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It Works Both Ways: Car Maker Wants to Launch a Smartphone

Tech companies have been exploring an expansion to the automotive market for quite some time, and the best two examples in this regard are none other than Apple and Xiaomi.
Nio wants a smartphone to complete its ecosystem 16 photos
Photo: Nio
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While Apple has so far remained silent on its plans to launch an Apple-brand EV, Xiaomi has already confirmed such an ambition, with the company expected to announce its very first car in late 2023 or in early 2024.

And while the transition from the tech world to cars is evidently just a matter of time, it looks like things are also working the other way around.

Chinese EV maker Nio has recently confirmed it’s looking into the mass production of a smartphone, though at this point, it looks like a final decision is yet to be made.

The confirmation that such a project is currently on the table comes courtesy of none other than the company’s CEO William Li, who said in an interview for the local media that a Nio phone is currently being looked into.

However, contrary to what many people might expect, Nio doesn’t want to launch a phone to compete against the likes of Samsung and Apple in the mobile device race. However, at some level, it would still do this, despite Nio’s main objective of just building an extension of the EVs it builds.

Li claims Nio’s purpose is to just build a phone that would help build an ecosystem that also includes its cars, so in theory, it wants the mobile device to offer deep integration of its EVs, and the other way around.

But despite this final goal, Nio’s mobile smartphone would still end up becoming a competitor to the iPhone, for instance. Apple has built one very solid ecosystem that has the iPhone at the core of everything, and the upcoming Apple Car is believed to become an essential part of this family as well.

Many people believe the Apple Car will be an iPhone on wheels, and at some level, this looks to be what Nio is aiming for as well. For now, however, the project is still uncertain, but we’ll probably find out more about it in the coming months.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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