Are the new products in your eyes actually just technological Frankenstein monsters?
The Xiaomi AI Smart Glasses really lived up to the high expectations set by Lei Jun's personal endorsement.
Since its release on June 26th, the sales of this multi - functional glasses have exceeded 80,000 pairs in just 15 days, far exceeding the internal expectations. As a result, Xiaomi was forced to raise its sales target from 300,000 pairs to 500,000 pairs. However, while it's selling well, the glasses are also facing some skeptical voices: Is the so - called high - tech just about integrating a camera, headphones, and a smart assistant into a pair of glasses?
Similar "soul - searching questions" are not limited to AI smart glasses. Domestic new energy vehicles were once questioned for taking the wrong path of "installing color TVs, refrigerators, and big sofas". The multi - functional microwave - steam - oven combination that integrates the functions of a microwave, oven, steamer, and air fryer has seen a price increase, but the user experience has "taken a hit". The smart toilet with an added music function, which can play music while flushing, costs 300 - 500 yuan more...
After being dazzled by the numerous stacked functions, consumers have started to do some serious calculations: How many "useless" functions do we still need to pay for? Why has the so - called technological innovation turned into an over - proliferation of "Frankenstein" tech products?
Tech integration is a double - edged sword
If you casually open the instruction manual of a smart product, you'll find that the list of functions is getting longer and longer.
In September 2023, the Ray - Ban Meta smart glasses co - developed by Meta and Ray - Ban only had simple audio and shooting functions. Less than two years later, in addition to basic functions such as audio and photography, the Xiaomi AI Smart Glasses can also achieve functions like payment, AI voice interaction, AI object recognition, simultaneous interpretation of 10 languages, voice - to - text conversion, and even support voice control of Xiaomi's smart home devices and cross - device linkage with Xiaomi cars.
The "functional evolution" speed in the automotive industry is no less impressive. A decade ago, having a reversing radar and a reversing image screen was considered a high - end configuration in a car. Driven by the current wave of electrification, reversing radar and reversing images are just standard features. If a car brand doesn't have three or five large screens, it would be embarrassed to face consumers. Additionally, features such as automatic parking, assisted driving, outdoor movie projection, in - car KTV, air - conditioned sofas, and large color TVs are all available, aiming to offer everything.
The home appliance industry, which has always relied on technology, has also been caught up in the involution of the function competition. Since the emergence of the microwave - oven combination, home appliance brands seem to have discovered a new continent. Subsequently, the microwave - steam - oven combination, the microwave - steam - oven - fryer combination, and the microwave - steam - oven - fryer - stewing combination have been launched one after another. Major manufacturers are competing with each other to see whose products have more and more comprehensive functions.
The prevalence of the "Frankenstein" products that pursue comprehensiveness has its positive side. Through technological combination or function stacking, these integrated products lower the threshold for users to try new technologies and enhance the multi - functionality of products, meeting the diverse needs of different scenarios. In particular, the multi - functional kitchen appliances meet the needs of many small - sized households.
The development of smartphones is also a typical example of continuous integration and iteration of technological functions. Twenty years ago, a mobile phone was just a combination of a watch and a landline phone. After the emergence of smartphones, countless technological functions have been continuously integrated through apps, making the mobile phone the most important daily tool for people and a cross - era technological leap.
However, when manufacturers start to indulge in integrating various technological and scenario - based functions and promote them to consumers, the other side of the double - edged sword begins to show.
On October 11, 2024, Yang Dacheng, the vice - president of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology, released a video showing "eating hot pot in a ZEEKR MIX", making the ideal in the movie of "eating hot pot and singing songs while sitting in a carriage" seem to come true. Previously, Liu Tao, the CEO of IM Motors, made dumplings in a car during a live - stream to promote the brand's LS6 model. Leaving aside the connection between eating hot pot, making dumplings, and technology, discussing such needs in the context of car use shows that new energy vehicle manufacturers have gone too far in developing in - car scenarios.
Recently, Liu Ke, the dean of the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Southern University of Science and Technology and the dean of the Clean Energy Research Institute at Southern University of Science and Technology, clearly stated that he opposes the "fancy" functions in cars. "For example, the pursuit of large screens and big speakers. We can't just put all the functions of home appliances and mobile phones in the car. Most people spend limited time in the car."
In fact, when products with numerous strange functions deviate from real needs, enterprises fall into the embarrassing situation of "narcissistic innovation".
The helplessness in the era of technological transition
Actually, turning products into "Frankenstein" is a result of the real - world helplessness under the background of the times and the interaction of multiple forces at a specific stage.
Firstly, there is a mismatch between the manufacturers' perception and the users' needs. The piling up of strange functions often stems from manufacturers' misunderstanding of users' core experiences rather than a precise solution to their pain points. During the marketing process, manufacturers often mistake "users need more functions" for "users need a better experience". This mismatch creates a breeding ground for the birth of "Frankenstein" products.
In the current kitchen appliance market, the main selling points of range hoods are no longer just core functions such as wind power and suction. Auxiliary functions like WiFi connectivity and AI features are equally important. Even though the WiFi function only allows people to turn off the machine remotely, and the AI function only eliminates the need for manual button - pressing. In the marketing of cars, there are also many ridiculous selling points. For example, having an in - car toilet, an in - car kitchen, and an in - car fishing kit can all be marketing gimmicks for Jishi cars.
Secondly, the birth of "Frankenstein" products is largely due to manufacturers' anxiety about differentiation.
As market involution intensifies, the homogeneous competition in various industries is becoming increasingly fierce. Differentiation has almost become a lifesaver for every manufacturer. Therefore, adding functions and making minor innovations on a mature technological platform to quickly launch new products at a relatively controllable cost has become the fastest and most reliable way for enterprises to break through. In essence, this is a survival strategy for dealing with the red - ocean market.
If it's a well - thought - out combination based on improving the user experience, it's okay. The most worrying thing is that excessive function stacking dilutes the experience of individual functions, which may lead to more serious consequences.
Take the hidden door handles popular among car manufacturers as an example. Initially, some luxury sports cars adopted this technology mainly to reduce wind resistance during high - speed driving. However, later new energy vehicle manufacturers applied this function to all models without discrimination. Although it seems to enhance the style, it has little practical use. It not only increases the probability of malfunctions but also affects the speed of opening and closing the doors and even poses potential safety hazards. As a result, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicited opinions on the mandatory national standard revision project of "Safety Technical Requirements for Automobile Door Handles" this year.
Thirdly, the birth of "Frankenstein" products is an inevitable phenomenon in the process of technological iteration. The history of technology shows that whenever emerging technologies enter the stage of transitioning to the mass market, a batch of function - integrated products will emerge. However, some of the added functions do not bring corresponding improvements in experience, but the price keeps rising, creating a distortion in cost - performance ratio, which has been widely criticized.
Jingzhe Research Institute found on an e - commerce platform that a cross - door refrigerator with a 21.5 - inch smart screen is priced at 6,999 yuan. Another cross - door refrigerator with similar configuration but without the smart screen only costs 3,839 yuan. The 3,000 - yuan price difference is enough to buy a highly cost - effective tablet computer in the market, but here it is used to provide limited functions on the refrigerator. Is it really worth it in terms of daily use scenarios and user experience?
Similarly, the price of smart toilets with added functions such as voice control, automatic lid opening, and music playback often doubles, but these new functions are hardly practical and often end up as ornaments.
However, in order to quickly penetrate the market, some manufacturers tend to fabricate or exaggerate the scenario experience and give unrealistic glory to new functions. When consumers actually use the products and find that the new functions are far from as amazing as advertised and often end up being useless, they start to question whether they are paying an "IQ tax".
This process of disenchantment not only harms individual brands but also overdraws the credibility of the entire product category and even technological innovation. It also exposes the weakness of Chinese enterprises in basic scientific research.
The power of fundamental innovation
Behind the prevalence of "integration", there is a deeper and more fundamental problem: the long - term absence of fundamental technological innovation in China. What is fundamental technological innovation? Simply put, it is the ability to invent and create from scratch.
Although we had world - leading achievements such as the Four Great Inventions in history. However, looking at the technological history of the past two centuries, an inescapable fact is that almost all the major fundamental inventions that form the cornerstone of modern life were born in developed Western countries or regions.
Looking around, the prototype of the television was invented by John Logie Baird, a Scottish man, in 1925; the air - conditioner was invented by Willis Carrier, an American engineer, in 1902; the founder of the modern automobile industry is Karl Friedrich Benz, a German; the mobile phone was invented by Martin Lawrence Cooper, an American. And the Internet, which has changed and opened up a new technological situation in the 21st century, was also born through the efforts of many American scientists.
It can be said that the current high - level development of China's technology industry is largely based on the fundamental scientific breakthroughs made by predecessors. Coupled with the strong engineering and industrialization capabilities of Chinese technology enterprises and their agile market response, the glory of "Made in China" has been achieved.
However, in the field of original innovation from "0 to 1", we are still catch - up players. According to a report on Qiushi.com, the proportion of basic research funding in China's total R & D expenditure is 6.91%, which is still significantly lower than the 12% - 23% in major developed countries.
Especially at the enterprise level, the characteristics of basic research, such as not aiming for short - term application, high investment, long cycle, and high risk, are fundamentally contradictory to enterprises' nature of pursuing immediate profits. The absence at the source of scientific research makes the R & D of many Chinese enterprises often focus on improvements and combinations based on existing technologies rather than on creating from scratch, ultimately leading to a path - dependence on function piling. This is also one of the underlying logics for the homogeneous and involuted competition in many industries.
Fortunately, the Chinese technology industry has fully recognized this bottleneck from top to bottom and started to take action. The national leaders have repeatedly emphasized that "basic research is the source of the entire scientific system" and "we should attach great importance to breakthroughs in original professional basic theories, strengthen the construction of scientific infrastructure, ensure the continuous progress of basic, systematic, and cutting - edge technological research and development, and strengthen the supply of original innovation achievements."
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics also shows that in the past decade or so, China's expenditure on basic research has increased from more than 50 billion yuan to nearly 250 billion yuan last year, more than quadrupling.
At the enterprise level, some technology - based enterprises are also making efforts. Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, has repeatedly emphasized that "basic science is the root". It is reported that about one - third (about 60 billion yuan) of Huawei's annual R & D investment of up to 180 billion yuan is dedicated to basic scientific research. Tencent has also established the "New Cornerstone Fellow Program", investing 10 billion yuan to support scientists' free exploration. These measures represent an important shift in the industry's perception.
Although China's overall investment intensity in basic research is still significantly lower than that of major developed countries, and it will take time to reverse the relative weakness in the "0 to 1" stage and break the cycle of function piling. However, it can be clearly seen that some fundamental innovations in fields such as AI large - language models and humanoid robots have reached the international leading level. It still takes some time to transition from cutting - edge science to consumer - level applications.
In the future, guided by the anti - involution policy and with the awakening of enterprise awareness, the combination of China's essential innovation and industrialization capabilities will surely get rid of involuted innovation and ushers in a real era of technological leadership.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Jingzhe Research Institute", author: Wu En. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.