To say that it started last year, the new trend on mobile phones is nothing more than a variety of dual lenses, 18:9 screens (full screen), and a very important, but relatively invisible AI.

Samsung has proposed various Bixby assistants, Huawei Mate 10 has greatly promoted AI cameras, and this year, Asus ZenFone 5 has listed a long list of AI-enabled functions, others such as various smart beauty, built-in memory album, automatic classification , power management, etc. In fact, there are also traces of artificial intelligence optimization, probably because AI is not a specific and visible new representation like dual-lens or full-screen, but acts on the original function, Therefore, it is not as popular as these two, but it is an indisputable fact that the AI-optimized functions can greatly improve the experience. (If you don't believe me, you can open your Google Photos, and you will find that it has automatically helped you to identify and classify, or beautifully styled, these are the performance of AI recognition.)

You're already using AI

Fans should have noticed the news that SONY released a new aibo last year. The new aibo analyzes itself (in the device) and the pictures and sounds received by other aibo in the cloud. Through deep learning, it gives more subtle interactions. A typical new generation of artificial intelligence products.

In fact, SONY has invested in AI research and development a long time ago. For example, B3J-6100 launched the first-generation AIBO robot dog (ERS-110) in 1999. At that time, AIBO could interact with visual recognition through voice and express emotions. The research and development results are not only made into robots, but are applied in many fields, such as the smile shutter that has existed for a long time on the camera, the face recognition used on the PlayStation, etc. New future applications such as the smart self-driving SC-1 (concept).

These robots and smart cars are so cool and attract most of the attention, but why are they rarely mentioned separately? How does SONY use AI technology on Xperia products? And use AI to add cool functions?

After the MWC conference, we had the opportunity to interview Gu Haiyingzhi, Executive Vice President of Global Business and Marketing of SONY Mobile. He told us that AI technology has already been used on Xperia mobile phones, but every time he mentioned it, he used "Intelligent" ) instead of introducing it directly with "AI". Maybe AI is not particularly displayed in marketing, or as the main theme, but in Xperia mobile phones, there are already many functions with artificial intelligence.

(I just remembered at this moment that I forgot to take pictures of the officers and professionals after my visit~ I got down on my knees...)

The basics of AI is to use a lot of data and materials to learn a set of rules, use it to make predictions, or customize the most suitable personal experience. If you look at it from this point of view, it is already available on the Xperia mobile phone.

For example, the "predictive tracking focus" that Xperia X started to carry, in order to catch the position of the next action and focus correctly, it uses AI technology to analyze the dynamic.

And I believe many people also know that Xperia's intelligent scenes and imaging are also calculated based on the tonality captured by the huge photo database.

Another example is the built-in "Xperia Action", which will learn your habit of using the program, apply the recommended settings, dynamically improve performance, power, etc.

Where is this function? In Support → Accessibility Settings, and Settings → Helper, you can set which functions to enable under what circumstances, such as turning on Bluetooth and music apps during commuting, and enabling Do Not Disturb during games, etc. At the same time, if Launch Xperia Action and it will also automatically optimize battery or performance.

The Xperia secret is also a secret (same as in Settings → Helper). After it is turned on, it will also learn your usage habits. For example, if you often listen to music, push reminders to set sound effects. After learning your sleep time, remind you whether to set an alarm when the time is right...etc.

Also in the hands of Xiaobang, there is a smart cleanup. After opening, it will analyze the process of using the program and automatically optimize the performance.

These functions may be hidden inside, and their operation is also very insidious. Usually, you may not be aware of them, but they are all intelligent functions provided after learning and analyzing usage habits.

Mr. Gu Hai also mentioned that a good experience cannot be achieved solely by AI. User experience is the focus of their design of mobile phone functions, and any technology used is based on this focus.

SONY's pace comes from user needs

Maybe many people who are looking forward to SONY mobile phones will think why SONY mobile phones are always half a beat in some mainstream functions, such as dual lenses, high screen ratio, wireless charging, etc. (I add: But there are also pioneers, For example, waterproof, or do front dual speakers very early).

In the previous article, I visited the report of Tomichi Tianjima, head of the product planning department of SONY Mobile UX, and mentioned that SONY has not released a dual-lens mobile phone until recently. The reason is because they want to improve the clarity of low-light photos. And the team found that only the dual lens could meet the conditions they wanted, so it will be launched soon.

There is a very important key in this idea: user experience (demand), which can also explain why some trendy features do not appear on Xperia phones.

Mr. Gu Hai mentioned that what they want to seize is not the trend, but the user experience.

Users will always need specific functions at some point in time. The important thing is to provide the functions and experiences they need, and they do not need to be trendy for the sake of trends.

Some people may think that SONY always goes its own way (negative interpretation: strange insistence XD), but they still insist on the focus of "user experience".

(But on the bright side, this can keep them from being imitators, or followers, uh... If everyone is thinking about the appearance of the XZ2 at the moment, then the XZ2 will hold a press conference in a few days, and we have finished listening to the design. The teacher's mental journey will be shared again.)

The newly released XZ2 is still the main entertainment (challenging the limits of entertainment), which seems to be old-fashioned, or always locked in a range, but Mr. Gu Hai believes that to achieve a good entertainment experience, it actually includes all aspects, including sound, video, screen. , taking good pictures, and needing good performance to perform... and so on, this time XZ2 has also extended tactile (smart vibration feedback), for SONY, providing good entertainment is essentially a mobile phone. various functions.

(So entertainment doesn’t just refer to watching videos, listening to music and playing games. To put it more broadly, making a funny 3D avatar and sharing it with friends and everyone laughing is also a form of communication entertainment?)