camera! At the same time, compared with ordinary Android phones, Nokia X removes various Google services and adds Microsoft and Nokia's special services and products; the main interface installed for domestic users is produced together with the domestic ROM developer LeWa, and jointly builds the Chinese Android application store with UC.

Faced with the competition from iPad and Windows 10 two-in-one tablets, Android tablets do not seem to have generated very strong sales at any time. In addition, the Nokia N1 is not particularly top-notch in configuration, lacks various exclusive applications, and its normal usage scenarios are also very limited.

Nokia 6, equipped with Snapdragon 430 processor, is still positioned at the low end and is definitely not a cost-effective model, but at least it is a phone that can be used normally. Compared with X and N1, this phone will make fans who buy it to support the Nokia brand - no matter how many such people there are - less embarrassed. Nokia 6 can become a daily main phone or a backup phone, which is feasible, but it is just that it may not be so worthwhile.

After countless reshuffles and a helpless restart, Nokia 6 showed the basic sincerity of the word "testing the waters", but there was still a serious overdraft of sentiment or faith. In other words, it is still easier for a Nokia fan to buy and use Nokia 6 than to buy X or N1, although he still needs to spend some effort to convince himself.

The main customer group is the group with information gap

We all know the relationship between the Finnish company HMD and Foxconn, and that the Redmi 3s with Snapdragon 430 is priced at less than 1,000 yuan, while the Nokia 6 is priced at 1,699. We also know that the Nokia 6 can crack walnuts but may not be able to steam in a sauna as advertised, because it does not claim to have three-proof functions.

However, the largest target group of Nokia 6 does not know. They can get a similar caliber to the official press release of the manufacturer from TV, radio and newspapers, which evokes the vague feelings of Nokia in their childhood, but the information they have is not enough to make them feel the shortcomings of the mobile phone. I think Nokia 6 should be roughly positioned at the level of OPPO-VIVO, which has a high "brand premium" and is not very cost-effective. It should face the group that is not so smooth to receive information, rather than the first people to get the news.

As for the sale through online channels, some people say that this is a mismatch of the population, and that most "low-end" consumers still go through offline channels. This is not a big problem in my opinion. The convenience of online shopping has now exceeded the imagination of students in first-tier cities. In my hometown of Inner Mongolia, even today, less than 10 days before the holiday, I can still buy nuts on JD.com and have them delivered to my home within one day, thanks to the complete self-operated warehousing and logistics. The taxi driver in my hometown is also worried about how to use Didi to run the phone in the car, and he knows a little about the situation in the mobile phone industry - although what he said may not be right.

I hope that the current Nokia phones are worthy of the fans' faith.

To be clear, Nokia 6's "testing the waters" is reflected in "attracting fans" or "washing fans". This inconspicuous machine is far from the best choice in the current market, but it has spent a lot of effort on word-of-mouth marketing on social networks, just to determine who are the loyal fans who can accept a certain "brand premium" and firmly support Nokia's brand guarantee and ecosystem commitment in the future. This group includes Mi fans, those who buy Google's "own son", and those who buy Surface Pro. The SP series is priced 1,000-2,000 yuan higher than the same-level two-in-one tablet products of OEM PC manufacturers. This may be the "brand premium" behind the "Tian brand", but fans are willing to pay this money for Microsoft's own machines.

Seeing Nokia now reminds me of Xiaomi. Not the Xiaomi that was just launching Mi 1 and enjoying unlimited glory, but the Xiaomi that has been developing for a few years and gradually entered a state of fatigue.

The growth of mobile phone shipments has slowed down, and the halo of "cost-effectiveness" and "disintermediation" has gradually faded, but many of the "enthusiasts" who converted to Xiaomi because of the changes brought by Xiaomi are still firmly on the side of the Xiaomi ecosystem. Fortunately, Xiaomi has gradually met the expectations of fans with slow but firm steps. Many of Xiaomi's basic home products can roughly meet the original positioning of "cost-effectiveness" and the new positioning of "new domestic products". The release of Xiaomi Mix has made fans "recharge their faith".

Therefore, in the future, HMD will not only have to launch more competitive, practical or high-end models that attract the attention of general non-fans, but also should pay attention to maintaining and inheriting the excellent industrial design language of the N9 and Lumia series, continue to promote exclusive products and services similar to Here maps and Mixradio music, and give loyal users sufficient conscientious returns - but in the current situation where it is basically an ODM, it may lack support from the parent company, making these visions difficult to achieve.

Just like Mi fans or other fans, Nokia Mobile (HMD) hopes that these fans who were inspired by Nokia 6 can give the most valuable support to the company in the future, whether it is prosperous or difficult. Here, I also hope that the models they will launch in the future, whether in terms of configuration or ecology, can repay these fans' initial support and live up to their faith.

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.