It’s 2020, Android manufacturers really don’t have to blindly learn from Apple
When the iPhone 12 real machine prediction map was just exposed, the right-angled design made many people say that this feel is definitely not good. I will not buy it this year. However, after the iPhone 12 series was released, sales continued to rise, and Apple was also reported News of an increase of 2 million units .
The fragrance of contemporary people always comes so suddenly.
Even shortly after the release of the iPhone 12 series, a mobile phone with a right-angled edge design appeared on the market-Huawei Nova 8 SE. Of course, this is not the first mobile phone on the market with a right-angled edge design. Previously, the Hammer series also adopted the slogan of "sharp and heterogeneous in the sleek age".
Only in such a short time and immediately after Apple's release, it is inevitable that the public will ridicule the similarity of the new machine to the iPhone 12.
In fact, it is difficult to say clearly about designing to follow the trend. After all, not every time can be distinguished, and mobile phone manufacturers follow Apple to become one of the most debated topics on the Internet.
But in fact, Apple cannot always find the best solution for the mobile phone industry, and blind learning is actually not advisable.
You don’t need to learn iPhone like this
Whether the right-angled side design of the iPhone 12 is good or not, everyone may have their own opinions, but it is undeniable that from the arc design to the right-angled side design, the mobile phone holding experience inevitably declines.
The right-angled edge design will inevitably reduce the fit between the mobile phone and the palm, and there will be a certain sense of hand feeling when holding it, and as the size of the mobile phone increases, the hand feeling will become more and more serious.
The increase in weight will also reduce the holding experience. The iPhone 12 Pro Max with a large 6.7-inch screen brings better battery life, but its holding experience can be said to be the iPhone 12 ranked last in the series, with one-handed operation It is already extremely difficult for ordinary people.
The benefits of the right-angled edge design are mainly reflected in the presentation of visual aesthetics. Even if the mobile phone screen frame is the same, the right-angled edge design looks narrower than the arc design of the mobile phone and has a better visual impression.
Today when flagship mobile phones are generally moving towards 6.5-inch large screens, choosing aesthetics instead of holding comfort is not the right choice. After all, mobile phones are already one of the devices most closely related to people. If you don’t believe me, you can take a look. The daily screen time of the phone.
This design that reduces the mobile phone experience is not necessarily worth learning for Android manufacturers.
Another case where an Android manufacturer followed Apple was the vertical rear-camera trend in 2017. At that time, shortly after the release of the iPhone X, the full-screen design with four-sided borders and equal widths really surprised many people at the time.
How amazing the front of iPhone X is, and how helpless the back is. The raised and vertical dual-camera design has been complained by many users, but in fact, this is Apple’s compromise choice. The use of Face ID instead of fingerprint recognition brings A more thorough screen-to-body ratio, but Face ID also needs to occupy part of the forehead of the mobile phone and place sensors and other components.
In order not to conflict with the position of the Face ID related sensors and the front camera module, Apple used the rear vertical dual camera on the iPhone X and placed it on the left side of the phone.
In fact, the industry still has horizontal dual-camera or centered rear dual-camera solutions, but after the iPhone X, other mobile phone manufacturers can also see that the vertical dual-camera design has become a new trend.
Even more helpless is that they did not use Face ID-related technology but they had to learn from Apple. Installing a vertical dual camera at a similar position on the mobile phone was obviously a compromise issue on the technological development path, and they were alive and well. Visual aesthetic issues.
This year, the iPhone 12 series stopped distributing chargers and earphones, which also caused many users to worry, which would cause Android manufacturers to follow up.
What is left in the iPhone 12 series box is a Type-C to lighting data cable, which cannot be used with the previous ordinary USB Apple chargers.
That is to say, consumers either choose to use the old 5W charger to charge the iPhone 12, or buy a new charger at their own expense. As mentioned in our previous article, this one-size-fits-all method is not appropriate and should be chosen Power to consumers.
On the one hand, consumers who have purchased the phone for the first time have no corresponding knowledge of the way that the mobile phone does not ship with a charger, and they can’t charge the mobile phone, which is very inconvenient. A suitable fast charge charger is not friendly to consumers.
As a result, there are real rumors. Foreign media SamMobile reported that Samsung is considering stopping the distribution of chargers and headsets in the Galaxy S21 series.
And Samsung had a similar precedent before, removing the AKG headset from the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series package sold in the United States.
Even if it is compared with the previous removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack by Apple, the rationality of removing the charger this time is lower. Although Apple removed the 3.5 mm headphone, it also provides an optional adapter interface, and the removal of the 3.5 mm headphone is also In order to consider the integration of mobile phone design, improve the waterproof and dustproof capabilities.
At this stage, it is more appropriate to distribute the charger or give the user the right to choose. It is hoped that removing the charger from the package will not become the next case for Android manufacturers to follow Apple.
Apple did find many optimal solutions for mobile phone design during the development stage of the mobile phone industry, but there were also many technical compromises and poor performance during the period. These contents are not worth imitating by Android manufacturers.
Why learn Apple?
When Android manufacturers learn from Apple, they actually need to be discussed separately.
The first thing that needs to be admitted is that Apple has indeed led the development of the mobile phone industry in many aspects. Starting from the first iPhone conference in 2007, Apple has defined the most basic interactive mode of smartphones-multi-touch, and then later For fingerprint recognition, Apple has changed its smartphone products time and time again through its extremely leading market insights and technology accumulation, and provided the best solutions for product design and functions.
Including the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack, which has been controversial by consumers, has actually promoted the development of the mobile phone industry. Now it is difficult to see the 3.5mm figure on both Android phones and iPhones.
On the one hand, it is because of the popularity of true wireless earphones in recent years. On the other hand, the existence of the 3.5mm headphone jack is not conducive to the development of smartphones. The internal space of an inch of gold mobile phone needs to be used more efficiently, dustproof and waterproof. It is also the function of mobile phone as a precision instrument, modern privacy and even money storage instrument, which needs to be considered urgently.
In this case, Android mobile phone manufacturers learning iPhone is actually the best solution for learning mobile phone design and functions.
Under objective circumstances, this imitation has also promoted the progress of the industry, and most consumers can also get a better experience.
The second is that Android manufacturers consider imitating the iPhone based on market and company survival issues. Instead of imitating the appearance, they imitate the system design and even the App icon, which is extremely similar. This situation is especially common when the domestic smartphone industry is just starting.
Apple has set an anchor in the hearts of the public through the iPhone, establishing what a good smartphone should look like, and latecomers often choose to imitate leading companies without the corresponding technology and market accumulation.
Around 2013, with the cancellation of subsidies by China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, domestic Android manufacturers had to make a living on their own, while high-end market shares were often occupied by large companies such as Apple and Samsung, without the corresponding technology and excellent skills. Product strength is difficult to break through the blockade of large companies.
At this time, learning from leading companies has become a shortcut, providing an experience similar to that of the iPhone, even if it is just a shape, App or UI design, and selling at a lower price, which is often easier to gain the recognition of ordinary consumers.
Moreover, when the smartphone industry was just starting to develop in China, consumers actually did not have much choice. The prices of flagships such as Samsung and iPhone were extremely high.
The mid-range and low-end markets need more ordinary manufacturers to fill. This part is also the market with the largest shipments. In order to survive and develop, even if it is too similar to the iPhone, manufacturers will still choose to imitate the iPhone. In recent years, most of the products imitating the iPhone are also low-end models.
After the development period and the mobile phone industry gradually matures, this strategy has exposed problems. Blindly learning iPhone, even if it is a product of Apple's technological compromise, will inevitably be abandoned by consumers. When the choice is abundant, Consumers will definitely choose unique and suitable products.
Blindly imitating the iPhone cannot maintain the long-term development of a mobile phone manufacturer. Several domestic Android manufacturers who have survived the melee of the mobile phone industry have also made different product designs for their flagship products.
The optimal design solution is constantly changing, it is not advisable to blindly imitate the iPhone
Regarding the final form of mobile phones, different companies have different ideas. In recent years, the pace of Apple's new products and accessory products has all been integrated and truly wireless. The final form of iPhone development is also related to integration and true wireless.
Android manufacturers have shown a different view, and folding screen phones have become one of the roads for Android manufacturers to the future.
There are of course many optimal solutions in the process of smartphone development, but this should not be the reason why some Android manufacturers blindly imitate the iPhone.
It is said that all roads lead to Rome, and now the final form of mobile phones is different in this "Rome" city. Why should we take the same development path?
What's more, on the road to the final form of the mobile phone, there will inevitably be compromises due to technical inadequacy. The Face ID structure on the iPhone conflicts with the camera position, and the Face ID and the bangs on the iPhone forehead are all products of technical compromise.
It is not advisable to imitate the products of Apple's technological compromise when the technological path and even the technologies used are different.
▲ Not every Android phone designed with bangs has a feature like Face ID.
The mobile phone industry is constantly developing. In this process, the optimal solution for mobile phone design is constantly changing, and there is more than one. Before the full-screen era, the iPhone’s home button design was indeed very novel, as we discussed in the previous article, but it is not the best interaction design before the full-screen.
The small dots on the Meizu mobile phone, and then the mBack button afterwards, touch back, press again to return to the homepage, coupled with the feedback of the vibration motor, it is even called the most comfortable interaction method in the Android camp, Huawei, hammer, etc. The manufacturer has also imitated the design before.
Others, such as Xiaomi MIX and Huawei Kirin chips, are exploring more optimal solutions. Mobile phones do not have to be similar to iPhones.
Even in terms of system UI and icons, which are most criticized by consumers, domestic mobile phone manufacturers have come up with unique designs this year, which has greatly enhanced their brand power and product power.
Today's mobile phone market has become oligopolistic and high-quality. It is not the same as the rivalry of the 3G and 4G eras. The expectations of the market and consumers are changing. Simply imitating the iPhone’s optimal solution cannot allow manufacturers Living better can even reduce consumer trust in the brand.
OPPO and vivo's exploration of mobile phone form, pop-up camera, under-screen camera technology, etc., Huawei's self-developed Kirin chip, breakthroughs in mobile phone imaging, OnePlus spends a lot of money to invest in high screen refresh, and Xiaomi makes up for shortcomings The cooperation of, MIUI system and ecological hardware, these original new explorations and new technologies are the road they paved to a higher level.
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