Xiaomi’s operation is so disappointing! I tried my best to compete with Porsche, but I only learned how to play word games.

“In the past, when buying Xiaomi, I was just being honest, but now I have to bring a magnifying glass with me to buy Xiaomi - otherwise I can’t see clearly the pitfalls in the propaganda!”

Akai, a long-time rice fan from Jiangxi Province, took a video of a drawer full of Xiaomi mobile phones. From the first generation Xiaomi 1 to the latest Xiaomi 17 Pro, his full collection was once his pride, but now it has become a source of complaint.

This video exploded with thousands of comments on the Internet. Some people posted the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra car purchase contract and cursed "42,000 to buy a plastic board." Someone pulled out a mobile phone promotional poster and said, "The king of backlight turns out to be a target."

How did Xiaomi, which once attracted countless fans based on its "cost-effectiveness" and "transparent parameters", become what netizens call a "master of word games"?

Controversy over Xiaomi's car-making is nothing new, but the SU7 Ultra's carbon fiber hood incident has completely taken off the "word game".

At the press conference at the beginning of this year, Lei Jun held up the carbon fiber hood and made a special speech: "Racing-grade material! Double air duct aerodynamic design! It can assist heat dissipation and increase downforce!" The optional price of 42,000 yuan made many car owners feel that "the technology is worth paying for." But after picking up the car, everyone discovered that this so-called "black technology cover" was not worthy of its name at all.

A car owner took it apart and compared it. The regular version and the carbon fiber version only lack a supporting plastic plate on the hood. The "double air duct diversion" in the promotion is purely for decoration. What’s even more amazing is that a blogger did an experiment and used a blower to blow hard against the opening of the machine cover. The paper towel covering it didn’t move at all - it couldn’t even guide the wind, so how could it dissipate heat and boost pressure?

"What did we spend 42,000 yuan to buy is a decorative part?" More than 300 car owners formed a rights protection group to demand the return of the car. Xiaomi's response was even more outrageous: "This is to meet the needs of users to reproduce the style." This statement completely angered the car owners: "The conference is all about technology, and if there is a problem, it is just about appearance, do you think we are being taken advantage of?"

This is not the most outrageous thing. The SU7 Ultra advertises "0-100km/h acceleration in 1.98 seconds", with the words "starting time not included" hidden underneath. Some netizens ridiculed: "According to this logic, Su Bingtian's 100-meter race can eliminate the starting reaction time and directly calculate it within 9 seconds?" What is even more exaggerated is the YU7 model. It is said that "135 degrees of rear adjustment exceeds that of the Maybach." With just one degree more, automotive engineers complained that "it is no different from a primary school student in height."

The car rights protection here has not yet subsided, and Xiaomi Mi 17 Pro has been criticized for "small print literature" on the hot search.

At the press conference at the end of September, the four big characters "King of Backlight" filled up the promotional poster. Lei Jun took a sample photo under strong light with his mobile phone, which made the audience itchy. Although the starting price of 4,999 yuan is 300 yuan more expensive than the previous generation, many old rice fans still bite the bullet and place orders. But when they got their phones, everyone discovered that there were almost invisible gray words hidden in the lower right corner of the poster: "The king of backlighting is the product design goal."

"Target? Are you buying a futures product?" After the actual test, the technology blogger was even more disappointed: when taking pictures under strong light at noon, the picture was full of "diamond spots". Ordinary users complained that "the daily backlight scenes are not even 5%, and spending hundreds of dollars to buy a function that can be used twice a year is purely IQ tax." What’s even more puzzling is that the flagship phone priced at 5,000 yuan actually omits wireless charging – this is a standard feature of competing products at the same price.

Some netizens dug out old Xiaomi posters and discovered that this "small print routine" was not used for the first time: Xiaomi Mi 17 said "King of Small Size Battery Life" with "Target" in small print; YU7 boasted "2200MPa Super Strong Steel" with "referring to the project name" in small print. Luo Yonghao couldn't help but complain: "This is like the national football team putting up a poster saying 'World Cup Champion', with the small words 'goal' written underneath. It's legal but disgusting."

What's even more worrying is the price. Statistics show that it takes 11.7 days for Chinese workers to buy a Xiaomi Mi 17 Pro, while it only takes 5 days for American workers to buy an iPhone 17 Pro. "In the past, it was said that self-developed domestic products benefited Chinese people, but now there are not many self-developed products, and the prices are first in line with international standards?" Akai's question touched the hearts of many people.

Why does Xiaomi like to engage in "word games" more and more? Just look at the ledger and you will understand.

Data in 2023 shows that Xiaomi's R&D expense rate is only 5.31%, but sales and promotion expenses account for 6.32% - more money spent on shouting than on technology. The first half of this year was even more exaggerated. Automobile marketing expenses increased by 187% year-on-year, but R&D accounted for only 5.2%, which was far lower than the industry average of 8.7%.

In comparison, the competitors are more obvious: Apple's average annual R&D is 158.3 billion, Tesla's 21.9 billion, which together are 12 times that of Xiaomi. Tesla focuses on building cars, and has been working on its two main models for several years; Apple's iOS system has been working hard for ten years to achieve the ecosystem it has today. But what about Xiaomi? Mobile phones, TVs, air conditioners, and cars are all built. The 14.9 billion R&D expenses are like sprinkling pepper. How much can be allocated to a single product of bicycles?

People in the industry speak truthfully: "Mobile phone stacks can be iterated quickly, and car chassis and three-electric systems have to be tested for tens of thousands of hours. How can it be achieved by shouting a few slogans?" Some media previously tested the battery life of Xiaomi cars, and it was marked as 650 kilometers. In fact, it only ran 420 kilometers. The staff actually said, "The user has not mastered the power-saving skills." This statement made the reporters present dumbfounded.

Old rice noodles understand this gap best. Akai showed off the Xiaomi Mi 2 packaging box from that year, which had the words "Born for Fever" printed on it, and the parameter list was clear and unambiguous. "When you buy Xiaomi, you don't have to worry about being cheated. The parameters are there and the price is transparent. Now it's better, you have to guess the numbers, dig publicity, and even Lei Jun apologizes less."

Lei Jun said in his annual speech, "Always believe that good things are about to happen." However, the car owners in the rights protection group believe in the experience before them: it takes 700 kilometers to patch up the paint, and if there is a problem, the blame will be thrown away first. The promised technology becomes the "target", and 42,000 yuan is spent to buy a decorative panel.

In fact, everyone is not against Xiaomi’s high-end products. Consumers are willing to pay for real technology, just like they paid for the price-performance ratio of the first generation of Xiaomi. But now Xiaomi calls heat pump air conditioners "global thermal management black technology" and cup holder ambient lights as "intelligent ecological modules". Research and development cannot keep up, and they all rely on rhetoric. This is not high-end, it is clearly routine.

What we want is not a sentimental Mr. Lei, but a company that dares to truly benefit from its research and development results to users.

Otherwise, no matter how many "1.98 seconds", "135 degrees" or "1.68 billion modes" there are, they are just mathematical riddles written for workers. The products you produce are, after all, just gold and jade on the outside but poor quality on the inside, and become flashy industrial waste.

#High-Quality Graphics and Text Support Plan#