NIO launches its own Android-based phone for $890 with a new version to follow each year
After a year and a half of ambiguous updates and a swirling rumor mill, EV automaker NIO has officially launched its first-ever phone. The company shared extensive details of the new Android-based smartphone in China today, during its 2023 Innovation Day presentation that also included its own in-house developed chip to control LiDAR, and its own App Store.
As the rise in EV sales continues to hockey stick around the globe, legacy automakers have been adapting their lineups to electrification. Meanwhile, young and innovative EV automakers are challenging the status quo (as long as they have enough funding, of course).
Additionally, large tech manufacturers have taken note of the shift from from moving mechanical parts to chips and software dominant in EVs and have decided to take their own crack at building vehicles. These days its more common to see cell phone manufacturers like Xiaomi decide to build cars. Here’s also that whole Apple Car that’s been in development for about twelve years now…
What is more rare, however, is to see an automaker decide it’s going to begin manufacturing smartphones – but NIO ($NIO) has done it. The young automaker’s journey to today’s launch started in the March of 2022, when chairman and CEO William Li confirmed a NIO Phone was in the works and would arrive as a direct competitor to Apple… at least at some point in the future.
By last summer, we got a slew of new details surrounding the NIO Phone, including design cues, plans for a Qualcomm SnapDragon chip and deliveries sometime in 2023. Today, NIO has confirmed many of the specs originally promised, and at a starting price lower than originally anticipated. Check it out.
NIO Phone is here, built to support its EV owners
The debut of this new Android-based smartphone was the key presentation during NIO’s 2023 Innovation Day held in China earlier today. William Li and the NIO team spoke on stage for nearly five hours, showcasing several new technologies in the works in addition to its first-ever phone. Per the company’s Weibo page:
The full stack of NIO’s 12 technologies is presented in a panoramic manner for the first time, including NIO’s first lidar main control chip-Yang Jian, vehicle-wide operating system-Tianshu SkyOS, NIO Link NIO panoramic interconnection, global enhanced navigation assistance NOP+ service, and the first mobile phone NIO Phone is released to continuously innovate to improve user experience.
We’re here to talk about the phone, though, so here are the juicy details. As originally promised, the NIO Phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC processor and utilizes a 6.81-inch curved screen with 2K resolution from Samsung that supports a refresh rate of 1-120 Hz. The phone is equipped with a 5200 mAh battery that supports 66-watt wired charging, 50-watt wireless charging, and 10-watt reverse charging. NIO shared that even one of its new smartphones is completed depleted of battery, it can still unlock the EV its paired to for another 48-hours.
Since this is a phone from an automaker, the NIO Phone was built with its EV owners in mind and caters to those specific consumers. For instance, the smartphone features an action button that allows drivers to launch over 30 different functions pertaining to their EV controls including features like HVAC, seat massages, and vehicle locks.
Thanks to its ultra-wide band (UWB) technology, the NIO Phone can wireless display itself as a virtual phone on the center screen of the NIO EV it is paired too, similar to Apple Airplay. Another similarity to Apple is NIO’s approach to continue innovating in phones.
From early on, the Chinese EV automaker has shared its intentions to release a new NIO Phone each year going forward, so expect to see additional smartphones in the future. Apple’s iPhone 15 debuted last week and NIO appears to have strategically launched hereafter the undisputed global leader in smartphones, but at a slightly higher price. Here are the three versions:
- 12 GB ROM and 512 GB storage – RMB 6,499 ($889)
- 12 GB, 1 TB storage – RMB 6,899 ($944)
- 16 GB, 1 TB storage – RMB 7,499 ($1,026)
Additionally, NIO says it will offer protection plans for its phones, similar to Apple Car for RMB 699 ($96) and 1TB of cloud storage service for RMB 38 ($5) a month. As of today, the NIO Phone is officially available for sale in China with first deliveries expected to begin shipping on September, 28 2023.
You can check out the full presentation from NIO’s Innovation and Technology Day here, but it hasn’t been translated to english yet. Still lots of cool stuff to see including the launch video of the NIO Phone.
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Founded in 1689, Husqvarna was a musket maker for the king of Sweden – but now, the company best known for quirky motorcycles and commercial riding mowers is becoming an innovator in the field of robotics, and its latest fleet of electric autonomous mowers are eager to get grazing.
Husqvarna’s autonomous lawnmowers made history earlier this year at the AIG Women’s Open, when they became the first autonomous groundskeeping solution to see duty during a UK Major golf week.
“At the AIG Women’s Open, the Husqvarna portfolio is helping us deliver this goal through improved resource management, regular lightweight mowing and reduced carbon usage,” explains Royal Porthcawl’s Course Manager, Ian Kinley, who has championed the use of robotic technology at the course. “With the AIG Women’s Open set to be the largest-ever women’s sporting event in Wales, we know there’s tremendous pressure to produce playing surfaces that are worthy of such a high-profile event.”
The robots themselves operate a bit differently than Husqvarna’s traditional line of big, bad, zero-turn riding mowers that whip through thick grass once or twice a month with heavy, whirling blades. Instead, they employ a series of tiny razor blades that gently nibble at the grass daily – just like little electric sheep grazing on the turf.
“That cutting system, developed by Husqvarna engineers, has then become the basis for the entire robot mower industry, of which we’re the market leader,” Nick Rawson, VP of Strategy and Business Development at Husqvarna told Forbes.
Events like the AIG Women’s Open are proving that the little robot Huskies can get the job done quietly, sustainably, and with significantly less operator input. As such, you’d think everyone at Husqvarna would be excited about them.
You’d be wrong. The company’s franchise dealers have been hesitant to push them forward, effectively putting the parent company in the position of going B2C, or going home.
“Dealers live and breathe the previous technology,” said Yvette Henshall-Bell, Husqvarna’s President of its Forest and Garden division for Europe, in that same Forbes piece. “They want to protect that servicing, that aftermarket revenue. Whereas if they really thought about what the customer’s problems are and the job to be done, they would be looking at a completely different solution.”
A solution, frankly, that looks a lot like a little robot mower.
The things, themselves
Husqvarna offers three types of autonomous electric mowers aimed at commercial golf courses, but the Husqvarna CEORA for large-area mowing, and Husqvarna Automower, for smaller, steeper and more complex areas, are the models relevant to this story.
The bigger CEORA can handle up to 18 acres of ground twice each week, while the Automower, with its 80V battery and pinpoint precision EPOS (Exact Positioning Operating System) software, can handle another 2.5 acres. Both are fully electric, and can guide themselves back to their pens to recharge as needed.
Prices aren’t public, but the Husqvarna CEORA and Automowers are available as part of a custom lease package through Husqvarna Finance that will include access to the company’s customizable back end and ongoing support. Check with your local dealer for more.
Electrek’s Take
As a typically pro-union, pro-labor type of guy, I am hesitant to heap praise upon a robot taking away anyone’s job. That said, it does seem to be difficult for landscapers and construction crews to keep and find good labor at rates they can afford (and, let’s face it – the current Trump Administration isn’t going to be making that any easier). As such, if companies like Husqvarna and John Deere and Einride and others can build a demonstrably better mousetrap at a compelling price point … good for them. (?)
Let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCES: Forbes, Golf Monthly; images by Husqvarna.
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Environment
Podcast: Apple CarPlay in Tesla cars, VW on Superchargers, Toyota electric pickup, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Apple CarPlay possibly coming to Tesla cars, VW getting access to Superchargers, a Toyota electric pickup, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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US EV sales declined in October following the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30, and the average transaction price (ATP) edged up, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. However, there are still deals to be had.
Kelley Blue Book’s initial estimates show that US EV sales fell to 74,835 in October, down 48.9% from September, which was a record month, and 30.3% year-over-year.
Prices also ticked up. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed 1.6% month-over-month to $59,125, which is 2.3% higher than a year ago.
Tesla didn’t escape the downturn, but it held up better than the overall EV market. The company’s ATP fell 1.1% from September to $53,526, and its prices are 5.5% lower than they were in October 2024. Sales of the Model 3 and Model Y both declined month-over-month, and overall Tesla sales decreased by 35.3% from September and 23.6% year-over-year, which are smaller declines compared to the broader EV segment.
Cox Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty said the shift wasn’t surprising:
We expected this shift in the electric vehicle market. With the IRA-backed sales incentives gone, lower-cost EV volume was hit hard, pushing the mix toward more luxury and driving October’s EV ATP to a 2025 high of $59,125 – now $9,359 above the industry average. Affordability has always been the core challenge with EV sales, and this reset only underscores how critical it is to bring more attainable EV options to market.
Electrek’s Take
September was a record-breaking month for both EV deals and sales. Dealers were offering all sorts of sweet incentives to stack with the federal tax credit to move cars off the lot. October’s sales drop was entirely anticipated, like a pounding headache after a big blowout party.
We didn’t know what the post-federal tax credit EV market would look like. As Valdez Streaty rightly states, EVs do have a higher ATP than the industry average. But it turns out that, so far, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the federal tax credit isn’t the only incentive in town.
Every month, I compile great EV lease deals, and for the last few months, some EVs’ monthly lease payments have been cheaper than before the federal tax credit expired. Many states are still offering rebates on EV purchases, and dealers still have really good deals. While cheaper models would definitely be welcome, there are good deals available right now.
And let’s not forget the fact that EVs are much cheaper to drive than gas cars, with or without that tax credit.
Read more: From $189 a month: 5 of the best EV lease deals in November [Updated]
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