In the last couple of years, smartphone players in India are fighting a hardware specs war but now this trend needs to change. Smartphones are becoming commoditized and consumers of today are not just looking for a simple handset with high specs but rather a holistic digital experience.
This is where companies such as LeEco come in. This internet and technology giant hailing from China has an ecosystem model where various businesses ranging from content to devices co-exist and support each other enabling a much broader offerings and richer user experience.
It entered India last January and managed to stir up the Indian mobile industry in a short span of time with its superphones and the so called ecosystem behind it. Its customers not only get a smartphone but also can enjoy a pretty rich selection of entertainment content.
So far, LeEco has partnered with some of the biggest names in the entertainment space such as Eros Now, Yupp Tv and Hungama Music to make sure it has enough offerings for its users.
The testimonial to popularity is the success its superphones have garnered so far. The company said in a statement that it has gathered more than two million registrations during its flash sales for its first generation superphones.
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Customers of other smartphone brands only get a phone, but LeEco users can access a growing library of 2000+ movies, 3000+ hours of curated shows, 150+ live TV channels and 1.9 million songs with lossless audio to users as part of the membership program.
LeEco is pretty creative in curating its content which also include live streaming of international entertainment events and concerts.
To lure more adopters, LeEco is offering one-year subscription to all its superphone customers, which otherwise would cost Rs. 4,990.
Although what LeEco is doing in India is very different but there is going to be much more to come judging from its existing businesses in China, which is a lot bigger and more complex.
In China, LeEco has evolved from one of the largest video streaming companies to an ecosystem company with businesses ranging from entertainment, consumer electronics, internet finance and even automobile. As the company is very committed in the Indian market, much more of this ecosystem may come to India.
LeEco has one of the largest content library of movies, TV dramas, entertainment shows, concerts, and sports in China. They can only be viewed only on LeEco's devices that include smartphones, TVs and electric vehicles.
In India too, LeEco is likely to achieve the same in the future. But currently its vast Indian library can only be accessed by its smartphones.
At present, LeEco is offering its Super TVs in US and China. The company is already one of the largest smart TV suppliers in China and made a big splash at this year's CES by showcasing world's thinnest 65-inch TV. Dubbed the super four, the Max65 Blade is a super sleek TV that is just 3.9mm thick, which is the equivalent of two coins put together.
LeEco adopts a unique six screen approach to engage its users. The screen include mobile, TV, desktop, tablet, cinema and electric car. India is only enjoying one of these screens at the moment.
LeEco has applied the concept of an open close-loop ecosystem in numerous vertical industries and has seven sub-ecosystems - Internet and clouding technology, content, big screen, mobile, automobile, sports and internet finance.
These sub-ecosystems are synergistically connected with each other to transform people's Internet lifestyle and to provide the best-in-class experience and services for the users.
As LeEco expands in India, consumers can be expecting much more services and companies in various sector may also face more competition from this conglomerate.
