Not to be confused with the ZUK Z2 Pro, the ZUK Z2 is still very much unknown, or at lest it was until this TENAA leak.
Just like the OnePlus 3 earlier today, the new ZUK Z2 has shown up at TENAA to get the official green light before going on sale.
Like other TENAA docs we get to see a rough photo of the new Z2 along with some hardware specs for the phone, to give us an idea of what to expect once the phone goest on sale.
Gizchina News of the week
The look of the Z2 is very similar to the ZUK Z2 Pro with an all black body (white is likely an option too) and a physical home button on the chin. The rear is a little different with the camera and single LED flash migrating to the top left hand corner of the phone.
Specs include a 5-inch FHD 1920 x 1080 display, up to 64GB memory, 8 mega-pixel front camera, 13 mega-pixel rear and 3500mAh battery. It is also believed the Z2 will have a Snapdragon 820 chipset, and have options for either 3GB or 4GB RAM.
Definitely a great compact device with amazing specs and bigger battery. In my opinion, they should have kept the size of the Pro version but instead of using the SD820 they could have used a processor like the SD652 or even the SD650 (phone named Zuk Z2 Lite). Even the 5″ version should have been released with the SD652. That being said, I don’t know if there is a huge price difference between the two processors. If the price difference is significant, using the SD652 could have reduced the price of the device.
According the information gathered on the web, the standard version (3gb/32gb) will be sold around $274 in China so a price tag of $350+ after resellers for international buyers. I guess that we will have to wait for a couple of months before to see that Zuk Z2’s availability in the market.
I think this version is supposed to be available more than the pro one, who is still on presale on most resellers.
Well, I hope that you are right but seriously I do not need a phone with the SD820. I don’t want to be the unhappy dude here but a SD652 would have a lot better for a good battery life. I am not a gamer so SD820 is not very useful for me. Let’s see!
I don’t need it as well, I have a redmi note 3 pro, I am super satisfied but for once I want the best out there but I think I will settle at letv le1 pro, only 187$x I think it’s the best deal. 4gb with 64 rom
I was tempted by the Redmi Note 3 Pro but I am now hesitating because of its camera quality. Moreover I have never had a 5.5″ phone before so I don’t know if I will get used to the Note 3 Pro. The only downside with Letv Le 1 Pro is the black border around the screen.
Their last devices Leco 2 are also amazing and very competitive in terms of pricing. I do not like the black border around the screen and the colors offered by the company. If the front of the device was black I think it will help more users to get used to it. It is of course my position regarding Leco company, their devices offers a lot for the money paid but like every manufacturers there are pros and cons.
I am considering the Redmi 3 Pro, what do you think about it?
Great phone, premium,beautiful, battery keeps me 2 days, camera great, speed awesome and i am using the 2 gb version, perfect phone, you can find it now in the price range of 160 $. I want to buy something else because I have the bad habbit of changing them fast, also my gf will use it so its cool.
Thanks, I think you are talking about the Note 3 Pro. I am considering the Redmi 3 Pro the budget 5″ phone. I am scared the Note 3 Pro is too big.
5inch display in this
and 5.2 inch in Zuk 2 pro.
Doesn’t make sense.
They should have gone with 5.5 or 6 on Zuk 2 pro i think.
Or maybe use SD652 or Helio x20 on this one. Same specs just 5inch and 5.2 inch display diff. weird.
I agree with you, most of the so called flagship phones have similar specs and they use the same CPU which is SD820.
If you check my comment below, they should have kept the size of the Pro version for a better productivity and offered a Lite version using SOC’s like the SD652 or even SD650. The SD652 is more than enough for everything in real life usage.
Like I said below, we will have to wait for a couple of months before to see the availability of the Zuk Z2 in the market.
They put 3500mah battery in a smaller device and their main flagship is bigger and has only 3000mah? O.o
I don’t get it…
Yeah man I do not understand at all. Moreover, it is ridiculous to release a 5″ device when the difference between 5-5.2 is not that huge. Nowadays, it is possible to find 5.2″ phones with a width around 70mm. Regarding the battery, same opinion here.
No fingerprint sensor? Or is it inside the home button?
Too small, I was waiting for this one but now I guess I’ll be waiting for the OP3
OP3’s desgin is hugly and worst than the Redmi Note 3 Pro. I think the Xiaomi MAX is for you and Balco! You like huge screen so I think you should get Xiaomi Max.
Design is literally the last thing I see in a phone and to be honest I don’t dislike this last Oneplus.
Everybody is saying that it’s a copy of HTC and I don’t understand why lot of people love HTC design but dislike this one…. But anyway, like i said before, it’s not a problem to me.
Value and software are the two main things I look into a phone and that’s why I’ve always been sticking with Xiaomi.
I was not very happy with my last RN3 Pro because of many bugs, but the last updates fix most of the problems.
Unfortunately the phone is not a flagship, the screen is very dim, the camera is weak and the capacity buttons are not very responsive, and I’m afraid the MI MAX is going to be the same.
I like big screens but I would stay within 5,7″ .I’m afraid that 6.4″ it’s too big for me too.
I’m looking for the last flagships and I’ll probably pick between the OP3,Zuk Z2 and maybe Nubia Z11.
Sorry for the long post
Thank you for your comment. Regarding the OP3, I remove what I said above about the design. Maybe it should be better to wait for the release of the device and a few reviews before to judge the phone. I agree with you design is important but the specification of the phone and its price are the most relevant when making the decision to buy or not a device.
Regarding the Note 3 Pro, I was planning to get it but changed my mind because of its camera quality. I need a phone desperately but can’t find one which fits my needs. Maybe I am going to get the Redmi 3 Pro as a spare phone.
I do like a lot the Zuk Z2 Pro but its hard to find it and only the white color has been released. Moreover, I do not need 6gb ram and 128gb storage. I would have loved a OP3 with at least 3500MAH battery. I hope that the phone will be compact with 74mm width. I could be tempted if the price is not exagerated by resellers.
I don’t need 6GB Ram and 128GB storage either.
I want a flagship camera mostly.
I don’t need the power of SD820 too, if I can get a great 5.5″ phone with a great camera, big battery with a SD652 or Helio X20 then I’ll be an happy man
I agree with a lot of your points. For me SD820 is overkill, I will never need that much power in a smartphone. I don’t play many games that would take advantage of the Adreno and most people will never notice the difference between 3 and 6GB of RAM. All of my photos and music are in the cloud so the max I need for storage is 32GB.
I’m on 32GB right now, i also have a Sd card slot which I don’t use.
32 is plenty to me.
3GB Ram is also enough.
Since I switched to uploading my photos to Google and using Google Play Music, I usually have around 2-4GB free on my 16GB MX5.
I’m using them both as well.
Just upgraded play music to family plan
I think that manufacturers should read your comments and take some notes. 😀
They know the market better than me, they know which one sells and which doesn’t. 🙂
Being here for a while I’ve learned a lot about other markets, what’s more requested in a specific country and so on, pretty interesting things.
I agree with the content of your message at 300%. I am not a heavy gamer so I do not need the power of a SD820. 3gb RAM and 32gb storage is fine for me. I have never had a 5.5″ phone before but I might be tempted by the OP3 if its price is not exaggerated by the resellers. Of course, I hope a OP3 with a width of 75mm max. Man I do not understand Lenovo’s strategy with the Zuk Z2. At the end, both phones 5″ (Zuk Z2) and 5.2″ (Zuk Z2 Pro) will almost have the same dimensions. I think that it would have been great if they decided to keep the design of the Pro version and release a Lite model with a SD652 under the name Zuk Z2 Lite. Using that strategy they would have able to produce more units and feed the market. Sometimes, I don’t understand manufacturers.
Yea I am kind of baffled by what Zuk is doing there is very little actual differentiation between the Z2 and the Z2 Pro. The only way this makes sense is if this is strictly for international markets and the Pro will stay in China.
That is exactly my point of view, I agree with you at 300% regarding the content of your message. I am exactly looking for a phone with those specs. Maybe the OP3 might be the one. Fingers crossed!
I like the design of the OP3, and I am very excited for it (first OP phone I have ever been this excited for. It does look very HTC inspired, but HTC has some of the most beautiful phones ever created. Right now I have been very underwhelmed with this years devices. I am leaning more and more towards the Nexus 6P everyday.
6P really?
I mean, a nice phone with good reviews but I would not picture myself spend $500 for that phone.
What about the SD810? I thought you hated it.
I despise the 810 but from what I have heard, running stock Google it doesn’t have nearly the issues it has with custom UI’s. The main reason I want the 6P is I want to start using Project Fi.
Gotcha
Mainly I want Project Fi for the amount of traveling I do. Since leaving Msoft I have gone back to doing freelance work and constantly travel around Asia. I always have to keep a stack of sim cards with me for when I get to a new country. With Project Fi your sim card and data works in 120 countries.
That’s interesting, I didn’t know about that.
I travel once a year for vacation and I can deal with roaming fees but no doubt Project Fi is the future
Yea your limited to 3G when you travel but you still get your $10/GB. Only problem is it only works with Nexus 5X, 6 and 6P. I love the design of the 5X but 2GB of RAM just seems like too little.
Keep a stack? Buy it when you land or shipped to you before you leave.
Buy them when I land and I keep them in my travel bag.
Smart move. I use my Google Voice number in Hangouts as my worldwide number with a 3mobile UK sim in slot 2 for free 3G data in 18 countries. Problem is that 3mobile throttle the speeds when roaming but that’s overcome by using a VPN.
Xiaomi Max is too big for me. 6 inches is about the top I can do for a phone. Nexus 6P or Huawei Mate 8 is my most likely next phone.
Hi Balco, hope you are well. It was a joke 😀 don’t take it serious. Cheers!
Huawei hasn’t solved the notification issue.
Not really an issue for me i usually turn notifications off.
is there a fingerprint, NFC, FM radio ?
why are they keep taking out basic needs
Definitely a great compact device with amazing specs and bigger battery. In my opinion, they should have kept the size of the Pro version but instead of using the SD820 they could have used a processor like the SD652 or even the SD650 (phone named Zuk Z2 Lite). Even the 5″ version should have been released with the SD652. That being said, I don’t know if there is a huge price difference between the two processors. If the price difference is significant, using the SD652 could have reduced the price of the device.
According the information gathered on the web, the standard version (3gb/32gb) will be sold around $274 in China so a price tag of $350+ after resellers for international buyers. I guess that we will have to wait for a couple of months before to see that Zuk Z2’s availability in the market.
I think this version is supposed to be available more than the pro one, who is still on presale on most resellers.
Well, I hope that you are right but seriously I do not need a phone with the SD820. I don’t want to be the unhappy dude here but a SD652 would have a lot better for a good battery life. I am not a gamer so SD820 is not very useful for me. Let’s see!
I don’t need it as well, I have a redmi note 3 pro, I am super satisfied but for once I want the best out there but I think I will settle at letv le1 pro, only 187$x I think it’s the best deal. 4gb with 64 rom
I was tempted by the Redmi Note 3 Pro but I am now hesitating because of its camera quality. Moreover I have never had a 5.5″ phone before so I don’t know if I will get used to the Note 3 Pro. The only downside with Letv Le 1 Pro is the black border around the screen.
Their last devices Leco 2 are also amazing and very competitive in terms of pricing. I do not like the black border around the screen and the colors offered by the company. If the front of the device was black I think it will help more users to get used to it. It is of course my position regarding Leco company, their devices offers a lot for the money paid but like every manufacturers there are pros and cons.
I am considering the Redmi 3 Pro, what do you think about it?
Great phone, premium,beautiful, battery keeps me 2 days, camera great, speed awesome and i am using the 2 gb version, perfect phone, you can find it now in the price range of 160 $. I want to buy something else because I have the bad habbit of changing them fast, also my gf will use it so its cool.
Thanks, I think you are talking about the Note 3 Pro. I am considering the Redmi 3 Pro the budget 5″ phone. I am scared the Note 3 Pro is too big.
I’ll be glad if the ZUK Z2 does have the 820 and the 4GB ram. I understand that the ‘Pro’ edition users maybe be slightly pissed off, since a more expensive phone should have all the best specs, and also the display difference just makes the Pro sound stupid to have. However I find that having a smaller device doesn’t mean you should have less powerful tech built into the device, I’m very much for having small devices packed with more bleeding edge tech 😀
In a business perspective, if the company buys the same components (CPU, amount of RAM etc.) and uses it in multiple devices, it’ll mean mobile devices will be cheaper to manufacture, due to ‘economies of scale’ and hopefully cheaper for us (the consumers too).
economy of scale would only work when all the devices are using the same component be it processor, display unit, camera and battery. and this will effect since they are using amoled on pro and IPS on non-pro version
Economies of scale would certainly work for the mass-purchasing element of the overall cost of the building. With the CPU for starters (same chip); RAM from what I understand of the ‘Pro’ version, also has a 4GB RAM variant, no problem with cross-using that too. It’s obvious that the motherboard, screen size, camera and possibly battery will be different sizes; however 5.0″ IPS displays are largely avaliable, cameras are ‘as cheap as chips’, batteries, if the phone is designed with ‘standard’ dimensions, referenced off previous internal designs, there would certainly be battery dimensions readily avaliable on the market to purchase in large bulk. So what I’m saying is economies of scale doesn’t necessary mean solely manufacturing, it could also mean the cost of components and transportation too.
Is it 5″ IPS or AMOLED?
Manufacturing costs won’t be cheaper, component costs maybe. But that all depends on the price of buying X amount of SD820 vs buying Y amount of SD820 + Z amount of SD650. The actual manufacturing is outsourced to various OEM’s like Foxconn and Pegatron. Without BOM’s for devices though it’s really guess work saying once way or the other which is cheaper. Even if it was cheaper you wouldn’t see those savings, most cell phone prices are pretty much fixed to a certain degree. For instance if Xiaomi saves money building the next Mi6, the price is still going to be 1999 yuan.
Outsourcing to OEMs doesn’t mean cost won’t be cheaper, Lenovo the parent company has alot of influence over manufacturers in China, and alot of businesses tend to ask for the lowering of manufacturing costs per unit and if the standard ZUK Z2 model is a standard version of the Z2 line, it’ll certainly be more largely produced incomparision to the ‘PRO’ line, judging from the fact that the general public would usually go for the low-mid selection of ‘Flagships’, e.g. the 16GB iPhone to the 128GB. I do agree that there is ultimately a minimum price for a ZUK Z2 for the company to produce at, but cost of technology does fall, at least at the trend it is going at moment for mobile technology. Thus components such CPUs, RAM, high-quality displays do fall dramatically as manufaturing efficiency increases, due to better manufacturing techniques.
Lenovo has the same influence that Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung, LG, OPPO and several others have. The problem in this industry is the competition keeps the prices fairly static. IHS annualy does a teardown of the Galaxy S phones and comes up with a BOM’s based on industry prices. he manufacturing cost for each device has stayed nearly the same at about $5-6 per device. Keep in mind Samsung uses it’s own factories and produces a lot of it’s own components so their costs are usually lower than someone like Lenovo would be. Here are the results for the last 4, the costs have actually risen for the components as newer technology has become available.
Galaxy S4 – $236 (total cost of components)
Galaxy S5 – $251
Galaxy S6 – $275
Galaxy S7 – $255
The reason why the price hikes on Samsung’s Galaxy line is due to the screen technology and in terms their CPU line as well, note their most expensive phones tend to be due to using their own components, they were the first to implement curved AMOLED screens in the smartphone market. However at Lenovo’s position, they haven’t released anything that is drastically new in the sense of technological side of things, they are using what a good double handful of companies are already using. Samsung’s base cost per unit is far higher than “other” companies is due to the rise in the cost of R&D, specifically staff salary (including overtime) and also the cost of wages/salaries for their home-manufactured produces, if this statement is still true, Samsung’s Galaxy line is still made in Korea, a country that has far higher average salary per capita. Huawei and Oppo’s position is similar to Samsung, they both have ‘unique’ technlogies such as CPU and charging technology (VOOC), however companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo etc. aren’t truly in that position, they both use mass-produced internal CPU, RAM and screen dimension and resolution: arguably you could say that the external features may cost more to make (the curved glass), however it you making 10s of millions of curved glass with a machine, it certainly going to plummet in price, since silicon is rare at all.
Off a little tangent, but back to Samsung, yes their phones are more expensive, due to the higher salaries they have to pay to their staff in comparison to Chinese companies, Apple (Foxconn) and various other smartphone companies. The reason Samsung chooses to produce a vast quantity of their ‘high-end’ products back home is to tick the box of nationally produced products, Koreans, like many others in the region are quite Nationally-orientated in business; even if that means having to pay for a smaller workforce at higher salary levels.
Actually the majority of Samsung phones are made in Vietnam, Cambodia and China but they are factories owned by Samsung.
Samsungs cost are about the same as every other premium company. Brands like UMi and Elephone are cheaper but so are their components. Xiaomi Mi5 costs roughly the same to make as the Galaxy S7, they just make less of a profit. And Samsung and Apple both save money by using their own components.
5inch display in this
and 5.2 inch in Zuk 2 pro.
Doesn’t make sense.
They should have gone with 5.5 or 6 on Zuk 2 pro i think.
Or maybe use SD652 or Helio x20 on this one. Same specs just 5inch and 5.2 inch display diff. weird.
I agree with you, most of the so called flagship phones have similar specs and they use the same CPU which is SD820.
If you check my comment below, they should have kept the size of the Pro version for a better productivity and offered a Lite version using SOC’s like the SD652 or even SD650. The SD652 is more than enough for everything in real life usage.
Like I said below, we will have to wait for a couple of months before to see the availability of the Zuk Z2 in the market.
They put 3500mah battery in a smaller device and their main flagship is bigger and has only 3000mah? O.o
I don’t get it…
Yeah man I do not understand at all. Moreover, it is ridiculous to release a 5″ device when the difference between 5-5.2 is not that huge. Nowadays, it is possible to find 5.2″ phones with a width around 70mm. Regarding the battery, same opinion here.
No fingerprint sensor? Or is it inside the home button?
Too small, I was waiting for this one but now I guess I’ll be waiting for the OP3
OP3’s desgin is hugly and worst than the Redmi Note 3 Pro. I think the Xiaomi MAX is for you and Balco! You like huge screen so I think you should get Xiaomi Max.
Design is literally the last thing I see in a phone and to be honest I don’t dislike this last Oneplus.
Everybody is saying that it’s a copy of HTC and I don’t understand why lot of people love HTC design but dislike this one…. But anyway, like i said before, it’s not a problem to me.
Value and software are the two main things I look into a phone and that’s why I’ve always been sticking with Xiaomi.
I was not very happy with my last RN3 Pro because of many bugs, but the last updates fix most of the problems.
Unfortunately the phone is not a flagship, the screen is very dim, the camera is weak and the capacity buttons are not very responsive, and I’m afraid the MI MAX is going to be the same.
I like big screens but I would stay within 5,7″ .I’m afraid that 6.4″ it’s too big for me too.
I’m looking for the last flagships and I’ll probably pick between the OP3,Zuk Z2 and maybe Nubia Z11.
Sorry for the long post
Thank you for your comment. Regarding the OP3, I remove what I said above about the design. Maybe it should be better to wait for the release of the device and a few reviews before to judge the phone. I agree with you design is important but the specification of the phone and its price are the most relevant when making the decision to buy or not a device.
Regarding the Note 3 Pro, I was planning to get it but changed my mind because of its camera quality. I need a phone desperately but can’t find one which fits my needs. Maybe I am going to get the Redmi 3 Pro as a spare phone.
I do like a lot the Zuk Z2 Pro but its hard to find it and only the white color has been released. Moreover, I do not need 6gb ram and 128gb storage. I would have loved a OP3 with at least 3500MAH battery. I hope that the phone will be compact with 74mm width. I could be tempted if the price is not exagerated by resellers.
I don’t need 6GB Ram and 128GB storage either.
I want a flagship camera mostly.
I don’t need the power of SD820 too, if I can get a great 5.5″ phone with a great camera, big battery with a SD652 or Helio X20 then I’ll be an happy man
Xiaomi Max is too big for me. 6 inches is about the top I can do for a phone. Nexus 6P or Huawei Mate 8 is my most likely next phone.
I like the design of the OP3, and I am very excited for it (first OP phone I have ever been this excited for. It does look very HTC inspired, but HTC has some of the most beautiful phones ever created. Right now I have been very underwhelmed with this years devices. I am leaning more and more towards the Nexus 6P everyday.
I agree with a lot of your points. For me SD820 is overkill, I will never need that much power in a smartphone. I don’t play many games that would take advantage of the Adreno and most people will never notice the difference between 3 and 6GB of RAM. All of my photos and music are in the cloud so the max I need for storage is 32GB.
I’m on 32GB right now, i also have a Sd card slot which I don’t use.
32 is plenty to me.
3GB Ram is also enough.
6P really?
I mean, a nice phone with good reviews but I would not picture myself spend $500 for that phone.
What about the SD810? I thought you hated it.
Since I switched to uploading my photos to Google and using Google Play Music, I usually have around 2-4GB free on my 16GB MX5.
I’m using them both as well.
Just upgraded play music to family plan
I despise the 810 but from what I have heard, running stock Google it doesn’t have nearly the issues it has with custom UI’s. The main reason I want the 6P is I want to start using Project Fi.
That is exactly my point of view, I agree with you at 300% regarding the content of your message. I am exactly looking for a phone with those specs. Maybe the OP3 might be the one. Fingers crossed!
Hi Balco, hope you are well. It was a joke 😀 don’t take it serious. Cheers!
Gotcha
Mainly I want Project Fi for the amount of traveling I do. Since leaving Msoft I have gone back to doing freelance work and constantly travel around Asia. I always have to keep a stack of sim cards with me for when I get to a new country. With Project Fi your sim card and data works in 120 countries.
I agree with the content of your message at 300%. I am not a heavy gamer so I do not need the power of a SD820. 3gb RAM and 32gb storage is fine for me. I have never had a 5.5″ phone before but I might be tempted by the OP3 if its price is not exaggerated by the resellers. Of course, I hope a OP3 with a width of 75mm max. Man I do not understand Lenovo’s strategy with the Zuk Z2. At the end, both phones 5″ (Zuk Z2) and 5.2″ (Zuk Z2 Pro) will almost have the same dimensions. I think that it would have been great if they decided to keep the design of the Pro version and release a Lite model with a SD652 under the name Zuk Z2 Lite. Using that strategy they would have able to produce more units and feed the market. Sometimes, I don’t understand manufacturers.
That’s interesting, I didn’t know about that.
I travel once a year for vacation and I can deal with roaming fees but no doubt Project Fi is the future
I think that manufacturers should read your comments and take some notes. 😀
Yea I am kind of baffled by what Zuk is doing there is very little actual differentiation between the Z2 and the Z2 Pro. The only way this makes sense is if this is strictly for international markets and the Pro will stay in China.
They know the market better than me, they know which one sells and which doesn’t. 🙂
Being here for a while I’ve learned a lot about other markets, what’s more requested in a specific country and so on, pretty interesting things.
Yea your limited to 3G when you travel but you still get your $10/GB. Only problem is it only works with Nexus 5X, 6 and 6P. I love the design of the 5X but 2GB of RAM just seems like too little.
Huawei hasn’t solved the notification issue.
Not really an issue for me i usually turn notifications off.
Keep a stack? Buy it when you land or shipped to you before you leave.
Buy them when I land and I keep them in my travel bag.
Smart move. I use my Google Voice number in Hangouts as my worldwide number with a 3mobile UK sim in slot 2 for free 3G data in 18 countries. Problem is that 3mobile throttle the speeds when roaming but that’s overcome by using a VPN.
is there a fingerprint, NFC, FM radio ?
why are they keep taking out basic needs
I’ll be glad if the ZUK Z2 does have the 820 and the 4GB ram. I understand that the ‘Pro’ edition users maybe be slightly pissed off, since a more expensive phone should have all the best specs, and also the display difference just makes the Pro sound stupid to have. However I find that having a smaller device doesn’t mean you should have less powerful tech built into the device, I’m very much for having small devices packed with more bleeding edge tech 😀
In a business perspective, if the company buys the same components (CPU, amount of RAM etc.) and uses it in multiple devices, it’ll mean mobile devices will be cheaper to manufacture, due to ‘economies of scale’ and hopefully cheaper for us (the consumers too).
economy of scale would only work when all the devices are using the same component be it processor, display unit, camera and battery. and this will effect since they are using amoled on pro and IPS on non-pro version
Manufacturing costs won’t be cheaper, component costs maybe. But that all depends on the price of buying X amount of SD820 vs buying Y amount of SD820 + Z amount of SD650. The actual manufacturing is outsourced to various OEM’s like Foxconn and Pegatron. Without BOM’s for devices though it’s really guess work saying one way or the other which is cheaper. Even if it was cheaper you wouldn’t see those savings, most cell phone prices are pretty much fixed to a certain degree. For instance if Xiaomi saves money building the next Mi6, the price is still going to be 1999 yuan.
Economies of scale would certainly work for the mass-purchasing element of the overall cost of the building. With the CPU for starters (same chip); RAM from what I understand of the ‘Pro’ version, also has a 4GB RAM variant, no problem with cross-using that too. It’s obvious that the motherboard, screen size, camera and possibly battery will be different sizes; however 5.0″ IPS displays are largely avaliable, cameras are ‘as cheap as chips’, batteries, if the phone is designed with ‘standard’ dimensions, referenced off previous internal designs, there would certainly be battery dimensions readily avaliable on the market to purchase in large bulk. So what I’m saying is economies of scale doesn’t necessary mean solely manufacturing, it could also mean the cost of components and transportation too.
Outsourcing to OEMs doesn’t mean cost won’t be cheaper, Lenovo the parent company has alot of influence over manufacturers in China, and alot of businesses tend to ask for the lowering of manufacturing costs per unit and if the standard ZUK Z2 model is a standard version of the Z2 line, it’ll certainly be more largely produced incomparision to the ‘PRO’ line, judging from the fact that the general public would usually go for the low-mid selection of ‘Flagships’, e.g. the 16GB iPhone to the 128GB. I do agree that there is ultimately a minimum price for a ZUK Z2 for the company to produce at, but cost of technology does fall, at least at the trend it is going at moment for mobile technology. Thus components such CPUs, RAM, high-quality displays do fall dramatically as manufaturing efficiency increases, due to better manufacturing techniques.
Lenovo has the same influence that Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung, LG, OPPO and several others have. The problem in this industry is the competition keeps the prices fairly static. IHS annualy does a teardown of the Galaxy S phones and comes up with a BOM’s based on industry prices. he manufacturing cost for each device has stayed nearly the same at about $5-6 per device. Keep in mind Samsung uses it’s own factories and produces a lot of it’s own components so their costs are usually lower than someone like Lenovo would be. Here are the results for the last 4, the costs have actually risen for the components as newer technology has become available.
Galaxy S4 – $236 (total cost of components)
Galaxy S5 – $251
Galaxy S6 – $275
Galaxy S7 – $255
Is it 5″ IPS or AMOLED?
The reason why the price hikes on Samsung’s Galaxy line is due to the screen technology and in terms their CPU line as well, note their most expensive phones tend to be due to using their own components, they were the first to implement curved AMOLED screens in the smartphone market. However at Lenovo’s position, they haven’t released anything that is drastically new in the sense of technological side of things, they are using what a good double handful of companies are already using. Samsung’s base cost per unit is far higher than “other” companies is due to the rise in the cost of R&D, specifically staff salary (including overtime) and also the cost of wages/salaries for their home-manufactured produces, if this statement is still true, Samsung’s Galaxy line is still made in Korea, a country that has far higher average salary per capita. Huawei and Oppo’s position is similar to Samsung, they both have ‘unique’ technlogies such as CPU and charging technology (VOOC), however companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo etc. aren’t truly in that position, they both use mass-produced internal CPU, RAM and screen dimension and resolution: arguably you could say that the external features may cost more to make (the curved glass), however it you making 10s of millions of curved glass with a machine, it certainly going to plummet in price, since silicon is rare at all.
Off a little tangent, but back to Samsung, yes their phones are more expensive, due to the higher salaries they have to pay to their staff in comparison to Chinese companies, Apple (Foxconn) and various other smartphone companies. The reason Samsung chooses to produce a vast quantity of their ‘high-end’ products back home is to tick the box of nationally produced products, Koreans, like many others in the region are quite Nationally-orientated in business; even if that means having to pay for a smaller workforce at higher salary levels.
Actually the majority of Samsung phones are made in Vietnam, Cambodia and China but they are factories owned by Samsung.
Samsungs cost are about the same as every other premium company. Brands like UMi and Elephone are cheaper but so are their components. Xiaomi Mi5 costs roughly the same to make as the Galaxy S7, they just make less of a profit. And Samsung and Apple both save money by using their own components.