China Mobile Launches Cloud Phone — Another Iconic 5G Application That Empowers Inclusive Computing

beijingwalker · Jul 21, 2023

China Mobile Launches Cloud Phone — Another Iconic 5G Application That Empowers Inclusive Computing

21 JUL 2023

PARTNER CONTENT: Since the dawn of the 5G era, China has leapt ahead in the race to develop mobile communications, both in terms of 5G network construction and user base, and the scale of 5G-based service innovations. On May 17, which is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, China Mobile launched a strategic new product called cloud phone.

China Mobile’s cloud phone is essentially a virtual phone that runs on the cloud. By leveraging China Mobile’s robust computing network, cloud phone is able to deliver lighter, faster, safer, and more convenient services than a physical phone can.

At the 5G Development and Innovation Forum which was held during MWC Shanghai 2023, Li Bin, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Internet, explained the underlying logic of cloud phones in his keynote speech. Li described China Mobile’s cloud phone as an offering that was designed to outperform more conventional products on the market while meeting and exceeding users’ everyday phone needs. He also emphasized the company’s commitment to developing flagship products with strong computing power that will better serve users and make computing more inclusive.

As core elements of the new infrastructure, communications and computing are being hailed as important drivers of the digital economy. Communications technology provides a fast and efficient way to exchange information, allowing people to communicate with each other and work remotely, anytime and anywhere. Meanwhile, computing is becoming synonymous with productivity. China’s per capita computing power is still relatively average from an international perspective, so it is more important than ever to bridge the computing gap and make computing inclusive.

China Mobile has been integral to the development of a more digital China, and is set to cement its position by broadening its corporate responsibilities related to advancing the digital economy. Thanks in part to heavy investments in technological innovation, China Mobile is now able to provide tangible and accessible computing applications for individual users, enterprises, and government sectors, thereby improving both quality of life and the efficiency of production and governance.

China Mobile has systematically built a “3 + 2 + 1” system of computing terminal products, which consists of 3 thin terminal products (cloud phone, cloud computer, and cloud set-top-box, or cloud STB), 2 fat terminal products (the computing hosts for store and home applications), and 1 cloud OS platform. This series of products brings powerful computing services to customers’ fingertips. China Mobile has also planned and launched computing packages for cloud phone, cloud computer, cloud STB, and cloud drive. Users can flexibly and easily combine different products and services into a customized package which is perfectly suited to their needs.

Since cloud phone runs on the cloud, the OS, storage system, computing, and applications are all deployed on the cloud. Video streams are processed by the cloud and then transmitted to physical mobile phones over the 5G network to implement terminal-cloud interaction. Cloud phone is a portal through which China Mobile’s cloud platform provides computing services over the 5G network. There is something for everyone, as there are three form factors available — application, H5 browser, and applet.

Cloud phone is being advertised as a killer 5G application, because it fully leverages the advantages of 5G networks and brings the once-distant notion of computing power to ordinary users. The application was built with the “connection + computing + capability” strategy in mind, and it has become China Mobile’s flagship product for next-gen information services. Essentially, cloud phone uses connections to introduce new elements of computing and capabilities in order to drive market operations.

Cloud phone outperforms physical phones in terms of computing power, storage space, and capabilities, and can be used in a wider range of scenarios. Consumers can use cloud phone to play resource-intensive games anytime thanks to its powerful cloud computing technology. Cloud phone is easy to download, and it takes just seconds to get an app running on it. Its storage space can be flexibly scaled up without compromising any of the physical phone’s memory. Moreover, multiple numbers can be bound to one cloud phone. For government and enterprise users, members can subscribe to multiple cloud phones and bind different numbers and cards to each one to facilitate role switching and ensure office security. Enterprise applications and data assets can be stored on the cloud and encrypted to simplify management. Family members can use cloud phones to interact with each other on the same screen from different terminals.

China Mobile has developed significant competitive advantages in connectivity and computing infrastructure, allowing it to deliver an industry-leading service experience through cloud-network-edge-terminal collaboration and computing-network convergence. Currently, its cloud phone application offers 1080p HD image quality, TB-level massive storage, and interaction across multiple cloud terminals.

Li Bin rounded off his speech by reaffirming China Mobile’s unwavering commitment to the open, mutually beneficial, and harmonious development of the mobile industry. In the toB market, China Mobile aims to provide a unified open platform for building cloud phone capabilities based on its cloud infrastructure, and in doing so is hoping to open up its cloud phone development, resource management, and unique service capabilities to partners through standard APIs and SDK interfaces. China Mobile believes that openness and cooperation with industry partners and end users are both key to exploring the vast potential of computing network services and driving the development of the digital economy.

With constantly improving 5G networks and computing infrastructure, more innovative applications for individuals and industries are quickly becoming available, which in turn naturally increases demand for one-touch and on-the-go computing services. Cloud phone is expected to be one of the trailblazing applications that will greatly accelerate the promotion and popularization of innovative 5G services, taking people’s work and lives into the digital, intelligent era.