A few weeks ago, there was a lot of speculation overseas Facebook Home It has attracted the attention of many parties, but the effect after getting started is not satisfactory. On the first day of Home release, the number of downloads reached 100000. However, these figures are far from dazzling. In contrast, when Instagram first logged into Android, the number of downloads reached 1 million on the first day and 5 million within six days. Three days after Google Play was launched, there were only 500000 downloads, which is really not worth mentioning compared with the nearly 1 billion users Facebook has. Why?
As a launcher, Facebook Home has upgraded Facebook's social sharing function to the system level. For heavy users of Facebook, this new social experience is indeed unusual, but it is ultimately an application of the same level. In addition to the gorgeous presentation of Facebook information that makes people feel fresh, when we entered the Facebook Home program list, we found that... This is really a disaster!
Because Facebook Home's program list and desktop functions are far inferior to native ones Android UI For example, only app shortcuts can be placed on the desktop, but widgets cannot be placed, and these apps cannot be organized in the form of folders. It may not be too painful for people who have fewer apps installed, but it is too painful for people who have more than 100 apps to use. Giving up the convenient mobile phone operation function for the sake of gorgeous information presentation effect is probably acceptable only to users who love Facebook very much, right? However, once a friend uploads a large high-definition image, the effect after the small image is forced to be enlarged is also unbearable.
The bottleneck of demand and function appears again, and the dilemma of differentiation becomes more and more obvious. Facebook Home's competitors are all kinds of well-developed launchers, which are pure experience Facebook Experience, or seeking a good and beautiful desktop application, is still a choice at present. If Facebook Home cannot improve its basic functions and bring unique and irreplaceable Facebook experience, it will certainly not survive in this mature market.
Facebook's problems are just a small microcosm. The same problem is also evident in other high-tech companies.
The rumor that Apple has changed its look recently has the same cause. The R&D and sales of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini are both planned products, and the iOS system upgrade is also a long-term planned project. The most critical problem is that, as a company that relies so heavily on new products, it cannot bring more surprises to users on new products. The early "paint dropping door" has hindered the development momentum of iPhone 5. In the past six months, Apple's market value has shrunk by as much as 250 billion dollars, almost equal to one Google Company. Rumors from Wall Street said that these difficulties attributed all these problems to Tim Cook. IOS market share is being squeezed by Android, high-quality Android software is gradually catching up, and the Holo style has also become another APP design benchmark to distinguish iOS pseudo materialization, which can not be ignored by anyone. Even if the next generation iPhone can cater to the public in size and cover the high and low end markets, it cannot be as unique as the iPhone 4 when it was launched. The way of comprehensive integration of technology to achieve differentiation in that year needs too much opportunity. The maturity of the smartphone market is so high that the gap between mobile phones and between manufacturers is not large. Galaxy sells so well, which does not mean HTC ONE is inferior to Sony LT36. Many people around me are confused about whether to choose Galaxy S4. The reason is that it is not differentiated enough.
Microsoft's Surface has the same problem. Although the sales of Windows in the first quarter of this year increased slightly compared with the same period last year, which is largely related to the sales of surface hardware, the problem is that the profit is not high. The failure of Surface RT is almost certain. It is also certain that Windows RT will be merged into Windows Blue. Office is indeed a selling point, but it cannot become a killer, nor will it become a panacea to drive the sales of Surface RT and Pro. For PC users, the gap between Surface and laptop is not big, and users who need a tablet can easily choose between iPad and Surface. Microsoft can't make Surface stand out in a short time, so it can't differentiate.
As ordinary users, when we buy digital products, we need to use the differences between products to make a choice, which is also what manufacturers have been struggling with. However, after purchase, most users use only a small part of the product functions. When the iPhone 4 came out, it was very different from other products in terms of experience. This difference cannot be directly copied, which is why today's manufacturers are running for wearable devices. Only in this new field, the rules are uncertain, and there are countless possibilities for everyone to explore and try. It is only at this time that we do not need to conduct complex comparison and screening for purchasing a product. Like Google Glass Once done, it means differentiation.
Of course, from breakthrough to homogenization, homogenization again after technology accumulation is a cycle that we will encounter every few years. Every manufacturer will encounter this dilemma of differentiation again and again. Students with selective obsessive-compulsive disorder may also be hard to escape the fate of making choices.
The author is Chen Zimu. Original address:
Learn more about new cool devices, stay tuned
Related reading:
Talk about Hammer and Facebook home
Everyone customizes ROMs? YOLANDA v1.0
Is Samsung really too poor to buy a metal shell?
