Can LeTV's era of free hardware arrive in full?

As the saying goes: There is no such thing as a free lunch. As the entire economic market gradually leans towards consumers, users have begun to be extremely wary of the word "free" in marketing. It seems that it is no longer a simple matter to use the gimmick of "free" to open the door to the user market.

But even so, major Internet companies' enthusiasm for exploring the era of free hardware has not diminished in the slightest.

Free Cell Phones Descend from "Free" TV

At the early stages of the domestic smart TV industry, smart TV products were considered a "luxury" for most users, and the price of nearly 10,000 yuan seriously hindered the large-scale popularization of smart TV products.

In addition to the reality of high prices, the lack of content on smart TVs is also a major problem of the industry's underdevelopment. High prices and low content can be said to be the manifestation of the defects of smart TV products in both software and hardware. How to effectively solve these two problems at the same time has become the key to the development of the smart TV industry.

It is undeniable that the birth of LeTV Super TV has grasped these two industry pain points.

Relying on the content advantage of video resource copyright, LeTV Super TV has reduced users' investment in hardware products, and the low price of hardware has led users to have a deeper understanding of content services. The marketing model of "hardware cost + service fee" has not only helped Super TV start its disruptive actions in the smart TV industry, but also provided guidance for other traditional TV manufacturers to transform to the Internet.

It can be said that content and price are the two most indispensable factors for the success of LeTV Super TV. It is the coordination of the combination of software and hardware that has enabled the LeTV ecosystem based on "platform + content + terminal + application" to gradually become sound and strong.

Recently, based on the powerful cross-platform and cross-terminal applicability of the LeEco ecosystem, LeEco has strongly launched its smart mobile terminal product - the super phone.

In terms of the sales method of super phones, LeTV has launched a cross-platform annual fee bundling billing method based on the LeTV ecosystem, that is, the annual fees of super TVs and super phones can be interoperable and superimposed; when purchasing a super phone, if the user purchases a one-year LeTV full-screen movie membership service (490 yuan), they can enjoy a 300 yuan discount on the original price of the super phone. Similarly, if the user purchases N years of full-screen movie membership fees, the user can get a super phone for free, ultimately achieving a hardware price of 0 yuan in its true sense.

Is the annual fee of 490 yuan worth it?

After successfully developing a vertically integrated LeTV ecosystem represented by Super TV, Jia Yueting once made it clear that LeTV does not need to make money through hardware; all product profits will come from the later LeTV ecosystem content services.

Before the birth of the "0-yuan purchase" super phone, LeTV had been trying this new business model by providing content services to lower the price of hardware products. From the early LeTV boxes to the mature LeTV super TVs, and then to other hardware products such as Le Xiaobao, they are everywhere. However, the birth of the super phone has truly realized the goal of making hardware free by purchasing services.

It is the existence of content services that enables all LeEco's smart hardware products to be connected. On the day of the LeEco Super Phone launch conference, Liang Jun said, "Mobile phones and TVs are products targeting different users. The pricing model of the Super Phone can not only guide users to choose products, but also make users pay attention to the existence of the Super TV when consuming mobile phones; similarly, the content consumption of the Super TV will also drive users' consumption demand for mobile phone products."

Obviously, using content services to connect super phones and super TVs is not only conducive to the sales and popularization of the two terminal products, but also further enhances the user experience value of LeTV terminal products.

It is reported that for the annual service worth 490 yuan, LeTV not only provides users with the world's largest film and television, variety shows, sports, music, animation and other content, but also brings together technologies including 3D, Dolby, DTS film sources, and high-tech peripherals such as 3D helmets; in addition, LeTV has also established the world's most complete live content library, including exclusive content such as sports events, concerts, TV stations, LeTV live stations, celebrity live stations, etc.

In the future, as this content service worth 490 yuan is widely used in LeTV's full-screen terminals such as mobile phones, TVs, boxes, cars, computers, tablets, etc., its application value will be greatly enhanced. By then, the era of free hardware guided by LeTV's ecosystem may have arrived completely.

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.