In-Depth Analysis of the Competitiveness of Thunderobot ZERO Air Gaming Laptop

Based on the collected information, I will conduct a systematic analysis of the product competitiveness of Thunderobot ZERO Air gaming laptop.

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Thunderobot ZERO Air is a “lightweight” flagship gaming laptop launched by Thunderobot at CES in January 2026, positioned in the high-performance thin-and-light gaming laptop niche market. This product has achieved a breakthrough combination of 1.58kg body weight and 160W full-power dual performance release, reshaping players’ physical cognitive boundaries for high-performance gaming laptops [1][2].

Configuration Item	Specification Parameters
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 9 386H (Panther Lake platform)
Manufacturing Process	Intel 18A
Graphics Card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile GPU
Video Memory	12GB GDDR7
Display	15.3-inch OLED
Body Weight	1.58kg
Body Thickness	15.9mm
Cooling System	Dual Fans + Vapor Chamber
Performance Release	160W Full-Power Dual Mode

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The Intel 18A process is Intel’s current most advanced consumer processor manufacturing technology, adopting two key technologies: RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery, which brings significant energy efficiency improvements [3][4].

• Compared with Intel 3 process: more than 15% performance per watt improvement at the same power consumption, up to 25% power consumption reduction, and 1.3x increase in transistor density [5]
• Compared with Lunar Lake: 10% power consumption reduction
• Compared with Arrow Lake: up to 40% power consumption reduction [3]

• Single-core performance is more than 10% higher than that of Lunar Lake
• Multi-core performance is more than 50% higher than that of Lunar Lake
• Gaming performance leads AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 by up to 73% [6]

The base power consumption of the Panther Lake processor is 25W (same as Arrow Lake-H), but its peak power consumption is significantly lower. OEMs can choose between a 25W base power consumption + 65W maximum turbo power configuration, or upgrade to a 45W base power consumption + 80W maximum turbo power solution [4]. This flexible power configuration provides a key energy efficiency foundation for Thunderobot ZERO Air’s 1.58kg ultra-lightweight design.

The RTX 5070 mobile GPU is based on the GB205 core, equipped with 5888 CUDA cores and 12GB GDDR7 video memory (192-bit bus width), achieving a good balance between performance and energy efficiency [7][8].

Scenario	RTX 5070 Mobile Power Consumption	Comparison with RTX 5080 Mobile
Idle State	12W	20W
Gaming State	229W	325W
Ray Tracing State	254W	332W
Maximum Power Consumption	257W	375W

The energy efficiency of the RTX 5070 mobile version is about 34.7% higher than that of the RTX 5080 mobile version, and this energy efficiency advantage is crucial for high-performance gaming laptops pursuing thin-and-light design [7].

Thunderobot ZERO Air adopts a premium cooling solution of dual fans + Vapor Chamber, ensuring long-term stable operation in the “dual stress test” full-power state, while controlling the keyboard surface temperature and noise within a reasonable range [2]. This cooling design supports the realization of 160W full-power dual performance release, allowing both the CPU and GPU to operate at peak performance.

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The Chinese gaming laptop market shows a clear echelon differentiation pattern:

• First Echelon:
  Lenovo (including ThinkPad), HP – leading market share, perfect after-sales system [9]
• Second Echelon:
  ASUS (including ROG), Apple, Huawei, Dell (including Alienware) – outstanding technological innovation capabilities [9]
• Third Echelon:
  MSI, Honor, Xiaomi (including Redmi), MECHREVO, Acer, Thunderobot, Razer, FSP, etc. – focusing on cost-effectiveness or dedicated to gaming laptops [9][10]

Thunderobot belongs to the third-echelon brand, and there is a gap with leading brands in terms of R&D, brand building, after-sales coverage, etc., but it has competitive advantages in specific niche markets [10].

The gaming laptop niche market has performed prominently, with online sales in 2025 increasing by 17% year-on-year, far exceeding the overall market’s 8% growth [11]. Sales of high-end models priced above 8,000 yuan increased by more than 70% year-on-year, and sales of ultra-high-end models priced at 10,000 yuan and above surged by 81% [11]. This provides a favorable market environment for the high-end thin-and-light positioned ZERO Air.

The differentiated positioning of Thunderobot ZERO Air can be summarized as the ultimate balance of

:

Dimension	Traditional Gaming Laptops	Thunderobot ZERO Air	Differentiation Value
Weight	2.5-3.5kg	1.58kg	Reduced by 40%-55%
Thickness	25-30mm	15.9mm	Reduced by 30%-35%
Performance Release	150-180W	160W Full-Power Dual Mode	Leading in the same class
Portability	Poor	Excellent	Balances commuting and gaming

This differentiated positioning precisely targets user groups with high requirements for both portability and performance, such as gamers who need to commute frequently, content creators, student groups, etc.

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Thunderobot (872190.BJ) 2024 and recent financial data [12][13]:

Indicator	2023	2024	2025H1	Trend
Operating Revenue	2.555 billion yuan	2.955 billion yuan	1.388 billion yuan	Growing
Net Profit Attributable to Parent Companies	-	21.4986 million yuan	14.3353 million yuan	Declining
Gross Profit Margin	8.66%	8.08%	8.36%	Stable and low
Laptop Business Revenue	-	1.959 billion yuan	-	Core Business

1. Revenue Growth:
   Operating revenue increased by 15.65% year-on-year in 2024, indicating continuous business scale expansion
2. Profitability Under Pressure:
   Net profit attributable to parent companies continued to decline from 60.7595 million yuan in 2020 to 21.4986 million yuan in 2024, a decrease of more than 64%
3. Low Gross Profit Margin:
   Maintained at around 8%, lower than the industry average
4. High Customer Concentration:
   The top five customers accounted for 68.36% of sales in 2024, with Haier Group accounting for 36.06% [12]

Thunderobot’s brand value continues to increase:

• 2023: 15.526 billion yuan
• 2024: 18.015 billion yuan
• 2025: 21.839 billion yuan (21.2% year-on-year growth) [14]

It has been continuously selected into the World Brand Lab’s “China’s 500 Most Valuable Brands” list, and its brand influence has steadily increased.

Thunderobot adopts a

dual-drive strategy:

• E-sports Business:
  Laptops, desktops, peripherals and accessories, covering all scenarios of gaming laptops
• Indigenous Innovation Business:
  Indigenous innovation laptops, desktops, mini PCs, all-in-ones, servers, etc., serving eight key industries including party and government, finance, education, and medical care, and winning bids for more than 300 projects such as ICBC, PBOC, and China Mobile [14]

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• First to adopt Intel 18A process processor, seizing the dividend period of the latest process
• Achieving 160W performance release in a 1.58kg ultra-light body, with high technical difficulty
• Dual fans + Vapor Chamber cooling solution ensures stable performance output

• Built an NVIDIA ZONE area in the CES 2026 exhibition area, demonstrating strategic cooperation status [1]
• Prioritized access to NVIDIA’s latest GPU supply, ensuring product competitiveness

• The concept of “No interaction, no development; no public beta, no launch” ensures that products meet user needs
• Fans deeply participate in product iteration, forming unique user stickiness

• Clear brand positioning focusing on e-sports equipment
• Has won international recognitions such as the German Red Dot Design Award multiple times
• Brand value continues to increase, reaching 21.839 billion yuan in 2025

Moat Type	Current Status	Assessment
Technical Barrier	★★★☆☆	Intel 18A and RTX 50 series are common industry technologies, with limited differentiation
Scale Effect	★★☆☆☆	Sales scale is far smaller than leading manufacturers such as Lenovo and HP
Brand Premium	★★★☆☆	Brand value is increasing, but premium capability is still weaker than ROG and Alienware
Channel Network	★★☆☆☆	Incomplete after-sales coverage, mainly relying on e-commerce platforms
Supply Chain	★★★☆☆	Stable cooperation with contract manufacturers such as Quanta, Clevo, and Pegatron

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• First-tier brands (Lenovo, HP, ROG) have strong product capabilities, perfect channels, and high brand awareness
• Second-tier brands such as MECHREVO have aggressive cost-effective strategies, capturing nearly 20% of the market share in 2025 [11]
• The thin-and-light gaming laptop niche market has a limited scale, and the user group is relatively niche

• Gross profit margin is only around 8%, lower than the industry average of 15%-20%
• Net profit continues to decline, with net profit attributable to parent companies only 21.49 million yuan in 2024
• Price competition may further compress profit margins

• The top five customers account for 68.36% of sales, with the risk of customer dependence
• Haier Group accounts for 36.06%, with excessive influence from a single customer

• Core chips (Intel, NVIDIA) rely on external suppliers
• The contract manufacturing model (Quanta, Clevo, Pegatron) has limited quality control capabilities

• Intel 18A and RTX 50 series are common industry configurations, and competitors can follow up quickly
• The technical threshold for lightweight design is relatively high, but once broken through, it will face a lot of imitation

• Incomplete after-sales coverage, mainly relying on e-commerce platforms
• Compared with first-tier brands such as Lenovo and HP, offline channels are weak
• User experience may be affected by service response speed

• Brand awareness among the general consumers is lower than that of first-tier manufacturers
• The label of “third-tier brand” may affect the premium capability of high-end products

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1. Intel 18A process is the latest technology, and it takes time for competitors to follow up
2. The 1.58kg + 160W combination is leading in the industry
3. NVIDIA core partner status ensures GPU supply advantages
4. Brand exposure and topic popularity brought by the CES 2026 first launch effect

1. Intel and NVIDIA will supply the same platform to other OEMs
2. Brands such as ROG and Lenovo have stronger R&D and channel capabilities
3. The growth of the thin-and-light gaming laptop market may attract more competitors to enter
4. After technological iteration, existing advantages may be diluted

To achieve sustainable competitive advantages, Thunderobot needs to:

• Establish deeper strategic cooperation with Intel and NVIDIA to obtain exclusive periods or customized configurations
• Invest in the construction of core capabilities such as independent cooling technology and power consumption optimization
• Explore soft power differentiation such as AI and game auxiliary software

• Continuously enhance brand tone, and gradually penetrate into the high-end market
• Strengthen content marketing and KOL cooperation to improve brand awareness
• Improve the after-sales service system to make up for shortcomings

• Expand the e-sports peripheral ecosystem (monitors, keyboards and mice, headphones, etc.)
• Deepen the “E-sports + Indigenous Innovation” dual-drive strategy to diversify business risks
• Establish user communities and fan ecosystems to enhance user stickiness

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Thunderobot ZERO Air shows strong competitiveness at the product level:

• Lightweight Breakthrough:
  The 1.58kg weight sets a new lightweight record for high-performance gaming laptops
• Adequate Performance Release:
  160W full-power dual performance release, reaching the top level in the industry
• Leading Platform:
  First to adopt Intel 18A process and RTX 50 series GPU, seizing the first-mover advantage
• Premium Cooling:
  Dual fans + Vapor Chamber solution ensures stable performance output

The differentiated positioning of “Lightweight + High Performance” is precise, in line with the high-end and lightweight trends of the gaming laptop market, and has clear niche market value. However, this differentiation mainly relies on common technologies of upstream suppliers, with limited depth of technical moat, and competitors can follow up within 6-12 months.

Time Dimension	Competitive Advantage Strength	Judgment Basis
Short-Term (1 Year)	Strong	CES 2026 first launch effect + first-mover technical advantages
Mid-Term (2-3 Years)	Medium	Competitors follow up, technical gap narrows
Long-Term (More Than 3 Years)	Questionable	Need to build diversified barriers such as brand, channels, and user ecosystem

• The gaming laptop niche market maintains a high growth rate of 17%, with high industry prosperity
• High-end gaming laptops (priced above 8,000 yuan) grow by more than 70%, which is in line with the product positioning
• Brand value continues to increase, reaching 21.839 billion yuan in 2025
• The “E-sports + Indigenous Innovation” dual-drive strategy diversifies risks

• Weak profitability, with gross profit margin only around 8%
• Net profit continues to decline, with net profit attributable to parent companies only 21.49 million yuan in 2024
• High customer concentration, with the top five customers accounting for 68.36% of sales
• Obvious gaps in brand awareness and channel capabilities compared with first-tier manufacturers

Thunderobot ZERO Air performs well in product innovation and technological breakthroughs, but the company has weak overall profitability, high customer concentration, and obvious shortcomings in brand and channels, making it difficult to convert into significant financial returns in the short term. This product is more of a strategic layout for the brand’s upward breakthrough, which is of great significance to the company’s long-term development, but its investment value needs to be comprehensively considered in combination with the company’s overall fundamentals.

The current stock price performance has partially reflected the market’s expectations for the new product. It is recommended to pay attention to the actual sales data and market feedback of the product to verify the market acceptance of the differentiated positioning.

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[1] 36Kr - CES 2026 Preview: Four Semiconductor Giants Gather with New Products! OEMs Launch New Models!(https://notebook.pconline.com.cn/2052/20520332.html)

[2] NetEase News - Thunderobot CES 2026 Flash Report: First Live Debut of the New Generation “Lightweight” Flagship Gaming Laptop Thunderobot ZERO Air(https://www.163.com/dy/article/KIN2NU1205118DFD.html)

[3] Phoenix Net - Don’t Miss CES 2026: Panther Lake Accelerates AI PCs into a New Era of Agents(https://i.ifeng.com/c/8pI26aVAI9N)

[4] IT Home - Intel Launches 18A Process Core Ultra 300 Series Panther Lake Processors(https://www.ithome.com/0/910/685.htm)

[5] TechPowerUp - Intel 18A Process Technology Analysis

[6] cnBeta - Intel Core Ultra 3 Processor Performance Comparison Data(https://static.cnbetacdn.com/article/2026/0106/)

[7] Tech4Gamers - RTX 5070 Vs RTX 5080: Performance and Efficiency Analysis(https://tech4gamers.com/rtx-5070-vs-rtx-5080/)

[8] TechRadar - Nvidia RTX 5080 vs RTX 5070 Ti Comparison(https://www.techradar.com/computing/gpu/nvidia-rtx-5080-vs-rtx-5070-ti)

[9] Zhihu Column - January 2026 Laptop Buying Guide(https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/720334209)

[10] Zhihu Column - January 2026 Laptop Buying Guide: 7,000-8,000 Yuan