Few electronic devices have changed the world as much as the smartphone, which is evident in Spain with the explosion of WhatsApp. The cell phone has already made it possible to do things that were not possible before, such as talking from the car, communicating with people rather than places, and sending text messages. But the shift to smartphones has changed everything. That’s why we saw at the beginning of this century Countless brands are competing in a particularly demanding sector.
There was a time when even Pepsi had a cell phone, and it wasn’t the only brand to launch with disastrous results. All kinds of companies of all sizes and nationalities (especially Chinese) believed that it was easy to make money in this market. And that wasn’t the case for many. That’s why we’ve seen in recent years how evenly Renowned brands such as vivo, OPPO and Huawei have stopped introducing certain mobile phones even in markets such as Europe.
Currently, the market that is attracting the most attention is the electric car market. And that of connected cars. Companies like Apple and Google know this and have developed operating systems for these vehicles. But automakers won’t wait and some have started betting on it Create your own mobiles.
A different strategy
The first thing that needs to be made clear is that Currently, there are only a few brands that design their own smartphones. They are Chinese And that makes it easier considering that the Asian country has a huge industry that prefers brands with great financial power to develop their own mobile phones.
The second thing to highlight is this These are bets not aimed at fighting Samsung or Apple to achieve a large market share. Manufacturers know that cars do a lot more business than cell phones, at least when it’s a new company. Your intention is Create smartphones that are a great option for your current customers those who buy cars.
Polestar 2 with Android Automotive system José Luis Cano
Cars are increasingly becoming rolling computers, This means they are permanently connected to the Internet to increase security, improve entertainment, etc. They also have advanced operating systems such as Tesla or Android Automotive, among others. The aim is to develop mobile phones with an operating system that integrates perfectly into the car. This is currently not possible because Google has the ability to do this but doesn’t sell cars.
Nio and Polestar
The first brand to attract attention by announcing its intention to develop its own smartphone in 2022 was Nio, which criticized Apple or Google for not allowing better integration of their mobile phones into the software of their vehicles. The Chinese company wants its mobile phone to be an extension of its vehicles and vice versa. Almost a year later, we saw the first rumors about the specifications of this smartphone, which would be a high-end smartphone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 1TB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM.
Another brand working on developing its own mobile phone is Polestar with Meizu. That’s how it happens Both Polestar and Meizu belong to the same parent company, Geely, which makes the integration of technologies much easier. The company’s explanations are very similar to Nio’s.
Looking for Create a smartphone that allows its users to use it as an extension of the car This makes it easier to use many technologies that Google and Apple don’t integrate into their phones. In this case, the Polestar mobile phone would use a modified version of Flyme OS, the software that Meizu uses on its smartphones. It will be an expensive mobile phone that focuses on the experience along with the car and not on the features or the price. We’ll have to see how the integration with Google turns out, making the Polestar 2, for example, one of the few cars that can be controlled via the Google Assistant.
¿Y Tesla?
Come on Rumors about the possible Tesla mobile have been circulating for years, and even Elon Musk himself has spoken about it on occasion. This is clear to the tycoon Controlling the vehicle software is crucial Therefore, the use of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is not permitted, although there are ways to get around this ban. We’ve seen phone designs inspired by Tesla cars, particularly the Cybertruck, but we’ve never seen leaked information that the company was thinking about developing such a model. The closest Tesla has to a smartphone is the integration it carries out through the API with brands like Nothing or OPPO, which allows us to perform certain actions from the mobile in the same way as from the app.
But that doesn’t mean Tesla can’t develop a cell phone. Under the premise that it would not be a smartphone that competes with Apple and Google, The company could develop a phone for its car users. It has the technological capacity, the contacts in the distribution chains, the experience with the software, the brand… Whether it would use an Android fork or its own system would be debatable in the future, but if there is a manufacturer That can To be successful in this emerging market, without a doubt Tesla.
Wireless charger for Tesla cell phones
It has even developed some mobile accessories that have nothing to do with cars and which it sells simply by leveraging its brand’s appeal. A good example is the wireless charger for compatible cell phones.
