“Hello everyone, I’m Jiang Yuan, head of Outu Technology.”
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Outu Technology’s ‘Co-Creating the Future’ new product launch event. On behalf of Mr. Pei, Mr. Chang, and all colleagues at Outu Technology, I extend our warmest welcome to you all!”
“It has been two years since Outu Technology was established. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all fans who have supported and loved Outu Technology on behalf of our entire team.”
Jiang Yuan continued with his usual steady and measured introduction.
His stage presence differed from Chang You’s style. When Chang You took the stage, he naturally brought an entertaining effect, making people laugh involuntarily as if they were at a comedy show.
Many people often said that just seeing President Chang’s face made them want to laugh.
In contrast, Jiang Yuan’s stage style was more formal, resembling that of an introverted good student.
However, having served as the head of Outu and hosted many press conferences, Jiang Yuan was a familiar face to the audience. Everyone knew that President Chang would make his headline appearance with the new products later, so they still showed enthusiastic support for Jiang Yuan.
Many people couldn’t help but marvel at how Outu Technology had already celebrated its second birthday.
Among all divisions of Tenda Group, Outu Technology was established relatively late, but in just two short years, it had actually carved out its own path in the fiercely competitive smartphone market, established its brand, and launched several blockbuster products. These achievements were certainly worthy of pride.
Jiang Yuan continued: “Before unveiling our new phone, I must first apologize to everyone.”
“First, this new phone’s price point is not at all attractive, and may be difficult for many fans here to accept.”
“Second, this phone doesn’t incorporate any new technology from Outu Technology in terms of hardware.”
As Jiang Yuan spoke, the pricing for the phone appeared on the large screen.
Standard version: 22,499 yuan, Premium version: 23,499 yuan!
Upon hearing this, the audience erupted in shock.
Too expensive!
It was worth noting that Shenhua Group had just held their press conference last weekend, and their standard folding screen phone was priced at only 17,999 yuan!
Yet Outu Technology’s phone price had increased by 4,500 yuan. How could this be reasonable?
The key issue was that Jiang Yuan had also said this phone didn’t use any new technology in its hardware!
No new technology, yet such a steep price increase? This was outrageous!
Many people were stunned, unsure what Jiang Yuan was getting at.
But everyone also knew that Jiang Yuan had always been straightforward, speaking directly without flowery language.
This suggested there must be a reason behind the high price.
This wasn’t the most expensive phone on the market—some niche brands had turned phones into luxury items with even higher price tags.
But among mass-produced mainstream models, this was probably the highest price point. Even Apple’s top flagship models hadn’t reached this price.
Jiang Yuan continued: “This is our Outu X1 phone. Many of you might find this image familiar. That’s right. This is actually Shenhua Group’s latest folding screen phone. These two phones are in fact the same model, completely identical.”
The photo of the Outu X1 phone appeared on the big screen, and everyone was shocked to discover it was indeed true. The only difference was that Shenhua Group’s logo had been replaced with Outu Technology’s logo; everything else was identical.
A wave of discussion immediately swept through the venue.
“Ah! So it’s the same phone? Then isn’t this press conference redundant? Couldn’t you have just held a joint conference with Shenhua Group?”
“This is disappointing! Previous phones were all independently designed, but this time they’ve completely copied Shenhua Group’s design? They can’t be considered a phone manufacturer anymore, just a sales channel.”
“I think this is good, actually. It’s reassuring. Given Outu Technology’s current capabilities, they absolutely couldn’t produce a folding screen phone with such high maturity. If they couldn’t do it well, what would be the point of launching a new model? Getting authorization from Shenhua Group to use this mature design solution shows responsibility toward customers.”
“If it’s the same phone, why is it so much more expensive?”
“Maybe it includes Tenda Group’s benefits? If you’re an existing Outu Technology user, you might be able to save some money.”
“But even after subtracting 4,000 yuan, it’s still 500 yuan more expensive!”
When Jiang Yuan openly told everyone that this phone was identical to Shenhua Group’s folding screen model, some people were disappointed. After all, they had already learned about the phone’s specifications at Shenhua Group’s press conference last week. But others were relieved, as at least Outu Technology was using Shenhua Group’s mature design solution, eliminating concerns about releasing an unfinished product.
Most people, however, lost interest. Now that they knew it was the same as Shenhua Group’s folding screen phone, why wouldn’t they just buy Shenhua’s version?
Currently, Shenhua Group’s folding screen phone was officially going on sale in the next couple of days, and Outu Technology’s phone would likely launch around the same time. Since the two phones were exactly the same, why wouldn’t people just buy Shenhua Group’s phone? What unique competitive edge did Outu Technology’s phone offer?
This Outu X1 phone would probably end up being exclusively for die-hard Tenda fans, with no appeal whatsoever to non-Tenda enthusiasts.
Jiang Yuan remained unfazed and continued with the presentation.
“I won’t go over this phone’s specifications—if you’re interested, you can watch a replay of Shenhua’s phone launch event.”
“Next, I’ll mainly introduce the improvements Outu Technology has made to this phone, specifically the customized appearance and customized system theme.”
The audience was disappointed once again.
A customized appearance was just a change in skin, and from Jiang Yuan’s implications, it seemed they hadn’t even customized the phone’s shell but merely created a phone case.
As for the customized system theme, that was even more trivial—just a change in the UI interface.
Were these minor modifications worth dedicating an entire press conference to?
Jiang Yuan continued describing the unique aspects of this phone case, which clearly differentiated it from the two phone cases promoted by Shenhua Group.
Shenhua Group primarily offered a plain leather version case that came with the standard phone, while their premium case available for purchase was a cowhide protective cover.
In contrast, Outu Technology offered a cyberpunk-style phone case with a hollow-out design and two hooks, specifically designed for mobile gamers.
Additionally, the customized cyberpunk system came equipped with the AEEIS intelligent voice assistant, giving the entire phone a high-tech feel inside and out.
After hearing Jiang Yuan’s introduction, the atmosphere finally improved somewhat.
Some audience members actually showed interest in the phone.
Primarily, for wealthy young people, Shenhua Group’s phone seemed too business-oriented without highlighting young people’s individuality, while Outu Technology’s customized phone case and system appealed to younger tastes.
Even so, the atmosphere remained somewhat lukewarm, as a phone case and customized theme alone weren’t nearly enough to excite the audience.
Although the phone case was innovative, 500 yuan seemed far too expensive! Moreover, everything shown in the PowerPoint presentation had been enhanced—how the phone case actually felt and functioned could only be determined by handling the physical product.
Jiang Yuan methodically introduced the new phone and then left the stage, allowing the press conference to move to the next segment.
The audience had fallen into a somber mood, but when they saw Chang You take the stage, they immediately erupted into enthusiastic applause and cheers.
“The main character has finally appeared, President Chang is here!”
“Awesome! President Chang, what kind of surprises do you have for us this time?”
“Woo-hoo!”
Chang You introduced himself while chatting casually with the audience, feeling their enthusiasm.
Thinking back to the last press conference, which he had conducted during his suffering travel period—stranded on a deserted island with no one around, with only the livestream audience providing a bit of warmth.
Now, finally back on the familiar stage of a press conference, he felt energized and passionate.
“First, let’s look at the price point for this new product.”
As soon as Chang You finished speaking, several large numbers appeared on the big screen: 4,999.
Next to the price, there was a rough black silhouette, vaguely showing the octopus-like shape of the router.
Chang You explained: “Some attentive audience members might have already guessed what new product we’re launching from this shape. That’s right, it’s Tenda’s first gaming-specific smart router.”
Upon hearing this, the venue fell into a brief silence, with many people wearing confused expressions.
A router?
Just a router?
Judging from the silhouette on the screen, it was indeed a router, though it seemed slightly larger than other routers based on its dimensions.
Of course, the photo couldn’t be fully trusted since there was no specific size reference—many people assumed the image had simply been enlarged.
The main issue was that the router’s price was simply absurd.
How could it possibly cost 4,999 yuan?
Currently, mainstream routers on the market were generally priced under 500 yuan, with 500 yuan routers already considered high-quality.
Some professional-grade gaming routers could sell for over 1,000 yuan, but these were rare exceptions with very niche markets.
What kind of black technology had Tenda incorporated into their router to justify a 4,999 yuan price tag? If such technology really existed, wouldn’t other router manufacturers have already adopted it? How could Tenda be the first to release it?
As for Chang You’s “gaming-specific” label, many people thought it was just jumping on a marketing concept.
Other router manufacturers had released so-called gaming-specific routers before, but these merely dedicated a specific frequency band for gaming or included built-in accelerator software—there was no fundamental difference from regular home routers.
If there really was black technology that could significantly enhance gaming experiences, established router manufacturers would surely have incorporated it already. It wouldn’t be Tenda introducing it first.
Everyone looked on with confusion, eagerly waiting to see how Chang You would introduce this product.
Chang You smiled gently: “First, let’s watch a promotional video.”