Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Sales of folding screen phones are growing rapidly, but the experience is not "perfect".

According to the data, sales of folding screen phones in China will grow by 154.4% in 2022, with a consistent growth rate of more than 50% in the next three years (iResearch Consulting). Counterpoint reported that global annual sales of folding screen phones will exceed 5000 million in 2025, quadrupling from 2022, which is crucial for the declining smartphone market to achieve a "bottom rebound" as soon as possible.

However, compared with the rapid progress at the hardware level, the "bottleneck" at the folding screen system and software level quickly highlights. For example, the common practice in the industry is to "adapt" the existing straight-board mobile phone OS to the hardware form of folding, resulting in a series of pain points, such as blank segmentation of the system UI interface, rigid interaction, rough stretching of third-party applications, and high cost for developers to adapt, leaving many users with the awkward position of "looking but not useful" for folding screen phones.

Next, how to carry out "soft change" at the bottom of the system has become the key proposition of whether the folding screen can change from "minority play" to "mass main force" products.

The OPPO ColorOS 13.2 system released with OPPO Find N3 on October 19 not only made the industry and users see the importance of creating a "native OS" for the folding screen, but also made the folding screen take a big step towards the "perfect experience" of "integration of software and hardware".

The folding screen finally transcends the "native experience".

Since Samsung launched its first folding screen phone in early 2019, the folding screen has crossed the "hardware maturity barrier" in about three years.

For example, the weight of the folding screen is similar to Apple's latest iPhone 15 Pro Max in weight, thickness and battery life, and the hinge bending life and screen durability are enough to cover the user's full replacement cycle. It can be said that when the folding screen comes to the fourth quarter of 2023, it will be very difficult to make major technological breakthroughs in the following three major pieces of the "folding screen" of the screen, the pivot, and the battery in a short period of time, and the "struggle for an inch" at the hardware level is no longer obvious for continuing to improve the actual experience of users.

In contrast, software challenges cover complex issues such as operating systems, interactions between internal and external screens, and intra-application interactions, as well as application adaptation and ecological building, which are actually more challenging for today's mobile phone companies. it is also one of the important variables that hinder the folding screen "experience word-of-mouth" and move towards the mass market.

It can be said that the folding screen has gone to the stage from "hard innovation" to "soft breakthrough", from the shallow innovation of "visible" to the deep experience innovation of "invisible".

The new version of ColorOS, by creating the industry's first "native" folding screen system, jumps out of the "passive adaptation" thinking of traditional folding screen phones, and refreshes the industry and users' new understanding of the direction of "perfect evolution" of folding screens.

First of all, the new version of ColorOS completes the native leap from the system and interaction, truly coruscating the "native large screen experience" that the folding screen should have.

The folding screen not only provides a combination of "small outer screen + large inner screen", but more importantly, it allows users to have different scenes and functional experiences on the two screens, while providing a consistent interactive experience in the process of switching between the two screens. It is by no means easy to do this. Take many video applications as an example. After watching the outer screen of some folded screen phones in full screen mode, if you want to switch to large screen mode, you will find that it is still not full screen in large screen mode, but if you want to switch to full screen state again, in addition to clicking the relevant button, you also need to rotate the screen 90 °, which is very tedious and unfriendly.

As a "native system for folding", the first thing of the new ColorOS is to reconstruct almost all the system-level self-research applications on a large screen: by adjusting the hierarchical relationships, interactive logic and user scenarios seen by the application, the functions on the traditional folding screen system that require multi-step operation to achieve "one-step direct access", while bringing the "unfinished experience" of the traditional straight screen. For example, the calendar application commonly used by office and business users, the new ColorOS shows calendar information on the left and detailed plans for the day on the right, making all the itinerary and booking information clear compared to the straight phone. For example, the photo album app, the new ColorOS can display photos / videos on the left and detailed time and place of photos on the right, as well as image file size, duration, name and other information, which allows users to get rid of the traditional folding screen and straight phone image browsing and search "anxiety", thus effectively improving the efficiency and good experience of image collation and material collection.

According to OPPO, the new version of ColorOS has completed more than 20 native app interfaces, making it truly "far ahead" in the industry.

In response to the needs of users' high-frequency third-party applications, the new version of ColorOS has joined forces with application partners, including social applications such as Xiao Hongshu, audio and video entertainment services such as NetEYun Music and Youku, Futuo Niuniu and other services, as well as mobile office and creative applications such as WPS and clipping. Take WPS as an example, users can not only use the external screen to browse simply, but also immediately open the large screen to make more detailed and accurate input adjustments to meet the pain point needs of the mixed office era. For those who like to read, take Tencent News as an example, you can watch the news list on the left screen and browse the specific news content on the right, saying goodbye to the inefficient user experience of forcibly enlarging "spare space" on news application pages in the past.

Another cause for concern is the leap in the "native large screen productivity" of the new version of ColorOS, which opens the "second change in mobile efficiency" of folding screens.

In fact, the ever-expanding screen size is one of the important evolution trends of smartphones. For example, the 3.5-inch screen of the iPhone at the beginning of 2007 has been called a "large-screen change" by the industry and users, while 80% of smartphones in the Chinese market have screens of more than 5.5 inches by the first quarter of 2023. With larger screen, flexible touch screen interaction, and rapidly improved performance, network speed and application ecology, many users can also achieve some light office functions on the mobile phone, which brings about the first change in mobile office efficiency.

The next second change is the folding screen. However, the improvement of mobile efficiency and experience is not obvious when the office application of the straight phone is simply adapted to the folding screen. For example, many solutions such as split screen and floating window provided for the multi-task needs of users on the folding screen, not only the application display content will be cut, but also many third-party applications can not split the screen, which makes the large screen productivity advantage of the folding screen often become a "fancy shelf".

Another important change brought about by the new version of ColorOS is that through the industry's original "panoramic virtual screen", it abandons the previous split-screen architecture, and instead launches a self-developed multi-task window scheme with 18 patented technologies. Without the need for targeted adaptation of three-party applications, the success rate of application split-screen increases from 50% to 99%. It can be said that there is almost no inseparable screen. And it will continue to improve and evolve with the upgrading of the overall experience of the solution, which fundamentally solves the complex application split-screen requirements of users in multi-tasking and collaborative office scenarios.

The panoramic virtual screen also solves the problem that the traditional multi-task sub-screen has to trim the display space, which leads to the pain point of "chicken rib display" in each application window. Based on the new version of ColorOS, when users enter multitasking mode, there is no need to "cobble together" multiple application images, and users are free to choose "foreground operation" and "background resident" among multiple applications according to the priority of the task. Because the new version of ColorOS can guarantee "no killing" of background resident applications, users do not have to worry about the suspension or mid-range problems of background applications, which is very important for many users. For example, during a video conference, users temporarily need to reply to important messages, or modify or transfer files, so that they can concentrate on the operation on the big screen without worrying about the middle end of the meeting or stutter. Another example is that during the lunch break, the user is playing the game "gang up" or browsing bilibili, and when an important phone call comes in, you don't have to switch pages like in the past. There is no need to worry about the problem of "game dropping" after the end of the call.

At the same time, in view of the split-screen needs of users, the new version of ColorOS also makes in-depth thinking and detailed innovation for the real use scenarios of users. For example, the built-in intelligent window algorithm can actively provide "most suitable" split-screen display layout suggestions for multitasking applications opened by users, and users can also adjust them according to their own needs. When users switch different tasks, the new version of ColorOS can also achieve "smooth switching" and "fast focus", just like a professional broadcaster can quickly switch and accurately point according to the user's thinking.

For users, they can view the real-time dynamics of the stock price and operate the transaction quickly at the same time, so as to avoid the trouble of "hanging order failure" caused by rapid and small changes in the stock price. Business users can conduct video conferencing while performing efficient operations of other mobile office applications. Learning users can read foreign languages or professional content while doing real-time translation or searching relevant materials.

Another very important feature of the new version of ColorOS is that it allows users to freely save their favorite split-screen scenes and form three applications into a "super scene application". For example, mobile office users can "activate" the application combination of video conferencing, PPT screen launch and information communication, eliminating the need for complex operations such as application-by-application opening and split-screen configuration, thus greatly increasing users' demand for "native large screen productivity" in various scenarios, which is an important reason why the new ColorOS can be called "the second change in mobile efficiency".

Ten years of precipitation, ColorOS continues to refresh the "folding benchmark"

ColorOS can lead the industry to bring the first real "for folding" native system transition, and has a high system maturity, as well as a lot of folding screen interaction experience and efficiency innovation breakthroughs, in fact, there are three powerful engine drivers.

First of all, it is the "long-term doctrine" of continuous innovation for a decade.

It has been more than a decade since the launch of OPPO ColorOS on September 23, 2013, and continuously improving the user experience and exploring efficient, multitasking solutions has been one of the core directions of innovation. For example, the system fluency, UI aesthetics and the "dominant gene" that pays attention to emotional interaction experience, as well as quick functions such as sliding three fingers from the original ColorOS; the "dividing screen on three fingers" function introduced by ColorOS 5.0; and the "flashback window" function, which is the first in the industry to reduce the number of user switching when multitasking. The most intuitive two-finger split screen experience and the best hover mode on ColorOS 12, and the panoramic virtual screen on ColorOS 13.2and other functions.

In this process, it can be said that ColorOS has almost continuously led the complete process of optimization and reform of domestic mobile phone systems, and its exploration of "efficiency" and "multitasking" has always been in the forefront of the industry. So when the new version of ColorOS once again led the industry to create the first native system "made for folding", outsiders and users were not surprised, and it was also "just right" to judge that the folding screen was the launch node of the explosion in 2023.

Second, attach importance to "system soft power" innovation and "user demand-oriented" innovation.

2019 is a "milestone" year for both OPPO and ColorOS. In addition to the year when OPPO announced a comprehensive increase in R & D investment, it also proposed a transformation and upgrading strategy to a "comprehensive all-round technology company", and made it clear to build "the core underlying technology" and "software engineering and system capabilities". In the next few years, the industry will see ColorOS in AI technology and scene applications, supercomputing platforms and other underlying technology mining and long-term use of fluency solutions, as well as Pantanal and other continuous breakthroughs in the field of "middleware" of the integration of everything system, which not only enables ColorOS to achieve a stronger "technology-driven", but also allows ColorOS to reserve rich "technology shelves" that can be closer to the needs of users for functional and experience innovation.

The experience advantage brought by "native folding experience" is not that other manufacturers are "invisible", but that its "selling point innovation" and "marketing gimmick" are not significant compared with hardware innovation. at the same time, mobile phone enterprises need to pay huge costs in system bottom, function innovation and ecological building.

For example, in view of the "high-frequency rigid demand" pain points faced by users in the mobile office scene in the mixed office era, such as cross-screen, multi-ecological and multi-file formats, the new version of ColorOS has become the first Android mobile system in the industry to read Keynote directly through a focus breakthrough, without the need to install three-party applications, including CAD and other file formats, Apple office three-piece documents, etc. can be opened and previewed directly, and marked directly in the preview interface through OPPO Pencil. The new version of ColorOS's "portable workbench" also has the strongest file management and sharing capabilities in the industry. Users only need an OPPO account to search, edit and share files across devices. For example, you can use your mobile phone to take a picture and then turn on the computer to edit the photo, or finish editing a PPT on the computer, or you can continue to edit or share it on the folding screen, ensuring the "highest efficiency" needs of users.

It is the "collaborative innovation" based on technological innovation and user demand that makes ColorOS not only "one of the most innovative operating systems in the industry", but also "the most powerful Android OS in the world". According to a data released by OPPO at the beginning of 2022, ColorOS had more than 500 million monthly active users, equivalent to one out of every eight mobile phone users in the world using ColorOS.

Third, OPPO attaches great importance to the folding screen, and is determined to create a sustained "software integration" innovation leading advantage.

Since the release of Find N at the end of 2021, OPPO has not only created a complete folding screen product line with horizontal large screen and vertical small screen, but also quickly established a leading innovation advantage and strong user reputation in the field of folding screen. Public data show that the large screen utilization rate of Find N is as high as 30%, and the positive comment rate of JD.com users is as high as 98%. Within two weeks after the release of Find N2, the 5K + price segment of JD.com platform won the top spot in sales, with a high praise rate of 99%. OPPO small folding Find N2 Flip has changed the traditional impression of users'"chicken rib experience" in the past, not only becoming an absolute "single hot product" with a share of 31%, but also working with Find N2 to promote OPPO to stand on the "new throne" with the first domestic folding market share.

OPPO folding screen "style has a breakthrough, generations can be popular style" behind, and ColorOS's strong innovation support is inseparable. For example, ColorOS on Find N realizes that "external screen applications can also be used on the inner screen", allowing users to see the real large screen experience and efficiency changes caused by folding screen users. ColorOS on Find N2 is the representative of "application large screen adaptation". Relevant survey data show that the utilization rate of monthly active users of multitasking functions (split screen, free floating window) on Find N2 is more than 50%, which confirms the correct direction of ColorOS in the innovation level of "folding screen efficiency". Now, with the release of Find N3 with ColorOS 13.2, the industry and users have seen the experience advantages and value of "folding native" concept, polishing real systems for folding from 0 to 1, and let ColorOS once again lead the industry into a new exploration of "no man's land" of "native experience" and "efficiency breakthrough" of folding screen.

In fact, this is also an important reason why ColorOS "sharpens its sword in ten years", dares to invest in the underlying technology, innovates close to the needs of users, and "leads the folding screen to create a new peak".

"one observation" comment

The smartphone industry is once again ushering in a cycle of "big change".

On the one hand, sales of smartphones in China hit their lowest level in a decade in the second quarter of this year, and Counterpoint Research expects that the bottoming out since 2016 is not over. On the other hand, the mobile phone market is clearly divided: the high-end market share is rising, and the sales of folding screen phones are soaring. After a 300% increase in the Chinese market in 2022, more than 3 million folding screens were sold in the first eight months of this year, surpassing the whole of last year, according to data from a number of market institutions.

This means that in fact, users' expectations for replacement, especially the experience needs of high-end users, have not been met, and the innovation of the smartphone industry is far from the ceiling.

For domestic mobile phone enterprises, folding screen is not only an important track to stand on the "gold line market" of more than 1000 US dollars, but also a deterministic innovation direction which has been confirmed by both technology evolution and user market. Or the arrival of a similar "new iPhone moment" is not too much in terms of technology (such as AI), interaction, experience, and productivity.

Of course, after three years of "running wild" in the field of hardware innovation, the innovative significance of soft power is more prominent and challenging than hardware stacking.

But for ColorOS, if it has been able to take the lead and continue to innovate for a long time in the past decade, OPPO has become the most important TOP mobile phone brand in the world, so it is destined to become one of the most important innovation and growth engines of OPPO in the following field of folding screen innovation and high-end market breakthrough.

This is also the reason and significance for the industry and users to keep a focus on the "folding native" of ColorOS.

The author observes Suyi.

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