Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 228 The Chip Dilemma: A Race Against Time for the Future of Mobile Phones

"4.0 inches!" Everyone was surprised.

Feng Bo couldn't help but say, "Chairman, 3.5 inches is already a very large screen these days, and 3.7 inches is already the largest screen this year, far exceeding the iPhone."

"Isn't 4.0 inches too radical? And it's also more expensive, costing at least 100 yuan more than 3.7 inches!"

Wang Junshan smiled faintly: "That's right, the cost of a 4.0-inch chip is 100 yuan more than that of a 3.7-inch chip, but the selling price can be 300 yuan higher, and it can sell better!"

"The iPhone already has a first-mover advantage, so we can only find another way and create our own unique features for our future phones, features that surpass those of the iPhone!"

"For example, large-screen smartphones offer a better viewing experience and a better gaming experience, which is a great direction for development."

"With a similar budget, buying a large-screen phone makes consumers feel like they're getting a good deal!"

Xu Lai wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. Just like buying a TV, everyone wants a big one. Consumers believe that the bigger the screen, the more expensive and high-end it is. The same goes for mobile phones."

Wang Junshan nodded: "More importantly, our future mobile phone will be successfully developed and launched around December or January."

"Our competitors will not only be this year's mobile phones, but also next year's mobile phones!"

"This year, the mainstream size is 3.5 inches to 3.7 inches, but what about next year? There will most likely be 4.0-inch phones."

"By developing the 4.0-inch model ahead of our competitors by six months, we can seize the initiative and establish ourselves as the pioneer of large-screen smartphones!"

"In reality, there is not much difference between 3.7 inches and 3.5 inches, and consumers cannot tell the difference."

"The 4.0-inch screen is significantly larger than the 3.5-inch iPhone 3G, making it immediately noticeable to consumers. With a screen area that is 14% larger, it offers a better experience for both gaming and video playback."

“Indeed.” Feng Bo also understood this principle.

Wang Junshan continued, "Future mobile phones are just starting out, and we need to launch them before New Year's Day. September is the deadline! We need to finalize all the plans."

"Trial production will begin in October, production capacity will ramp up in November, large-scale production and distribution will begin in December, and sales will start on New Year's Day."

"Time is tight and the task is heavy. There is no time to develop two solutions at the same time. We can only go all in on the 4.0-inch."

Everyone nodded in agreement, expressing their support.

Wang Junshan continued, "Next, the processor, that's the most important."

Xu Lai was prepared and, following Zhou Ping's instructions, recounted the events in detail:
There are currently three options.

"The first Qualcomm solution uses Qualcomm's QSD8250 (S1) and adopts the Scorpion CPU, with performance similar to a single-chip solution of Cortex-A8 + Adreno 200 GPU + 3G baseband."

"The CPU has a 1GHz clock speed, which is currently the highest. The GPU performance is much worse than Texas Instruments' OMAP3, but its advantage is that it integrates a 3G baseband!"

"It's a turnkey project. The baseband is integrated, which greatly simplifies the design of the phone's motherboard, reduces the difficulty of research and development and the size, making it very suitable for smartphones that pursue thinness and style, as well as our need to launch the product quickly."

"Secondly, Texas Instruments' solution, using the OMAP 3430, boasts the strongest performance, especially in the GPU. Its CPU performance is 10% lower than the Qualcomm S1, but its GPU performance is 200% superior!"

"To put it simply, the Qualcomm S1 is fine for watching videos and playing simple games, but the frame rate is very low for demanding 3D games. The OMAP 3430, on the other hand, has no problem, with a frame rate 50%-70% higher than the Qualcomm. It can be said that its GPU performance is a generation ahead of Qualcomm!"

"However, the drawback is obvious. The OMAP 3630 does not have a baseband chip. We need to purchase baseband chips from companies such as Infineon and then integrate them, which will increase the cost, make it more difficult, and double the workload."

"Conservatively speaking, it will take an extra three to six months for research and development, so it's basically unrealistic to expect to launch the product by New Year's Day."

"Third, the Samsung solution. The Samsung S5PC100 has a CPU that is about 37% weaker than the Qualcomm S1, but its GPU uses the PowerVR SGX535, which is 25% more powerful than the Texas Instruments OMAP 3430's PowerVR SGX530 and 275% more powerful than Qualcomm's!"

"It can be said that Samsung's GPU has the strongest performance, which can be called the ceiling of the year, while its CPU performance is the weakest. Of course, it is also the most expensive, and the downside is that it requires you to integrate your own baseband."

"More importantly, the S5PC 100 was only released this year, and its production capacity is limited."

"Samsung not only has to supply the iPhone 3GS, which will be launched in the middle of the year, but also for its own use. We don't even have a chance to use it."

Feng Bo also chimed in, "Of course, we still have one major problem: we need to convince chip manufacturers to deeply adapt their operating systems for the future."

"But this is very difficult, practically impossible. Even Qualcomm has only done this kind of deep adaptation for Android."

"For our future OS, Qualcomm will only provide BSP and reference design at most, and we will need to adapt it ourselves."

Wang Junshan nodded: "This is also a big problem."

"Fortunately, we have completed the pilot version of Future OS, and we have enough engineers to adapt it ourselves in time."

"As for Samsung's S5PC100, although it has the strongest performance, it is not considered and is directly excluded."

Wang Junshan has thought it through clearly.

In summary, Samsung is the strongest, ridiculously so, but it's unavailable for purchase.

Apple and Samsung use these products themselves, so it's unlikely they'll be given to third parties.

Moreover, Wang Junshan doesn't trust Samsung!
Samsung's strength lies not only in its performance but also in its ability to control technological bottlenecks.

They cut off your supply at the drop of a hat.

For example, the HTC G7 from 2010 used a Samsung AMOLED screen.

Although it's a mid-range phone, it's well-rounded and sells well globally.

Samsung's Galaxy S (i9000) also sold well, and Samsung decisively cut off the supply of AMOLED screens to HTC G7, prioritizing the supply of AMOLED screens to its own flagship models.

With the screen missing, the HTC G7 faced production difficulties, forcing HTC to urgently replace it with a Sony screen.

Not only was a lot of time wasted, but Sony's screen was also of much lower quality than Samsung's AMOLED screen, leading to a flood of complaints and criticisms from users.

As a result, the G7, which had the potential to be a bestseller, was brought to an abrupt end at its peak due to Samsung's control over its production, becoming a generation's regret.

There are many, many more similar cases.

Wang Junshan is not Lei Jun.

Even if Samsung's AMOLED screen is the best, I won't use it.

They certainly wouldn't be like Lei Jun, repeatedly going to Samsung's door to beg for AMOLED screens.

In 2015, for some reason, Samsung cut off the supply of AMOLED screens to Xiaomi, which led to the delayed production of the Xiaomi 5.

In an effort to ease tensions, Lei Jun personally visited Samsung four times, drinking five bottles of red wine in the process, before finally securing the Samsung AMOLED screen the following year.

Wang Junshan doesn't tolerate Samsung.

Conversely, Future Mobile directly blocked Samsung from the very beginning.

Whether it's chips, screens, batteries, lenses, or even memory and flash memory, Samsung is completely blocked; not a single Samsung component will be used.

Such dishonest and arrogant companies should be boycotted by all brands.

It was precisely because more and more companies followed suit that Samsung's market share of AMOLED screens continued to plummet.

In 2015, Samsung dominated the AMOLED screen market, holding a market share of over 96%.

However, by 2025, the AMOLED screen market was still booming, but Samsung only had about 40% market share left, of which 90% was for Samsung's own use.

Other brands have almost completely abandoned Samsung AMOLED screens and instead opted for domestic AMOLED screens from BOE, CSOT, and other manufacturers.

Samsung is begging major brands to buy their AMOLED screens, but nobody is buying them.

But at present, we cannot take that step.

It doesn't matter, other brands can use Samsung's AMOLED screens if they want. It would be ridiculous if they were cut off from the supply chain.

But Wang Junshan would never use it!

Samsung is out of the running, leaving Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. Texas Instruments' performance is slightly inferior to Samsung's, but much stronger than Qualcomm's.

The Qualcomm S1 actually has the worst performance. Apart from integrating the baseband, which makes it easy to integrate and develop, it is otherwise useless.

在游戏领域，德州仪器3430和三星 S5PC100的性能，是高通S1的3-3.5倍！
That's right, the difference is that big!

Unfortunately, Qualcomm is a newcomer to smartphone chip development and its foundation is not as strong as Texas Instruments'.

高通S1芯片又是2008年的产品，德州仪器3430和三星 S5PC100都是2009年的产品。

It's only natural that the GPU performance is 3-3.5 times worse.

If given enough time, Wang Junshan would very much like to choose the Texas Instruments 3430.

The GPU is more than a generation more powerful than Qualcomm's.

别说2008年上市的高通S1，就算是2010年上市的高通S2，都不是2009年上市的德州仪器3430的对手，更何况同代的3630！

Unfortunately, Texas Instruments' 3430 only has a CPU and a GPU; the baseband chip has to be custom-made.

The Qualcomm S1 was the earliest SoC, which encapsulated the baseband chip.

We use a turnkey solution; everything is provided for you, so you can use it as soon as you open the door.

But Texas Instruments' 3430 is a different story. They only give you half a house; you have to buy the other half yourself and then piece it together...

If you have a year and a half, that's fine; you can definitely choose the Texas Instruments 3430 and slowly refine it.

But Texas Instruments faced difficulties after only nine months.

Future OS is all about seizing the moment!

Only by launching their phones as soon as possible, when Android is just starting out, can they survive.

It won't be delayed until March or June of next year.

We have to go public by New Year's Day!

In order to get the company listed as soon as possible, Wang Junshan seems to have no choice but to compromise.

Abandon the more powerful but more cumbersome Texas Instruments 3430 and choose the Qualcomm S1!

The strategic value of these three to six months far outweighs the performance gap.

There's no way around it; smartphones are updated and replaced quickly, and the golden period for sales is only a few months.

As for making two phones, will the Future Phone 1 Pro, equipped with a Texas Instruments 3430, be launched in the middle of next year?
This is not realistic either.

If the future mobile phone wants to launch on New Year's Day, the time is too tight, so it can only concentrate all its efforts on one product!
There's no way to split resources and work on two products simultaneously.

"It seems we can only use the Qualcomm S1, but the performance of this chip is estimated to be very poor. I'm afraid it won't even be able to run Angry Birds, which we are currently developing!" Wang Junshan said with great regret.

Feng Bo nodded: "I've done the tests. The Qualcomm S1 can only run at the lowest graphics settings, while the Texas Instruments 3430 can run at high graphics settings."

"Sure enough!"

Wang Junshan frowned: "The Qualcomm S1 can't even run Angry Birds, it's too useless!"

Feng Bo strongly agreed: "If you use Qualcomm S1, even playing their own 'Angry Birds' will be incredibly laggy."

"On the contrary, playing Angry Birds on the iPhone 3GS is incredibly smooth."

"Then future cell phones will be useless! Absolutely useless!"

"They should all be labeled as 'utterly incompetent'!"

Xu Lai was also quite helpless: "Although the Texas Instruments 3430 can run Angry Birds, it takes time, and the launch date is not until March or even June next year."

"A timely market launch and superior performance—it's a dilemma!"

For a moment, everyone was conflicted.

Wang Junshan smiled faintly: "If you want stronger performance and want to launch the product on New Year's Day, there is only one way."

"Using Texas Instruments processors and Infineon basebands, we convinced both Texas Instruments and Infineon to help us deeply adapt to the future OS!"

"Only in this way can we shorten the research and development time!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Lai's eyes lit up: "Great idea!"

"Although Qualcomm's S1 is terrible, it integrates the baseband, making it easy to adapt."

"While the Texas Instruments 3430 is powerful, it lacks a baseband. In the future, the OS will need to adapt both the Texas Instruments 3430 and the baseband, doubling the workload and adding three to five months to the time required."

"But as long as Texas Instruments and Infineon both establish professional teams to help with the deep adaptation of the future OS."

"Just like Qualcomm's deep adaptation of Android, it can greatly improve the adaptation efficiency and shorten the adaptation time."

"In this way, we can definitely launch the product on New Year's Day!"

Feng Bo frowned:

"The ideal is lofty, but the reality is harsh. Without offering a sufficiently strong incentive, Texas Instruments and Infineon will not help with deep adaptation of future operating systems."

Wang Junshan nodded: "Then we can only resort to evil cultivation methods to lure them."

"Therefore, we will tentatively choose Texas Instruments and Infineon baseband."

"Initiate negotiations immediately. If they are willing to send a team to help us deeply adapt our future OS, we will directly purchase 1000 million Texas Instruments 3430 chips and 1000 million Infineon 3G baseband chips."

"If Texas Instruments and Infineon don't agree, then we'll have to settle for Qualcomm's S1!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping, who was far away in the United States, felt a jolt of disbelief.

A production volume of 1000 million is quite high for a new phone!
"With such a large scale, can we sell it all?" Xu Lai couldn't help but ask.

This was his question, and also Zhou Ping's question.

Wang Junshan smiled faintly: "If we sell it for 5000 yuan, we definitely won't be able to sell it. But if we start at 2699 yuan, then there won't be any problem."

"In order to promote Future OS and quickly seize market share, our Future Phone 1st generation cannot be sold at too high a price."

“Starting at 2699, if the product is strong enough, it could really achieve annual sales of tens of millions!” Feng Bo said with a smile.

Wang Junshan nodded: "The screen and chip are settled here, proceed quickly. As for other aspects, the RAM will be 512MB, and the flash memory will be available in three tiers: 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, with no support for expansion."

"As for suppliers, talk to them more, lower their prices, and make large-scale purchases."

"That's no problem. It doesn't support expansion, which allows for smoother operation and also allows users to buy higher-spec versions."

Xu Lai responded, "Regarding the battery, the information we received from the supplier for the iPhone 3GS indicates that it only has a capacity of around 1219mAh, but we can use 1500mAh."

Wang Junshan waved his hand: "1500mAh is not enough. When the phone is launched on New Year's Day, its competitors will not only be the iPhone 3GS in the middle of this year, but also the iPhone 4 in the middle of next year!"

"The iPhone 4's battery will most likely be around 1400-1500 mAh, but let's go straight for 1800 mAh, no, let's go straight for 2000 mAh!"

"Large screens already consume a lot of power, directly reaching 2000 mAh."

"Large screen, long battery life, and high performance are our selling points!"

"Okay," everyone responded.

(End of this chapter)