Since the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, some parents have found a new way to use a learning machine as a "chicken baby", a learning machine can contain thousands of courses of all subjects, from primary school to high school, students can choose to learn by themselves. Under such "training", is the manufacturer of the learning machine that provides the course content illegal?

From the perspective of sales, the most popular learning machine brands on the market include iFLYTEK, Xueersi, Xiwo, etc., with prices ranging from 1000-5000 yuan.

According to our inquiry, many learning machines include general subject learning videos, which students and parents can choose to watch. On the promotional page of iFLYTEK's learning machine, there are also many student cases, such as a first-grade primary school student who "has not yet opened English classes, but English listening has reached the level of fifth and sixth grades".

As a consumer, we consulted the customer service of various brands of learning machines, and customer services such as iFLYTEK, Xueersi, and Homework Help all claimed that the courses provided in the learning machines were recorded courses, covering most of the textbook versions. Among them, some learning machines are built-in video courses, and some learning machines provide cloud resources and can be networked online on demand.

The Ministry of Education recently issued the "Interim Measures for Administrative Punishment for Off-campus Training", which clearly states that institutions carrying out discipline-based training ahead of schedule and exceeding standards are violations of regulations, and the circumstances are serious or their licenses are revoked. If students can learn ahead through the recording class on the learning machine, does the learning machine provide the conditions for illegal training? CSJW called Beijing and other places for consultation.

A staff member surnamed Hou from the off-campus training work section of the Beijing Dongcheng District Education Commission told Zhongxin Jingwei that the premise of illegal training is to meet the definition of "training", which must include direct interaction between students and teachers. She said that this definition applies to the whole of Beijing.

The above-mentioned staff said that in recent years, the education department has also paid attention to the prevalence of learning machines in the market, because the courses in the learning machine are uniformly recorded, which is easy to cause some parents to be dissatisfied with the course content due to different teaching materials, teachers' teaching methods, teaching levels, etc. "However, the courses in the learning machine are understood to be of a product nature and are not considered training."

Staff from the Department of Education of Guangdong Province also said that the definition of training needs to be linked to the interaction between teachers and students. "At present, some parents collect some learning materials online and let their children study in advance, we do not recommend parents to be overly anxious, but we cannot prohibit all parents from doing this." The staff member said.

iFLYTEK told CSI that its AI learning machine provides 12 courses, including primary mathematics, English, junior high school mathematics, and physics. The AI function of the learning machine can recommend learning paths according to the individual situation of students. iFLYTEK did not respond to the question raised by users that users may be learning and broadcasting courses ahead of time.

Behind the 100 billion market, who is making money?

When it comes to learning machines, many people's first reaction is no longer "little bully" and "where will not point where". In recent years, more new terms have become the publicity points of learning machines: AI empowerment, fingertip Q&A, paper-like eye protection, smart learning, etc., and brands with such functions have occupied a place in the market.

iFLYTEK's revenue and net profit attributable to the parent fell in the first half of 2023, of which the net profit attributable to the parent fell by more than 22%, the company explained, due to the increase in strategic investment in the general artificial intelligence cognitive large model, which affected the current profit. However, iFLYTEK's education products and services segment had revenue of RMB85.3 billion, up 63.29% year-on-year, accounting for 14.48% of the total revenue, and the sector with the highest gross margin in iFLYTEK's business, with 64.<>%.

iFLYTEK said that in the first half of this year, the gross profit of AI learning machine sales increased by 60% year-on-year; After the blessing of large models in May and June, the total sales of learning machines increased by 5% and 6% year-on-year, respectively.

As one of the representatives of the old learning machine, the reader listed on the Hong Kong stock market in 2022 fell behind in the fierce competition. The company's net loss in the first half of 2023 was 3790.51 million yuan, and its revenue fell 5.1% to 25 million yuan, of which the revenue of students' personal tablets (that is, learning machines) was 1 million yuan, less than half of the same period last year. The company said that one of the main reasons for the decrease in student tablet sales is that companies from other industries have joined the educational electronics industry, which has intensified the competitive pressure in the industry.

Education and training institutions have also opened up another way after the "double reduction" and set their sights on the learning machine track. At present, Hao Future's Xueersi has launched a learning machine (learning tablet), Ape Tutoring has launched a little ape learning machine, and Homework Gang has also launched a learning machine, in which the built-in courses are derived from homework help live classes, and are presented in the form of recorded classes in the learning machine.

This year's 618 Douyin e-commerce list shows that Xueersi, Xiaodu, Little Ape, and iFLYTEK are among the top four on the hot selling list of learning machines. As of June 6, the sales volume of learning machines reached 18,5 units, and the cumulative sales exceeded 5 million yuan according to the price of 4599,2 yuan. Zhongxin Jingwei noticed that in the live broadcast room of Xueersi, the anchor strongly recommended the built-in courses of the learning machine, saying that "the courses from preschool to the third year of high school have been opened".

Peng Zhuangzhuang, president and chief financial officer of Good Future, said at the fiscal 2023 annual results conference call that if the narrow definition of intelligent learning tablet is followed, the total annual shipment of the market is expected to be about 400 million to 500 million units, and if the general purpose tablet is added, it will exceed 1000 million units; This is an important market for a good future.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, Hao Future had revenue of US$2 million and an operating loss of US$75.5777 million, a year-on-year increase of 3%. Regarding the questions related to the learning machine, Zhongxin Jingwei released an interview outline for Hao Hao Future, but did not receive a response as of press time.

According to the "2022 China Education Intelligent Hardware Industry Report" released by the Multiwhale Education Research Institute, with the implementation of the double reduction policy and the transfer of traditional training demand, it is expected that the learning machine market will reach nearly 3 billion in 2025 years (<>).

Industry: There is a risk of "brushing edges" in learning machines

At present, the educational intelligent hardware track with learning machine as one of the core products is in the limelight. According to iResearch's "2022 China Education Intelligent Hardware Market and User Insight Report", the size of China's consumer education intelligent hardware market will increase from 2019.249 billion yuan in 2022 to 431.2023 billion yuan in 498, and is expected to reach <>.<> billion yuan in <>.

According to the above report, the supply and demand sides of student tablets (learning machines) have grown explosively in recent years, which has promoted the further activation of the market space for comprehensive products; The student tablet with built-in educational resources has become an outlet for the transfer of some family education anxiety. From the perspective of category characteristics, student tablets account for more than 30% of the overall market share of educational intelligent hardware, with the characteristics of large market space, high unit price and long user life cycle.

However, the industry also has hidden concerns about the popularity of learning machines. Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, told Zhongxin Jingwei that because the learning machine is different from the off-campus tutoring, the interaction is relatively low, and the learning effect is also different from that of the training institution, so it is not easy to determine how much benefit the learning machine has. "The development of learning content is related to the learning situation and needs of students, and no single company may be able to meet the needs of all students. ”

Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said in an interview with Zhongxin Jingwei that although learning machines do not currently belong to the scope of illegal training, there is still a risk of "brushing edges". "In the future, if it is determined that the learning machine is disguised training, it is not ruled out that the relevant departments will strengthen their supervision."

Xiong Bingqi stressed that if learning machine brands are operating in accordance with the idea of pursuing high scores, then there will inevitably be a homogenization phenomenon. "In the past, online education was also homogenized, and knowledge point teaching was carried out in order to take exams and advance to higher education, but now the learning machine has similar problems, which is not conducive to long-term sustainable development."

"From the perspective of establishing a benign education ecology, I don't want learning machines to be too hot in the market. It is even more important that students can diversify their learning and learn according to their interests. Chu Zhaohui said.

(For more reporting clues, please contact Zhao Jiaran, the author of this article: zhaojiaran@chinanews.com.cn) (Zhongxin Jingwei APP)

(The views in the article are for reference only, do not constitute investment advice, investment is risky, and caution is required when entering the market.) )

Without written authorization, no unit or individual may reprint, excerpt or use it in other ways.