Every year at MWC, we get to experience some of the best technologies, a few of which are decades away, some too early in concept and some that will be in our hands in a matter of months. At MWC 2024, Tecno had some show-stopper experiences in the form of a portable gaming console that hooks up to a pair of VR/AR glasses, a robot dog and a rollable phone. However, they also announced a new series of AI laptops powered by Intel Core Ultra processors and the 2024 Camon series powered by MediaTek SoC and featuring cutting-edge camera sensors from Sony.
With my limited hands-on time with these devices, I can tell you that they are nothing short of spectacular. However, I wanted to understand which of these devices will come to India, what is Tecno’s plans for India in terms of the smartphone and laptop space and how Tecno perceives the new AI revolution. I had the chance to chat with Arijeet Talapatra, CEO of Tecno Mobile India who shared some very interesting insights on what makes Tecno tick!
MWC has had some great technologies and Tecno has showcased some cool futuristic tech. What was your favourite futuristic tech here from MWC?
My favourite futuristic tech was the robotic dog called Dynamic 1. Really, amazing. And people across stalls in MWC are coming just to watch the robotic dog. So it has become a highlight for the Tecno booth. We also have AR/VR glasses which you can use without using your spectacles and getting the same kind of experience using them for long hours without having any effect on the eyes or any strain on the eyes is a testament to our technology. It highlights how technology can ensure that you can be a gamer, you can use AR, but the experience is very good. So we started being a mobile company, then an AIoT company, then came to laptops and now see we are a 360-degree technology company.
Yesterday during our launch, we showcased that the AI capabilities that our phone has are at par with phones that are $1,000 (~Rs 83,000) plus. Each of these AI capabilities is there with us. When we launched the Fold and the Flip last year, people were surprised that we had the largest devices at almost 50% price of the nearest competitor.
The next generation fold phone from Tecno will be very sleek, very elegant, and very light because we always listen to our consumers and the consumer says your fold is very good, but it’s very heavy to use. Female users said we can’t use such a big phone. So it’s not that fold is only for men and flip is only for females because now there is no gender biased. So flip can be used by anyone and a fold can be used by anyone. So our second-generation fold is better than the fourth-generation fold of many of our big competitors. So that is how we understand the consumers. And this year we will be launching almost 20 to 25 mobile phones in India with a focus on 5G phones. 2024 looks to be an exciting year for us.
Speaking about the large portfolio of upcoming phones can you highlight the segments you’re looking at?
We will see currently the fold and the flip is something that’s picking up very fast, but still, it’s a niche segment, so we will be visible in that segment. However, the market size is small, which is almost $1,000 kind of segment for a fold and a $400 – $500 (~Rs 30,000 – Rs 40,000) kind of segment for a flip. But then $200 – $400 (~Rs 15,000 – Rs 30,000) will be wherein we will bring amazing products from Camon and maybe some from Spark, powered by extremely good AI features. We will also have some of the Spark category phones, which will be high-end, but 4G phones, sporting top-notch features, but on 4G because to maintain a sub Rs 10,000 price point.
Tecno has partnered with Sony to power the camera in Tecno smartphones. Can you shed light on this partnership and the capabilities of the new camera?
Camera has always been one of the key focus features for us. The entire Canon series is completely camera-centric. During our MWC presentation, we were not talking about low-light photographs, we were talking about no-light photographs. Sony is the number one in terms of camera. Till now we have been working closely with Sony, but now we have come out as partners and we will have big collaborations and we will keep on launching products wherein we will closely collaborate with Sony. And when it comes to Sony, they don’t compromise on anything. Neither we do. So it (the upcoming Camon phone) is a phone which is very affordable. As we say, we democratize technology and bring premium Technology in terms of cameras, in terms of AI, in terms of innovations like flip or fold, in terms of the AIoT product and more. We have already done this with our laptops and now the AR VR as well as the robotic dog. These innovations tell that Tecno can stop at nothing.
Moving to laptops, the TECNO MEGABOOK T1 was a great laptop in India for its price point. Can you shed some light on the new AI-powered laptops announced at MWC and if we will see the laptops come to India?
India remains a key focus market for Tecno. Anything that we have showcased at MWC this year will eventually launch in India. However, the Indian market is very dynamic. So we are not sure which variant or configuration will come. We are working on bringing the variants that best suit the requirements of our customers in India. But yes, all of these products eventually will launch in India. Some immediately, some maybe in three months, some in six months, or some in a different avatar.
What is your opinion on the new buzzword – AI?
So AI is the in thing, AI is the future. And we will ensure that we have AI-enabled capabilities on all our phones at different levels. A consumer does not need to spend $1,000 for advanced AI capability. It will be available in a $200 phone as well. The feel and the experience will be extremely enhanced because it’s all about the experience. Technology is all about how you experience and how you feel. So that is how we work on it.
