Recently, a topic titled “LCD Never Be a Slave” has gained significant traction on Ku’an, with popularity exceeding 300,000.
Many users in the discussion express their disdain for the current prevalence of OLED screen phones while reminiscing about the glorious days of LCD screen phones.Then, a message circulated within the topic: a self-proclaimed initiator of the LCD crowdfunding claimed that he found a senior executive from TCL through special channels, hoping to crowdfund a high-performance phone equipped with an LCD screen.
He also sought the help of a popular UP master with 110,000 followers to promote their cause, stating that if the order quantity was large enough, they could make some small requests.
During this time, someone released a survey targeting the LCD community, but the survey involved many personal privacy issues, with nearly 5,000 people filling it out.At this point, many LCD enthusiasts began fantasizing about using a phone with the 2K LCD screen from Sharp, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, or at least the Dimensity 9400;after years of being oppressed by OLED phones, they finally felt they could vent their frustrations.
(Sharp R5G, image source @fenibook))After collecting nearly 5,000 survey responses and establishing several LCD group chats, this LCD phone crowdfunding initiator contacted the so-called TCL representative to demonstrate his sincerity before collaboration.“We can order more; the 3,000 phones for crowdfunding customization might not be enough. We need you to negotiate for the Dimensity 8400 processor; if possible, we can push you into the mid-range market directly.”
However, the “representative” did not respond further, citing a meeting as the reason.The ideal was beautiful, but the reality was harsh. A few days later, the official group delivered bad news.The administrator stated,the current situation is clear: the CPU can only be the Dimensity 7400 (the TCL executive indeed discussed with superiors, and high-end processors are planned for the next two years)..
In fact, this TCL LCD phone is officially named TCL 60 Ultra (the Chinese version may be called P20) and is equipped with a Dimensity 7400 processor, a 7.2-inch 120Hz 1080P LCD screen, featuring nxtpaper color ink display technology.
This hardware configuration is vastly different from what these individuals initially envisioned for the custom LCD phone.
Nevertheless, the administrator still stated:I believe we can still customize a small screen (6.78 inches) phone exclusively for the LCD community, with dual-screen GPS, overseas version, infrared, and NFC fully equipped.
Why can it be customized? Because both x60u and p20 have advertisements and are large screens, making them inconvenient to use. Those interested in purchasing, please join the queue; genuine interested parties can join the queue.
Looking at these people’s crowdfunding ideas for an LCD phone, there is a naive beauty that aligns with the stereotype of some LCD enthusiasts who “take themselves too seriously”.They believe that by simply finding like-minded individuals online, filling out a questionnaire, establishing group chats, they can contact senior executives of large companies like TCL and obtain mid-to-high-end chips from companies like MediaTek;and after a phone call to express sincerity, TCL and MediaTek will help them build a phone.
Bro, who do you think you are? Is the LCD phone a technology with unlimited prospects and high profits? Will TCL change its existing production lines and manufacturing processes for the needs of 3,000 people?Or do you expect each of the 3,000 people to invest $300 million as a deposit?Moreover, the phone produced cannot have advertisements, and the size cannot be too large, otherwise it will be inconvenient to use.Any normal company wouldn’t even glance at such a childish and naive farce.Objectively speaking, even by 2025, there will still be demand for LCD phones, but some people want more than just LCD; they want “high-quality, high-performance” LCDs, even flagship LCDs.
For phone manufacturers, meeting these demands requires costs that far exceed the potential gains; just the initial “establishing production lines” and “mold opening” require millions in investment, especially since there are virtually no existing high-quality LCD phone screen production lines.Moreover, hardware alone is not enough; those who can distinguish between LCD and OLED screens are generally the most discerning group in the industry; to make an LCD screen phone that they are willing to buy, more investment is needed in surrounding configurations, core processors, screen calibration, battery, body thickness, and overall weight control.
With so much money invested, the costs will definitely be higher than the currently mainstream OLED screens,and once the final product is produced, there is a fear that the LCD enthusiasts will not be willing to pay more.“Making phones is about selling them for profit, not just satisfying user sentiment.”“If it were that easy to make money just by relying on oneself, manufacturers wouldn’t talk about sentiment with users.”Currently, no phone manufacturers are willing to take the risk of betting on how much the current LCD enthusiasts are willing to pay for sentiment.
(Some people only care about LCD, butdo not care about the survival of manufacturers)(Since this is the case, manufacturers are even less likely to take risks in making LCDs)The competition in the domestic smartphone market has reached a point of fierce confrontation, where any product decision error leading to poor market feedback is a serious product failure.Compared to LCD screens, focusing on processors and large batteries as product selling points is more likely to win mainstream market recognition, or is a choice with stronger perception, lower costs, and lower risks.Likes,Follow,Shareare all my motivation to keep updating