Xiaomi Home Appliance Revenue Hits Record High, Executive: Won't Participate in Price Wars

DeepSeek New Model Goes Online

Li Xiang: Only Lei Jun and I Can Create Super Products

ChatGPT Launches Go Version at Under $5 Per Month

Doubao Manager Denies "Phone Launch Plans"

Yu Donglai: High Salary and Benefits Don't Violate Business Logic

FAW Audi "Challenges" AUDI New Car: Four Rings Interlocked is the Soul

Unitree Teases New Robot: Height May Reach 1.8 Meters

The Information: Behind Autonomous Robots, Humans May Be in Control

Tesla Model 3 Turn Signal Stalks "Return"

"Black Myth" Series New Game Teaser Trailer Released

LABUBU Series Generates Nearly 5 Billion in Half-Year Revenue

**Xiaomi Home Appliance Revenue Hits Record High, Executive: Won't Participate in Price Wars**

On August 19, XIAOMI-W released its Q2 2025 financial results, stating that "this quarter's performance showed steady progress with record-breaking results."

Specifically:

According to Wall Street insights, during the evening conference call, Xiaomi Corp President Lu Weibing revealed that the automotive business's operating losses narrowed to 300 million yuan in Q2, and based on current momentum, monthly or quarterly profitability is expected in the second half. However, with over 30 billion yuan invested over the past three years and substantial cumulative losses, achieving full profitability still has a long way to go.

Lu Weibing also disclosed that the Xiaomi YU7 series continues the outstanding performance of the Xiaomi SU7, "creating another Xiaomi hit miracle." The company has decided to officially enter the European electric vehicle market in 2027.

Regarding smartphones and AI, Lu Weibing stated that Xiaomi phones are firmly targeting the "200 million club," planning to join the global annual shipment ranks of 200 million units within three to five years. The AI strategy consists of three layers: large models, application layer, and transformation layer, completing the "human-car-home" full-scenario ecosystem.

Lu Weibing also revealed that Xiaomi Corp's overall revenue for 2025 is expected to grow by over 30%, expressing full confidence in achieving this goal.

When asked about anti-involution issues, Lu Weibing stated regarding home appliances that Xiaomi firmly refuses to engage in price wars and won't participate in involution.

**DeepSeek New Model Goes Online**

Last night, DeepSeek's online model version was upgraded to V3.1, with context length extended to 128k. It can be tested through the official website, APP, and mini-program, with API interface calling methods remaining unchanged.

Simply put, the new DeepSeek can "remember" and process longer text at once, with significantly improved context capacity, providing better help for long document analysis, code repository understanding, and maintaining consistency in long conversations.

However, this is just a regular update and not related to the long-awaited R2. Based on past experience, V4 model should be updated before R2 release.

Last week, markets heard rumors that the next-generation large model DeepSeek-R2 would be released in late August, but the source wasn't reliable. According to sources close to DeepSeek, DeepSeek-R2 has no release plans within August.

Early this morning, DeepSeek open-sourced the V3.1-Base version. This model has 685 billion parameters, supports BF16, F8_E4M3, F32 tensor types, released in Safetensors format for efficient inference, and features an extended context window.

**Li Xiang: Only Lei Jun and I Can Create Super Products**

Yesterday, Luo Yonghao released the first episode of video podcast "Luo Yonghao's Crossroads," sharing conversations with Li Auto CEO Li Xiang. In the program, Li Xiang shared many stories and experiences from his entrepreneurial journey.

Li Xiang stated that Xiaomi founder Lei Jun is the only other super product manager-type boss among this wave of car-making startup founders besides himself, and only they two can create super products.

When Luo Yonghao asked if he felt nervous when Lei Jun announced car manufacturing, Li Xiang said no and that Lei Jun had specifically called him. Li Xiang revealed that Lei Jun asked for advice, and he responded: "Don't find any agents, just go all-in yourself and you'll succeed."

Li Xiang also mentioned that everyone just needs to do the three most important things well each day to be excellent, but if someone has to do over ten important things daily, unless they're a diligent genius, many times the results aren't great.

Luo Yonghao agreed with this view and said "Lei Jun is definitely a famously diligent genius." Li Xiang responded that he couldn't compare with Lei Jun, sharing his observations: "You can find him working on weekends, and after chatting with me, he continues communicating with others."

Li Xiang also recalled the darkest moments in his entrepreneurial journey, even shedding tears in the program while thanking Wang Xing. He said Wang Xing extended a helping hand to invest in Li Auto when he was in despair.

Additionally, facing malicious targeting of Li Auto, Li Xiang believes there's a competitor manipulating behind the scenes. He stated: "I think there's a company manipulating behind the scenes, a competitor. The i8 has been attacked from the beginning, including later attacks on our car owner image, all orchestrated. They're professionals at this with professional teams."

Li Xiang also mentioned MEGA being called a "coffin car." He said the design team was very hurt, and many suggested immediate redesign. "It coincided with a special timing when traffic pushed it up."

**ChatGPT Launches Go Version at Under $5 Per Month**

Yesterday, OpenAI announced a new low-cost subscription plan "ChatGPT Go" in India. Most notably, ChatGPT Go costs only 399 rupees per month (approximately $4.6, about 33 yuan).

Despite the low price, ChatGPT Go still provides higher GPT-5 access, stronger image generation models, more file upload permissions, data analysis, and longer memory functions.

Reportedly, compared to the free version, Go users get 10 times the message response quota, with image generation/file upload capacity also increasing 10-fold.

Notably, OpenAI stated that while Go is initially available only in India, it may expand to other countries and regions in the future.

**XPeng: Aesthetics Significantly Impact Premium Pricing and Marketing**

Yesterday, XPeng Motors released its Q2 2025 financial report, stating "strong delivery growth, steady gross margin improvement, core metrics repeatedly hitting new highs."

XPeng stated that with new model launches, Q3 revenue and delivery guidance hit new quarterly highs: expecting to deliver 113,000-118,000 new vehicles in Q3 2025, with Q3 total revenue between 19.6-21 billion yuan.

XPeng Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said: "We completed comprehensive upgrades of intelligent and electrification next-generation technology platforms in 2025, creating significant technological gaps with competitors. This will generate stronger momentum for our major product cycle and accelerate scale growth."

In the earnings call, He Xiaopeng revealed that 2026 and 2027 are major years for XPeng's new product launches, with multiple new models above 300,000 yuan appearing.

Regarding technology, He Xiaopeng stated that XPeng will continue increasing investment in multiple technologies on Ultra models and even next year's RoboTaxi, improving premium pricing.

He Xiaopeng also mentioned: "Recently we hope to add a new strength besides our original technology advantages, especially autonomous driving assistance - aesthetics. From another angle, when aesthetics are done well, overall premium pricing, conversion, and marketing will change significantly."

**Doubao Manager Denies "Phone Launch Plans"**

Yesterday, reports claimed ByteDance is developing an AI phone currently named "Doubao Phone," with ZTE as ODM manufacturer. The phone would launch by year-end or early next year, initially for internal team testing without external sales plans.

Subsequently, a Doubao manager told Interface News the information was "inaccurate," stating "Doubao currently has no plans to launch its own phone product."

The manager said: "Doubao continues exploring opening our AI capabilities to various hardware manufacturers including phones. In this process, we work with some partners on complete solution attempts, but all cooperation doesn't involve developing or launching proprietary phone products."

**Yu Donglai: High Salary and Benefits Don't Violate Business Logic**

According to People's Daily August 19 report, Pangdonglai Chairman Yu Donglai recently accepted face-to-face interviews, sharing his understanding of high-quality development and pursuit of service quality.

Regarding "Do high employee compensation and benefits violate business logic?", Yu Donglai said "I don't think so."

Yu Donglai pointed out: "Emphasis on 'people' is key to our (Pangdonglai) success." He believes only by respecting employees and achieving team success can enterprises last longer.

Regarding whether the business model can be borrowed or copied, Yu Donglai frankly said "Pangdonglai's business model has borrowable aspects, but complete copying isn't easy or necessary."

Yu Donglai emphasized that each enterprise has different environments, cultures, and teams. "Our model gradually formed based on understanding of employees, customers, and society." He further explained that if other enterprises just copy surface practices like high compensation and benefits without true understanding, success is difficult.

In the interview, Yu Donglai was also asked about "Pangdonglai creating competitive advantages through integrity," responding: "Business isn't just profit-seeking. Long-term, it should build trust." "Maintaining integrity is not only a moral choice but also business wisdom."

**Reports: NVIDIA Developing New Chip for China**

According to Reuters citing sources, NVIDIA is developing a new AI chip based on Blackwell architecture for the Chinese market, with performance exceeding the currently exported H20.

The new AI chip will reportedly be named B30A, using single-die design with raw computing power potentially half of NVIDIA's flagship B300. The B30A will feature high-bandwidth memory and NVIDIA's NVLink technology.

Sources revealed chip specifications aren't finalized, but NVIDIA hopes to deliver samples to Chinese customers for testing as early as next month.

Additionally, NVIDIA is preparing another new AI chip for China, also Blackwell architecture, mainly for AI inference tasks.

**ByteDance Reportedly Developing "World Model"**

According to The Information, ByteDance is following Google and Meta's footsteps, preparing its own world model. Recently, Google and Meta launched their new world models - Genie 3 and V-JEPA 2.

World models can simulate real environments, aiming to achieve physics similar to real-world object movement and human-environment interaction for training robots and autonomous driving models.

Reportedly, ByteDance's world model project is being advanced by its AI research-focused seed department. Sources revealed the project leader is Zhou Chang, who joined ByteDance from Alibaba Tongyi last year and was a key executive for the Qwen model.

Notably, ByteDance owns TikTok and Douyin, two major "viral" video platforms, plus leading AI video generation models. The report noted ByteDance can leverage this advantage to help develop world models.

**FAW Audi "Challenges" AUDI New Car: Four Rings Interlocked is the Soul**

Recently, Audi's new luxury electric brand AUDI officially released its E5 sportback model. However, the new car doesn't use Audi's classic "four rings interlocked" logo, sparking discussion about "losing Audi elements."

On August 18, Audi's official WeChat account introduced the FAW Audi Q6L e-tron, mentioning:

The article also mentioned "Audi never compromises safety for design," "refuses hidden door handle design," "doesn't compromise to 'top-mounted' trends," etc.

The AUDI E5 sportback uses hidden door handle design with lidar positioned on the roof.

**Unitree Teases New Robot: Height May Reach 1.8 Meters**

Last night, Unitree Robotics released its latest robot teaser. Official information shows the new robot will feature "Agile Elegant," reaching 180cm height with 31 degrees of freedom, joints possibly "2 leg groups ×6, waist 3, 2 arm groups ×7, head 2."

From released teaser images, the new robot will support ballet demonstrations with triangular indicator lights on the head.

**The Information: Behind Autonomous Robots, Humans May Be in Control**

Yesterday, The Information reported that many seemingly autonomous robots are actually controlled by human operators.

The article mentioned NVIDIA's small robot debut in March - the Star Wars-style robot that "autonomously" walked to CEO Jensen Huang on stage, earning applause for natural, cute movements. However, Disney publicly stated the "autonomous" activity lasted only minutes, with subsequent actions controlled by backstage "human puppeteers" (human engineers).

The Information stated this "behind-the-scenes control" has become an open secret in robotics. Whether warehouse sorting, street delivery, or CEO stage appearances, many robots aren't truly autonomous but rely on remote human operators, sometimes hundreds or thousands of kilometers away using controllers or VR devices.

Even Tesla's pride, the Optimus robot, requires human operators wearing "motion capture suits" backstage during "performances."

This trend creates demand for "teleoperators," with some positions outsourced to low-cost regions outside America, using cheap labor to support "American domestic enterprises."

The Information noted short-term, such positions can somewhat compensate drivers and warehouse workers displaced by robots. However, The Information also quoted Coco Robotics CEO Zach Rash: remote control isn't "faking" - it's not just backup but training robots to become smarter.

**Alibaba Tongyi Launches All-Purpose Image Editing Model**

August 19, Alibaba Tongyi Qianwen announced launching Qwen-Image's image editing version - Qwen-Image-Edit.

According to introduction, Qwen-Image-Edit is further trained based on the 20B Qwen-Image model, successfully extending Qwen-Image's unique text rendering capability to image editing, achieving precise editing of text in images.

Additionally, Qwen-Image-Edit inputs images simultaneously to Qwen2.5-VL (achieving visual semantic control) and VAE Encoder (achieving visual appearance control), providing dual editing capabilities for semantics and appearance.

Specifically, Qwen-Image-Edit's main features include:

Currently, Qwen-Image-Edit is online in Qwen Chat's "image editing" function and available on ModelScope, HuggingFace, GitHub.

**Tesla Model 3 Turn Signal Stalks "Return"**

Yesterday, when Tesla officially launched Model Y L, it quietly added Model 3 turn signal stalk installation service.

Details show "Model 3 steering wheel turn signal stalk modification" costs 2,499 yuan, currently "coming soon," expected to launch mid-September.

Official introduction states this modification service can update steering wheel turn signal buttons to turn signal stalks for previously stalk-less Model 3 models.

Reportedly, the service will replace original steering wheels and related components, with original parts recycled by service centers.

Notably, this modification applies to Model 3 vehicles produced after February 7, 2025, with service for earlier vehicles coming later.

Additionally, our actual inquiry found currently ordered Tesla Model 3s will again include turn signal stalks as standard.

**HarmonyOS Smart Multiple New Cars Scheduled for Next Week Launch**

August 19, HarmonyOS Smart officially announced it will hold the "Zhijie and Wenjie Autumn New Product Launch" on August 25, releasing multiple new cars together.

Additionally, recently opened pre-orders for Xiangjie S9T achieved "over 20,000 small orders in 24 hours." Reportedly, Xiangjie S9T pre-sale price starts at 328,000 yuan.

**"Black Myth" Series New Game Teaser Trailer Released**

Early today, the second Black Myth series work "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" developed by Game Science officially released its first CG teaser trailer, debuting simultaneously at the 2025 Cologne Game Show opening ceremony.

Reportedly, "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" is a single-player/action/role-playing game with main creative inspiration from the famous character "Zhong Kui" in Chinese folklore. However, officials stated that due to early development stage, no actual gameplay content is shown yet.

Platform-wise, the game will launch on PC + mainstream console platforms.

Officials introduced "Black Myth: Zhong Kui" remains a standard single-player/action/role-playing game with identical business model to "Black Myth: Wukong."

Officials also responded to "why make Zhong Kui first instead of Black Myth: Wukong sequel": to try more differentiated gaming experiences, tinker with more challenging game features, and create fresh elements in worldview and narrative.

**Tencent Launches "Goose Home Guardian" Function**

Recently, Tencent Maps officially launched "Goose Home Guardian" function, providing comprehensive safety protection services for families with elderly and children, now available nationwide.

Leveraging Tencent Maps' leading real-time positioning and navigation technology, this function allows family members to share locations anytime, view travel dynamics, and quickly send distress signals in emergencies.

Additionally, "Goose Home Guardian" supports real-time movement tracking updates, effectively avoiding "can't find people" or navigation delay issues. Guardians can even directly call cars for family members on the page without switching apps, making protection more intelligent, convenient, and humane.

Beyond basic positioning and assistance, "Goose Home Guardian" supports setting "guardian ranges" - areas where elderly frequently move or children's schools/parks. When protected persons leave set ranges or experience abnormalities like falls, the system immediately alerts guardians, achieving early warning and timely response.

To improve information delivery efficiency, Goose Home Guardian connects to WeChat service account notifications. Guardians can receive real-time family location dynamics and safety reminders in WeChat, missing no critical information.

**LABUBU Series Generates Nearly 5 Billion in Half-Year Revenue**

Yesterday, Pop Mart released 2025 half-year financial information, "half-year revenue breaking 10 billion, income and profit both exceeding 2024 full year."

Specifically:

Notably, Pop Mart's 5 major IPs generated over 1 billion in revenue. Among them, popular IP LABUBU's THE MONSTERS series generated 4.81 billion yuan revenue, accounting for 34.7%; while MOLLY, DIMOO, CRYBABY and SKULLPANDA all exceeded 1 billion yuan revenue.

Regionally, Pop Mart achieved extraordinary 1142.3% year-over-year growth in Americas, reaching 2.26 billion yuan revenue; China contributed most with 8.28 billion yuan revenue, up 135.2% year-over-year; Europe and other regions also achieved 480 million yuan revenue, up 729.2% year-over-year.

**Beats Collaborates with Verdy, Launches Collectible Pill Stand**

Recently, Beats partnered with Verdy again, launching new evolved collaboration products, redesigning the signature Pill character Verdy created for Beats Pill in their first collaboration.

As a collectible art figure, the new Beats Vear continues Verdy's distinctive cute playful signature style. This super limited edition collaboration again features the cream-colored bear named "Vear."

"This bear opens its mouth wide, seemingly wanting to swallow the latest Beats Pill."

Additionally, Japanese rapper Young Coco has signed to Verdy's "Verdy Sounds" label and collaborated again with Beats and Verdy, creating an original single specifically for this product launch.

Starting August 21, the collectible set including Vear and Beats Pill will be exclusively sold through Verdy's Gift Shop at London's Dover Street Market. Later this year, this collectible set will launch in the United States, China, and Japan.

**"VALORANT" Mobile Game Officially Launches, iPhone 6s Compatible**

August 19, Tencent's agent Riot hero shooter "VALORANT: Source Action" officially launched on Android and iOS platforms simultaneously.

According to introduction, the product recreates classic hero skills and shooting experience from PC, with trendy avant-garde style, rich gameplay, and fast shooting rhythm, while optimizing for mobile platforms, bringing mobile shooting competition "showcase" to players.

Officials also announced phone configuration requirements. Specifically, minimum installation hardware requirements are:

**Space Film "Blue Planet Outside the Window" Scheduled for September**

Yesterday, space film "Blue Planet Outside the Window" released a scheduling trailer, premiering nationwide September 5.

Reportedly, the film was shot by Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, also being the first public revelation of Shenzhou-13 astronauts' 183-day space journey in China's space station, showcasing universe wonders from unique perspectives.

According to introduction, as China's first film shot in actual space scenes, it used Kinefinity MAVO Edge 8K cameras with Laowa 100mm T2.9 macro lenses and other equipment.

**NRTA: Improve TV Series Episode Count and Season Drama Broadcasting Intervals**

Recently, the National Radio and Television Administration issued "Several Measures to Further Enrich Television Big Screen Content and Promote Radio and Television Audiovisual Content Supply."

The measures emphasize multiple approaches to strengthen content construction and increase quality radio and television audiovisual content supply. Specifically:

**"Mom from Prison" Selected for San Sebastian Film Festival**

According to Sina Film news, "Mom from Prison" was selected for the 73rd San Sebastian Film Festival main competition.

The film tells the story of a woman who accidentally killed her husband while resisting domestic violence and was imprisoned, her life in the prison art troupe, and how she gained her mother-in-law's forgiveness after release, became self-reliant in society, and difficultly repaired relationships with her son.

Directed by Qin Xiaoyu, starring Zhao Xiaohong, Zhang Haoyu, and Liu Shuyi, the film will premiere at this San Sebastian Film Festival (September).