Apple is not the only famous mobile phone manufacturer in American history, but it was ruthlessly eliminated by the tide of history. A more representative company, Motorola! Technical advantages brought Motorola to the top, but its arrogant and rigid management system led to its decline. It was quickly banned by the rise of Apple under the wave of mobile Internet. Of course, Google is also constantly launching new mobile phones, but they are more inclined to be used by Google Android developer users. The threat to Apple mobile phones is very small, resulting in a situation where Apple mobile phones are the only one in the United States! The United States is technologically advanced, but why is Apple the only company in the mobile phone industry?
Capital always pursues profits. There is no fundamental reason for making mobile phones, and investment and return are not proportional. After all, the United States has strong scientific and technological strength, and it is far more profitable to develop and obtain patents than to produce hardware equipment. Let’s take Qualcomm, which is familiar to everyone, as an example. Qualcomm mainly has two major business segments, one is patent licensing and the other is chip production.
Comparing the two major businesses, what really makes money is patent licensing. Especially in the 3G network era, Qualcomm made a lot of money. Only after the rise of Huawei in the 5G era did Qualcomm have a real competitor. In contrast, Qualcomm's chip business not only makes little money, but is often on the verge of losing money.
The reason why Apple can maintain a high profit margin on hardware products is mainly because it has achieved the position of the industry leader and can enjoy higher premiums. Of course, Apple's leading position is also inseparable from technology, such as powerful A-series processors and smooth-running iOS systems. Why are domestic mobile phone brands contending?
Electronic products are more dependent on the demographic dividend, which is mainly reflected in two aspects: First, the larger the population, the higher the purchasing power. Even a small market share can support many mobile phone manufacturers, such as domestic ZTE, Meizu, Lenovo, etc. This has also resulted in the flourishing of my country's mobile phone industry.
One is the labor cost advantage, which is easy to understand. Even Apple mobile phones are manufactured by Foxconn in China. Due to the continuous development of the domestic economy, there are also rumors that Foxconn will move out of China and transfer production to India. .
In addition, although the United States is more technologically advanced, its manufacturing industry has always been relatively backward (mainly because no one wants to do it). For example, there is no company in the United States that can manufacture the 5G network that is relatively popular now. The global core shortage is serious, but U.S. chip production is not optimistic. Even Intel wants to hand over chips to TSMC for OEM production. Multiple factors have led to a shortage of mobile phone manufacturers in the United States, leaving Apple alone as the dominant player.
Although we are unwilling to accept it, the ultimate development path of many industries will inevitably tend to be monopoly. The American company Apple is the dominant player in the field of mobile phones, but it is just ahead of us. The flourishing situation of domestic mobile phone brands will not last long, and many undeveloped niche brands will inevitably be swallowed up by the market.
The mobile phone brands that we are more familiar with have left us. Many brands such as Smartisan, 360 Mobile, Bird, Coolpad, and LeTV have disappeared. Competition among domestic first-tier mobile phone brands is also fierce.