The forays of mobile phone manufacturers into the automotive sector have underscored the growth challenges they confront as mobile phone sales plateau. Yet, as the automotive trend ebbs, particularly with the deepening integration of AI and mobile technology, a growing number of mobile phone companies are redirecting their focus from peripheral fields like car manufacturing back to the core of mobile phones. The primary catalyst for this shift is the advancing maturity of AI technology.

Beyond enhancing mobile photography through embodied intelligence, AI is sparking a comprehensive revolution in both internal software and external hardware. As mobile phones undergo more internal changes and the automotive sector matures, mobile phone companies are increasingly returning to their roots, fostering new growth avenues through deep AI integration. As AI and mobile phones become more intertwined, we can anticipate even more development opportunities, thereby reconnecting with consumer demand through our own supply-side innovations.

So, how exactly will AI expand the horizons of smartphones? In this already-arrived AI era, how will mobile phones redefine their roles and positions?

AI is Transforming Mobile Phone Functions

Today, mobile phones boast a multitude of functions and uses. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that many of these functions are rooted in traditional or Internet-era needs. While they have indeed met many needs of people in traditional and Internet times and have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives, the advent of the AI era necessitates a transformation of these functions to truly cater to the new demands of the AI age.

Against this backdrop, AI is driving a transformation in mobile phone functions. It's essential to note that AI's impact extends beyond software to encompass hardware as well. The various AI agents within our mobile phones and the AI-powered hardware devices related to mobile photography are tangible manifestations of AI's reshaping of mobile phone functions from both software and hardware perspectives.

For mobile phones, this represents a renewal. Through such a comprehensive overhaul, mobile phones can rediscover their roles and positions in the AI era, forge new connections with users, and find fresh growth avenues even in a saturated market. By leveraging AI to reshape mobile phone functions, smartphones transcend their traditional Internet-phone identity, evolving into truly intelligent devices.

AI is Unveiling New Possibilities for Mobile Phones

In the past, when mobile phones encountered growth ceilings, industry players often perceived a shrinking imagination space and diminishing possibilities. The crux of this dilemma lay in the dwindling possibilities brought by the Internet to mobile phones, with the ceiling looming large. However, with the advent of the AI era, particularly with the surge in derived demands, AI is uncovering a plethora of new possibilities for mobile phones.

Historically, mobile phone possibilities were primarily confined to Internet-based applications, mostly within the virtual realm. With the AI era's dawn, especially the emergence of a hybrid era blending the virtual and real, digital and physical, mobile phones are breaking free from their traditional virtual confines, extending their reach into the physical world. Consequently, the possibilities for mobile phones are gradually expanding.

In this context, mobile phones are no longer just conduits for Internet connectivity and applications but are assuming broader roles as bridges and links connecting the virtual and real worlds. For mobile phones, this signifies a breakthrough beyond past limitations. Through such a breakthrough, the imagination space for mobile phones is once again broadened. It is foreseeable that mobile phones will transcend the virtual world, becoming entities that seamlessly connect the virtual and real.

If we view Internet phones as windows to the virtual world, then when AI introduces new possibilities to mobile phones, truly intelligent phones will serve as bridges and links for people to connect the virtual and real worlds. In the AI era, the functions and significance of mobile phones will be greatly elevated, rekindling people's imagination about mobile phones.

AI is Stimulating New User Demands for Mobile Phones

Another pivotal reason for many mobile phone manufacturers' foray into car manufacturing is the waning ability of mobile phones to stimulate users' consumption desires or prompt repeat purchases. Besides replicating their mobile phone manufacturing expertise in the automotive sector, finding ways to stimulate new demands for mobile phones can also offer solutions to break through development bottlenecks.

As AI forges more connections with mobile phones, we observe another phenomenon: AI is stimulating new user demands for mobile phones. In addition to embedding applications closely tied to people's production and daily lives in the AI era into mobile phones, another approach is to leverage AI to explore more application possibilities for mobile phones in this era. Beyond applying AI-derived software and hardware devices to mobile phones, as previously mentioned, we should also expand the application boundaries of mobile phones.

As AI's influence on people's production and daily lives deepens, it transcends being a mere Internet tool, becoming an entity that connects to a broader ecosystem and system. Through it, we can establish connections not only with the Internet but also with numerous AI products such as smart cars, humanoid robots, and smart home devices.

When AI stimulates new user demands for mobile phones, especially when it forges new direct connections with users, its boundaries can be further expanded. By delving into the internal drivers of these new demands truly triggered by mobile phones, we find that AI plays a pivotal role. As these new user demands are activated, new growth poles for the mobile phone industry will emerge, opening up fresh imagination spaces.

Epilogue

As AI elements increasingly permeate mobile phones, the ceilings once perceived are gradually being shattered. Ultimately, the internal and external transformations initiated by AI, as witnessed in other industries and scenarios, are the key reasons for further expanding the boundaries of the mobile phone industry. As AI and mobile phones generate more and more synergistic effects, mobile phones will transition from the Internet era into the artificial intelligence era, and smartphones will truly become intelligent devices.