Baidu covets the mobile phone market: Is iQiyi just a pathfinder?

Yesterday, iQIYI held a press conference in Beijing for the launch of "100+ iQIYI Video Phones" (hereinafter referred to as "Video Phones"). The press conference was attended by not only the parties involved, iQIYI CEO Gong Yu, 100% Mobile Phone Manufacturer Chairman Xu Guoxiang, and Baidu Cloud General Manager Li Mingyuan.

Unlike the TVs and boxes released by iQiyi before, this video phone will be completely self-made by Baidu. Whether it is hardware production or ROM, even sales channels may be controlled by Baidu itself.

Last November, Baidu invested in 100% and the two parties jointly established a company called "Baiyi". If I'm not mistaken, this should be a joint venture between Baidu and 100%, mainly used for the production and sales of Baidu hardware.

Increase investment in mobile terminals and rush for IPO

For iQiyi, the cooperation between the two parties to launch a video phone is more like a preparation for increasing its valuation through its IPO.

According to data from the China IT Research Center in March, in terms of the total number of single APP downloads, Youku ranked first with 6.6 billion downloads, followed by iQiyi. However, if we compare the two platforms, iQiyi + PPS wins, followed by Youku + Tudou. A careful look at this data shows that the current competition between the two platforms, both in terms of platform competition and independent APP competition, is quite tight.

In addition, iQiyi is currently preparing for its IPO. If iQiyi can now take the first place in the independent market, its market value will definitely increase. For this reason, iQiyi needs to find an opportunity to overtake Youku. The layout of hardware terminals is a good choice, which is probably the main reason why iQiyi wants to make mobile phones.

There is another reason that cannot be ignored. LeTV, the rival of iQIYI inside, is plotting to develop its mobile phone hardware business. If it is allowed to complete the layout of the closed loop of the industrial chain first, does this mean that iQIYI will repeat the mistakes of its TVs and boxes that were unsustainable?

After all, digital products still require first movers and category recognition. If users develop the perception that video phones are equivalent to LeTV, then iQiyi’s chances will be slim. Just like the current TV boxes and Internet TVs, the first thing people think of is Xiaomi and LeTV, and only a few people will think of the products that iQiyi and TCL have cooperated on.

Or maybe it's just a pathfinder for Baidu

For Baidu, the real purpose may not be iQiyi, but Baidu Cloud ROM and 100%. Because the core of a mobile phone is ROM and manufacturing process, and content suppliers like iQiyi may not be considered the core part. Therefore, iQiyi video phone is just a "gimmick" born for marketing.

Another point is that since Baidu invested in 100% last November, the two companies have not had much software and hardware integration, except for the Baidu APP pre-installed on 100% mobile phones. From another perspective, iQiyi mobile phones are more like endorsing future Baidu mobile phones. With the experience of iQiyi video mobile phones, both parties will take fewer detours in the next step of Baidu mobile phone integration, whether for Baidu Cloud ROM or 100% mobile phones.

Maybe many people don't know this 100%. Like many Shenzhen mobile phone manufacturers, it is also a copycat phone manufacturer. When Xiaomi was at its peak, it followed the trend and made an Internet customized mobile phone, and this time it became an Internet mobile phone manufacturer.

However, unlike many counterfeit mobile phone manufacturers, this company has created a small-volume exclusive mobile phone sales model, that is, providing small batches of mobile phone stores, which can reduce the inventory costs of mobile phone stores and thus reduce operating costs. This model is very suitable for mobile phone stores (counterfeit mobile phone stores) in small and medium-sized cities, so the main market of this company is also small and medium-sized cities (third-tier cities).

This market is exactly the "no man's land" that BAT has not taken care of at present. To be more precise, it is the unconsumed demographic dividend and the next growth point. Whoever can grab this market will be able to achieve a substantial improvement in performance in the future. Therefore, this is probably the main purpose of Baidu's investment.

Baidu hopes to indirectly extend the mobile ecosystem to small and medium-sized cities through 100% mobile phones, gain new business growth, and consolidate Baidu's position in the market.

Following this logic, we can infer that iQiyi is just Baidu's pathfinder, and Baidu will definitely launch a Baidu-branded mobile phone in the near future.

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.