Tech Weekly: Ultra-Thin Phones Fall Out of Favor as Tencent Doubles Down on Game Science

A series of major tech industry developments have emerged in recent days. Apple's iPhone Air sales have fallen far short of expectations, prompting Android camp players to collectively scale back their ultra-thin flagship strategies. Tencent has quietly increased its stake in Game Science, the developer behind Black Myth: Wukong. Meanwhile, Canon has reportedly been working on a Pocket camera product line. Behind these developments lies a deeper structural shift unfolding across the consumer electronics market.

iPhone Air 'Acclaimed but Unsold' — Ultra-Thin Strategy Loses Steam

On May 1, prominent tech blogger @Digital Chat Station revealed that Apple's iPhone Air has delivered surprisingly underwhelming market performance — activation numbers barely surpassed 700,000 units only after multiple rounds of price cuts, far below industry expectations. Meanwhile, an Air model from a domestic Android manufacturer reportedly achieved only around 50,000 activations, an even more dismal showing.

As a result, that manufacturer has reportedly shelved plans for next year's iteration based on the "compact ultra-thin + maxed-out specs" formula. The blogger predicts that the only flagship still committed to an ultra-thin identity in the next generation may be Apple's iPhone Air 2.

In truth, warning signs for the ultra-thin trend appeared much earlier. Several products, including the Xiaomi Air and Meizu 22 Air, were reportedly killed during the project approval stage. Xiaomi brand general manager Lu Weibing publicly stated as early as last November that "the extreme thinness of Air phones actually comes at the cost of user experience — including battery life, thermal management, performance, and camera quality," adding bluntly that "from actual sales data, it is indeed a very niche segment."

Market feedback suggests that consumer enthusiasm for ultra-thin phones falls far short of what manufacturers anticipated. At a time when on-device deployment of large AI models demands greater thermal headroom and computing power from smartphones, sacrificing internal space for extreme slimness clearly conflicts with the evolutionary direction of the smartphone industry.

Tencent Raises Stake in Game Science to 24%, Deepening AI + Gaming Strategy

In another noteworthy development, Tencent has quietly increased its shareholding in Game Science to 24%. Game Science rose to fame with Black Myth: Wukong, establishing itself as a benchmark for Chinese AAA game development. Tencent's expanded investment is seen not only as an endorsement of Game Science's R&D capabilities but also as a strategic deepening of Tencent's position in the AI + gaming space.

As AI technology becomes increasingly prevalent in game development — from intelligent NPC dialogue and procedural content generation to motion capture and physics engine optimization — studios with top-tier development teams are becoming prime investment targets for tech giants. Tencent's increased stake is expected to provide Game Science with stronger technological and resource support for future projects.

Canon May Launch Pocket Camera as Content Creation Hardware Heats Up

Recent reports indicate that Canon is considering the launch of a Pocket series camera product line. Against the backdrop of sustained growth in short-form video and AI-powered content creation, portable professional imaging devices are experiencing a new wave of demand. DJI's Pocket series has already achieved impressive market success, and Canon's potential entry — backed by its deep expertise in optics and image processing — would offer creators additional professional-grade options.

Gemini Ad Integration Put on the Agenda

Meanwhile, Google is accelerating its AI commercialization efforts. According to Android Central, during Alphabet's earnings call this week, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler revealed that Gemini will introduce an advertising mechanism, currently in the preparatory stage. This signals that the monetization model for AI assistants is expanding from subscription-based to advertising-driven approaches, a shift that could have far-reaching implications for the profitability logic of the entire AI application ecosystem.

Trend Outlook

Several clear trends emerge from this week's industry developments. First, the consumer electronics market is returning to a pragmatic "experience-first" approach, as the ultra-thin concept alone proves insufficient to justify premium pricing. Second, AI technology is reshaping the content creation value chain across gaming, imaging, and beyond, with tech giants accelerating their investment strategies. Third, the commercialization of AI products is entering uncharted waters — whether the advertising model can strike a balance between user experience and commercial returns will be a key storyline to watch in the second half of the year.

For consumers, as industry hype gradually subsides, product innovation that is truly driven by user needs will ultimately rise to the surface.