Anyone can make a phone? Is the threshold for the mobile phone industry low?

The most popular industry now is the mobile phone industry. It seems that everyone wants to get involved. So far, there have been people who make air conditioners and buy mobile phones (Gree), people who make video screens and make mobile phones (LeTV), people who make beverages and make mobile phones (Pepsi), people who teach English and make mobile phones (Hammer), people who tell crosstalk and make mobile phones (Wang Zijian), people who are celebrities and make mobile phones (Han Geng, etc.), people who make magazines and make mobile phones (Reader), etc. The mobile phone industry seems to be gradually moving towards a flourishing scene.

Why can so many people enter this seemingly high-tech industry that requires a certain technical threshold?

Today, as technological productivity continues to increase, the threshold for making computers is actually not as high as imagined.

Let me give you an example. I wonder if you remember the explosion of Chinese knockoff mobile phones in 2006. In fact, that was the first time that the industry threshold was lowered. Before that, mobile phone manufacturers needed to design their own motherboards, develop communication technology, and debug and adapt in various aspects. All of these required a high level of technical accumulation from mobile phone manufacturers. However, after 2006, Taiwan chip company MediaTek provided a complete set of mobile phone solutions for mobile phone manufacturers. From then on, mobile phone manufacturers only needed to open molds and build production lines to mass produce, which gave rise to a large number of knockoff mobile phones in Shenzhen Huaqiangbei.

However, that was in the era of feature phones after all. After entering the era of smart phones, the development of 3G technology and the increase in user demand should theoretically have increased the requirements for mobile phone manufacturing.

Before answering this question, we first need to understand what preparations are needed to make a smartphone.

Hardware: mobile phone screen, mobile phone chip (soc+baseband), camera, and mobile phone battery.

Software: operating system.

In terms of hardware, with the popularity of smart phones and the development of the industrial chain, any component can be purchased on the market, and the prices vary depending on the brand and quality.

As for software, thanks to the free and open source Android operating system provided by Google, mobile phone manufacturers only need to make slight customizations or even directly apply it.

To give another example, the Hammer phone is actually a branded "copycat phone" in some respects, because the phone's hardware and software are built on the existing mobile phone industry chain, the most famous of which are Qualcomm's baseband chipset, Sony's camera and Foxconn's assembly line. The IF International Design Gold Award also specifically stated on the award page that the phone design was Ammunition, an Francisco, CA, United States of America.

It seems that all mobile phone manufacturers have to do is to choose suitable accessories for assembling, and how to mass-produce the assembled mobile phones has become the simplest yet most complicated problem for mobile phone manufacturers.

What we have to mention here is an indispensable part of the modern mobile phone manufacturing industry - OEM factories. In the era of feature phones, mobile phone manufacturers generally built their own factories for production. But after entering the era of smart phones, the division of labor among companies greatly accelerated production efficiency, and mobile phone OEM factories were born.

Today's foundries are divided into two types: ODM and OEM.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) literally means "Original Equipment Manufacturer". The OEM transaction relationship can be regarded as a buying and selling relationship. The brand owner and OEM manufacturer can be referred to as the buyer and OEM supplier respectively. Therefore, OEM is commonly known as "OEM production" or "OEM production".

ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) literally means "Original Design Manufacturer". ODM means that after a manufacturer designs a product, it may be noticed by other companies in some cases, and they may ask other companies to produce it with the latter's brand name, or to slightly modify the design for production. This can help other manufacturers reduce their own research and development time. Manufacturers who undertake design and manufacturing business are called ODM manufacturers, and the products they produce are ODM products. The product solutions designed by manufacturers can be provided to brand owners in a buyout or non-buyout manner.

Simply put, OEM means I design the product and ask you to produce it for me. ODM means I take a fancy to the product you designed and want you to put my logo on it and produce it for me.

It seems that if mobile phone manufacturers choose ODM manufacturing, it will be simpler and more convenient, and they can directly sell their products under their own brand.

According to the person in charge of a mobile phone design company, a batch of mobile phones can be mass-produced with an investment of about 1.2 million yuan, and the cost of each mobile phone can be controlled at around 300 yuan.

This has prompted a large number of outsiders to enter the mobile phone industry. Behind this seemingly flourishing industry is actually a reflection of the lack of internal originality. In the end, the fact is that these brands that emerged out of nowhere often faded away after a short-lived popularity. Some brands seem to have only held a press conference and then disappeared.

From this we can see that the threshold for making a mobile phone is very low, but the threshold for making a good mobile phone is extremely high.

So how do you make a good mobile phone?

First of all, you need to be different and establish your own unique selling point. Nowadays, the differentiation of mobile phones is getting smaller and smaller. Only mobile phones with unique features can be remembered. Whether it is excellent appearance design or unique functions, only by grasping the difference can consumers be attracted. Here is an example. Xiaomi's MIUI and Smartisan of Hammer have attracted users with the ease of use of the system. Meizu uses simple design, VIVO uses HiFi sound quality, and Huawei uses independent innovative chips and communication technology as their unique selling points.

Secondly, it must have mainstream configuration. Although we are in an era of hardware surplus, users still pursue the performance of mobile phones. After optimizing to ensure smooth operation, mobile phone manufacturers also need to keep up with the mainstream in hardware selection.

The last and most important point is to have stable quality and reliable after-sales service. Although mobile phones are fast-moving consumer goods, their value is often not too low. For most consumers, quality and after-sales service are related to brand recognition. Only after gaining recognition from consumers can a brand survive and live for a long time.

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.