With the pace of "interconnection of all things" getting closer and closer, we may find that almost every product around us related to "electricity" is more or less related to "network" and "intelligence".

In the past, computers were computers, televisions were televisions, and cameras were Cameras... Each had his own job and did not interfere with each other. Now, if you pick up a thing at hand, it might look like a secret weapon in 007 movies 20 years ago: it looks like a watch, but you can actually make a phone call; It looks like a phone. In fact, it can watch movies and make videos; It looks like a TV. In fact, it can control the lighting, air conditioning and curtains of the whole family.

It's kind of Psychedelic. Perhaps as Arthur Clark said: any sufficiently advanced technology is no different from magic.

So the question is, when a product can concentrate the functions of countless products in the past, will the whole 3C industry become more and more narrow? For example, when a smartphone can take photos, make videos, watch movies, play games and order takeout... Do you still need a camera? Do you still need a TV and a cinema? Do you still need a game console?

Judging from the development of the industry in recent years, the answer is certainly yes. The emergence of multifunctional products such as mobile phones has indeed eliminated some demand, but for the rest, it has played a role in promoting market segmentation and function mining. In other words, today's 3C industry is becoming more and more "fine" in response to different needs.

Going up is about lifestyle imagination

If you pay attention to these awe exhibitions or CES exhibitions, it is not difficult to find that today's main high-end home appliance 3C products are emerging one after another. From the successful Casati of Haier, to Midea Colmo and AEG jointly introduced with Electrolux, and then to Metz TV acquired by Skyworth, they have brought endless imagination to the high-end home appliance market.

In August 2018, Hisense, which achieved great success in the European market, officially completed the acquisition of European home appliance giant gorenje, which also provided an opportunity for its high-end home appliance brand Asko to enter the Chinese market.

Asko brand was founded in 1918. Its minimalist design style and artistic sense derived from northern Europe make its products unique in the high-end home appliance market. Asko's main products are washing machines and dryers. At present, the product line also includes white appliances such as refrigerators, ovens and wine cabinets. The price is not cheap, but the design and quality are also extraordinary. After entering China, they used two press conferences to fully clarify the core value of the advanced brand of home appliances, which is about the imagination of lifestyle.

A press conference was held at the 2021 awe exhibition. Asko products are really refreshing at the scene: the laundry embedded in the wardrobe, the high-capacity refrigerator integrated into the cabinet, the three zone independent temperature control, and the wine cabinet that can automatically identify the wine label. These products describe a new way of life for consumers in a silent way. Asko also invited a Michelin chef to cook classic Nordic cuisine for visitors on site, so as to "get in close contact" with consumers in the most direct way.

Asko's press conference highlighted the combination of Chinese classical style and modern lifestyle

Another press conference was the launch of Asko classic 9kg laundry Series in September. Asko selected Yangyun aman hotel in the suburbs of Shanghai as the venue for the press conference, a luxury hotel with "water and cloud support the lake and mountain and cloud support the room". The ancient trees and old houses moved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties ancient houses in Jiangxi are combined with modern style, forming a wonderful contrast and harmony with the modern household appliances displayed here.

At the site, Asko also invited myways, a well-known lifestyle blogger, to have a conversation with Qi Shanshan, the chief architect, the founder of studio Qi architecture firm, an international cutting-edge architect and artist, to share their understanding of modern home life and space design aesthetics.

Why can the price of products with similar functions differ several times? Are those seemingly subtle features really worth so much premium? These questions may be frequently challenged by high-end home appliance brands, but the answer may be in the "lifestyle".

Go down and grasp the youth and intelligence

In the 3C industry, another trend visible to the naked eye is that there are more and more products for young people, and the quality is getting better and better. This is mainly reflected in two aspects. The first is that low-cost products also have enough functions and good design; Second, intelligent products are more targeted, especially for the life needs of young people.

The easiest brand to think of is Xiaomi. Since its inception in 2010, Xiaomi's products have taken "high cost performance" and "Youth" as the killer mace. Xiaomi not only pulled down the overall price level of the smartphone industry, but also established a Xiaomi ecological chain with its own strength, which pulled down the prices of various products from water purifier to TV, scale to go kart, but also ensured that the design and quality of products remained at a certain level on this basis.

SKYWORTH A20 Pro is fully aimed at the youth market

Skyworth, which started as a traditional TV brand, takes another way to get close to young people. At the autumn new product launch on September 23, Skyworth released four new TV products at the same time, among which the new flagship A20 pro of ablaze series is a product that is extremely "pleasing" to young people. Its 4K 120Hz original color hard screen + 4K 120Hz decoding + 4K 120Hz MEMC + 4K 120Hz hdmi2.1 transmission configuration accurately Snipes the biggest demand of young people for TV: playing host games and watching HD video. Both ps5 and Xbox series X require TV sets to reach 4K 120Hz, which has become a "hard indicator" when they buy TV sets. SKYWORTH claims that this TV is "understanding young people". Not only these hard standards cannot be less, but also it can connect to PC, cast screen and adopt JBL tuning. The price is also set at a very reasonable position. From the market feedback, it is indeed very successful.

Left and right are new opportunities for small markets

Nowadays, there are many product segments, which were not originally available. These markets look small, but in fact, the opportunities may be really big.
One of them is Bluetooth music headset. It can be said that before 2016, although there were sporadic products of Bluetooth music headphones, this market basically did not exist. At that time, the mainstream Bluetooth headphones in the market were basically used for calling, and there was only one ear. One thing happened that year, that was the launch of Apple's iPhone 7. For the first time, the iPhone 7 cancels the headphone hole, so that most wired headphones on the market must be connected to the mobile phone through the adapter. Is there a more convenient way? Of course, it's to buy a pair of Apple Wireless Bluetooth headset airpods launched at the same time as the iPhone 7. This approach to "bundle sales" has certainly attracted a lot of scolding from apple, but objectively, with Apple's strong appeal, the category of Bluetooth music headphones has shown explosive growth.

Airpods Pro surprises consumers with Bluetooth music headset

Until today, canceling the headset hole has become the "standard" of almost all high-end smartphones, and Bluetooth music headset has become the standard of almost all office workers and business travelers. Apple's airplads series still has a strong voice in this market, but there have never been many challengers. For example, motif a.n.c. and minor III headphones launched by British rock brand Marshall headphones have unique personality charm.

Motif a.n.c and fashion brand DOE jointly launched China Limited Edition

The iconic litchi leather grain design of Marshall brand makes the two headphones look very different in appearance. Motif a.n.c has active noise reduction function, while minoriii does not adopt in ear design, and the price is a little lower. From the product level, it is obvious that motif a.n.c benchmarked airpods pro, while minor III benchmarked airpods. If young people are a little tired of Apple's design, Marshall with full personality may become their choice.

Another market may be smaller, but also more interesting - Fitness mirrors. This product that looks like an ordinary floor mirror is actually an intelligent device with a large mirror screen. When it is turned off, it is an ordinary mirror, but when it is turned on, it can display the corresponding interface and play relevant videos. At present, the most famous brand of fitness mirror in China is fire. One of its core selling points is motion capture, which can accurately sense the actions of users in front of the mirror; Second, its rich coach courses adopt special coaches and original fitness courses, which enable users to practice with the coach at home and get the coach's guidance at any time. However, the price of fitness mirror is not cheap, and its follow-up courses have to be paid separately. What is its prospect remains to be observed.