MediaTek mobile phone brand big factory

【introduction】

The dividend in the mobile phone market has gradually disappeared. Not only is the operator suffering from the impact of the OTT Internet, but the equipment manufacturers are constantly showing price butchers. Even chip manufacturers are difficult to maintain high profits. It is extremely urgent to expand the emerging fields and integrate the industrial chain.

【text】

The Qualcomm monopoly case has caused the mobile phone market to flourish. It seems that Qualcomm’s profits point to patent fees. It seems that Qualcomm without patents will be weak. After comparing Qualcomm and MediaTek's financial report for the first half of 2014, it is not difficult to find that Qualcomm's net profit is still nearly $1.3 billion even if it removes 69% of the patent license. The overall profit of MediaTek in the first half of the year was only 780 million US dollars, and there is an absolute gap between the two. As the overlord of the huge Chinese market, MediaTek's lack of profits is not unrelated to its strategy for mobile phone manufacturers.

"One discriminating" leads to dissatisfaction with mobile phone manufacturers, it is difficult to differentiate

At the beginning of the chip version design, MediaTek treats mobile phone manufacturers and small factories equally. The benefits of this are that the version is small, the manpower input is relatively concentrated, and the internal management is convenient; but the problems brought by it are also very prominent. The small factory pursues low prices. Quickly listed, and mobile phone brand manufacturers are pursuing differentiated demand. Obviously, MediaTek's approach caters to the needs of the former.

It is not difficult to find out that the mobile phone products that have already been listed are not difficult to find. MediaTek has rarely smashed the banner in the road signs of mobile phone manufacturers, and cannot support high-priced and high-profit products. For example, when the price of the XXX brand of the built-in eight-core MT6595 hits below 999 yuan, the price of the mobile phone manufacturer in the specification stall is expected to be 1,500 yuan. If no one wants to be disassembled, the hardware specification characteristics are compared. There is no difference between the China Cool Link product configuration on the tall and the cottage. Naturally, the choice of mobile phone manufacturers will gradually move away from MediaTek in the main models.

In contrast, Qualcomm's strategy to make chip customization for mobile phone manufacturers can be described as real. Only MSM8974 has developed more than ten versions (8974AA, 8974VV, 8974AB, 8974AC...) on the main frequency and soft characteristics according to the needs of different manufacturers. In addition, for personalized features, Qualcomm also sells separately, such as anti-shake, joint shooting algorithm, so that manufacturers can selectively make differentiated products. Although MTK is the first publisher of quad-core and eight-core, and the service is good and the program is many, it is still unable to turn "advantage" into "winner". In the eyes of big customers, it is still the "alternative" after Qualcomm. .

Turnkey's double-edged sword, no strategic partner

Turnkey was created by MediaTek. Although Qualcomm has tried to establish a QRD department, the service is not as effective as the opponent. Compared with the enthusiasm of small manufacturers for Turkey, this advantage is not attractive to mobile phone manufacturers. The R&D team of hundreds of people has a value compared with the small workshops of several people.

MediaTek chips have always been known for their high cost performance. For some mobile phone manufacturers, the first brand of MediaTek chips can also make good profits. However, MediaTek's way of taking turns to be a village (TCL-Cool-Zhongxing-Meizu-Huawei...) seems to be looking for a balance, and no one can sin, but the end result is that there is no strategic partner, and the development of new features will be slower than Qualcomm.

Looking at Qualcomm, Qualcomm ranks its partners in different application areas. Enterprises with strong R&D capabilities and marketing capabilities will play a vital role in the development of new features and maturity verification of chips. Partner. At the same time, strategic partners will spare no effort to cooperate with Qualcomm in order to lead the market. For example, a certain Huawei network product and Qualcomm's MDM series joined forces in the early days, almost monopolizing the global market (the late stage of Haisi's maturity broke the strategic cooperation between the two).

"4G has not started, 3G is dead" mobile phones are gathering with big brands, MediaTek is facing transformation

With the advent of the 4G era, as well as new measures such as the state's restrictions on subsidies and reforms, the operators will gradually cancel the subsidies for 3G. In the future, only 4G will be subsidized, and the mobile phone manufacturers holding the operators' thighs will focus on each other. 4G mobile phone development, OPPO such a channel manufacturers also to cater to consumer demand to highlight the brand, claiming that there will be no new 3G products. For small manufacturers, it seems to be worse, the development strength of 4G is not yet available. The period of MediaTek's program is not mature, and the 3G mobile phone is not subsidized by operators. It is no wonder that the number of mobile phone brands is decreasing, and the boss has begun to change. other.

Changes in the pattern of mobile phone manufacturers will definitely affect chip manufacturers. Qualcomm has a market share of 4% in 4G technology, and most of its customers are mobile phone manufacturers. The market development of 4G will accelerate its expansion of territory. If MediaTek wants to repeat the status of subverting Qualcomm in the early days of the 3G license in 2012, it can be said that it is difficult to train the rapid growth of small mobile phones. In this way, the transformation of MediaTek is imperative.

Get rid of the image of the cottage, innovation must go out of the processor

In the eyes of consumers who understand hardware technology, MediaTek seems to be synonymous with the cottage, it is difficult to support the flagship products of high price. When the "Smart Product Circle" communicated with MediaTek in 2013, the marketing staff mentioned that there is an urgent need to reverse the hearts of consumers. image of.

Since 2014, MediaTek has indeed a series of actions to integrate the industrial chain and integrate innovative technologies. The typical case is the Hotknot proximity touch chip technology developed by MediaTek and its invested Huiding Technology, and the touch fingerprint recognition module. All are giving the industry a signal: MediaTek is not only a processor chip provider, but also differentiates and innovates in the core technology of the industry chain. In particular, the cooperation between Hotknot and Alipay in software applications is eye-catching.

As a result, the competition among chip manufacturers has expanded to the ecosystem. Qualcomm's layout of low-power display and IoT communication protocols fully demonstrates this. In the future, the ecosystem of chip companies will also extend to enterprises with application services. Cooperation, even custom chips.