The Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition chip is currently the most powerful mobile chip, surpassing Apple's A18 processor. Many domestic mobile phone manufacturers have released phones equipped with this chip. However, Lei Jun, who has always emphasized cost-effectiveness, said that the Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition is too expensive, and other chip prices are also rising, so it is impossible to make a phone for 3999 yuan. Recently, another mobile phone company has released a cheaper Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phone.

Recently, realme released its new flagship phone, the GT7 Pro, equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition chip, priced at 3599 yuan, setting a new low for Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phones and providing a more affordable option for domestic consumers. This undoubtedly slapped Lei Jun hard.

Before realme, another mobile phone company, vivo's iQOO, also released its new iQOO13 phone with the Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition, priced starting at 3999 yuan, becoming the first Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phone priced below 4000 yuan. These mobile phone companies are releasing more affordable Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phones to compete for the younger generation and win market share with affordable prices.

The size of the domestic mobile phone market is much smaller than it was a few years ago. In 2016, domestic mobile phone shipments reached 470 million units, while in 2023, they fell to 270 million units, a decrease of over 40%. The shrinking market size has prompted mobile phone companies to fight for survival.

The cost-effective mobile phone market is undoubtedly a key battleground for all parties. For young people, they are quite familiar with mobile phone hardware configurations and have higher requirements for mobile phone performance. However, they also hope to purchase phones at affordable prices, making the cost-effective mobile phone market an important market for young people.

The mobile phone brand founded by Lei Jun once used cost-effectiveness as its label. In its early years, its phones were indeed very cost-effective, priced below 2000 yuan but comparable to high-end phones like Samsung and Apple in terms of configuration. This helped it successfully gain a foothold in the domestic market.

However, as the mobile phone brand gained a firm foothold in the domestic market and even once ranked first, although it still emphasized cost-effectiveness, the actual pricing of its phones continued to rise, with benchmark prices exceeding 4000 yuan, more than double the original pricing.

When Lei Jun's company released its new phone, he said that pricing above 4000 yuan broke the psychological barrier of 3999 yuan and claimed that it was impossible to make a Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phone for less than 3000 yuan. However, these mobile phone companies have released Snapdragon 8 Ultimate Edition phones priced below 4000 yuan, undoubtedly slapping him hard in the face. It's not that he can't make them, but that he wants to make more money.

Facing the greed of this mobile phone company, domestic consumers have voted with their feet. Since its phones lost their cost-effectiveness, it has never regained the top spot in the domestic mobile phone market. Many other mobile phone companies have surpassed it, with vivo repeatedly taking the top spot. The reality of the market also proves that consumers do not recognize its cost-effectiveness.

The domestic mobile phone market is the largest in the world. Losing competitive advantage in the domestic market has made it difficult for this company to regain the second spot globally. Its long-held ambition to defeat Apple has remained elusive. It shows that consumers are realistic. No matter how much mobile phone companies boast about their phones' cost-effectiveness, consumers have their judgments. They will buy the phones of companies whose phones are better, not those that can be deceived.