Reinventing the Millennium

Yike is new.

On June 20th in Silicon Valley, Yu Hong unveiled the fourth-generation Mars and the second-generation Selfy.

Compared to Mars, her time allocation for the entire conference was spent longer on Selfy. She talked about the company's progress in imaging technology. The biggest contribution here came from the stacking of CMOS sensors by Bingxin Factory 3 around the 45nm process. process improvement.

This year it’s not just Selfy. Due to the space brought about by process advancement and process optimization, Mars also adds an additional set of lenses and refractor lenses, equipped with a periscope lens.

This kind of shooting feedback brought about by technological progress is quite good, so Yu Hong focused on this aspect.

Unfortunately, in the interviews she faced with reporters after the new phone was released, one major category was about fingerprints, another major category was about Mr. Fang, and a smaller category was about chips, and almost no one asked about shooting improvements.

"The press-type fingerprint technology we use is a fairly mature technology. Whether it is New York, Silicon Valley or Shanghai, this technology is used within the company. It is we who have iterated it to a satisfactory level, and now we can Taking it out is definitely not a temporary change, which can be seen from the fact that we will open it for sale tomorrow.”

Yu Hong faced the camera and explained the fingerprint function of the mobile phone that made everyone curious.

She held the mobile phone again for a real-life demonstration, and then said: "This is not the first time that fingerprint recognition has been applied to mobile phones, but in the past they were all scratch and slide types. This time we are using a more advanced push type. What is achieved is not just unlocking, we have reached a cooperation with PayPal and will support fingerprint payment in the third quarter."

"Yike hopes to bring users a safer and more convenient experience, and this time the fingerprint function is just like that."

Yu Hong hesitated and did not look forward to more biometric technology directions, such as face recognition.

This is a technology that has been approved internally but is still far away from being commercially available. I am afraid it cannot be solved in a short time.

She answered several reporters' curious fingerprint security questions, and then heard everyone asking about Fang's whereabouts.

This press conference is not Yike's usual practice, and the United States has indeed not seen the head of Yike for some time, which inevitably makes people wonder.

When faced with such questions, Yu Hong answered concisely, but the reporter's questions gradually became outrageous.

"Is Mr. Fang in Shanghai? There are reports that he has disappeared in China."

Yu Hong burst into laughter. She directly took out her mobile phone and dialed Mr. Fang from Shencheng. She said in Chinese: "Reporters gathered around me and said that you are dead. Please explain."

Fang Zhuo heard the angry tone, guessed the general situation, and said, "Press the foreign voice."

He waited for a few seconds and then greeted the media enthusiastically in English.

"Hi, I'm Fang Zhuo from Yike. Welcome to Yike's mobile phone launch conference."

When the reporters saw the call, they were a little noisy with questions, but there was still a questioning voice that reached Fang Zhuo's ears.

"It's not a recording, is it?"

Fang Zhuo reacted in real time: "Who said the recording just now? Who else said I was dead? You're from The Sun, right?"

The reporters laughed loudly, hearing that this tone was indeed Mr. Fang himself.

"Mr. Fang, what do you think of the screen of your Apple phone?"

"Mr. Fang, how many ratings can you give to the flagship phones of Apple, Samsung, and Yike this month?"

"Mr. Fang, why don't you come to the United States?"

When Fang Zhuo heard the serious question, he cleared his throat and replied: "The screen performance of the Apple phone is very good this time, and the battery life has also been improved. I also tried the iPhone 4. If I were to rate it, it would score 85 points. Samsung is very disappointing to me this time, I hope it can give it a score of 65."

The reporter reminded: "Mr. Fang, where is Mars?"

"Full marks, full marks, of course full marks!" Fang Zhuo raised his voice and said emotionally, "You will like to use fingerprint unlocking. I have used this thing for my office door lock for a long time, and even got a set that can be used with mobile phones. The linked unlocking is fulfilling our Yike's purpose of 'maintaining progress'."

“We hope that the advancement of technology will deeply facilitate all aspects of everyone’s lives.”

“In the past few years, we can see that smartphones have brought more and more influence. It is no longer just a communication device. In the future, Yike hopes to use mobile phones as a core carrier to launch more electronic products to serve the public. ."

Fang Zhuo’s talk refers to the smart ecological chain surrounding mobile phones.

Whether it was a positive and high-spirited tone or such a confident score, the media who knew the head of Yike felt very familiar, and they felt even more regretful that he could not appear at the press conference.

The press conference hosted by Mr. Fang was more interesting.

"President Fang, why don't you come to the United States?" A reporter repeated the question.

Several sarcastic answers came to Mr. Fang's mind instantly, but after thinking about it, he still decided not to cause trouble. He just smiled and said: "I can come over at any time after I finish handling the work in Asia. Your questions It’s always strange. When I am in the United States, people will ask me when I will return to China, and when I am in China, people will ask me when I will return to the United States. If you miss me, then buy the latest Yike mobile phone."

He finally said: "I hope this year's Yike mobile phone can surprise everyone, and we will continue to make progress."

The head of Yike cut off the phone and ended the phone interview.

Yu Hong completed the final media work.

Just like Apple did not promote the A4 chip too much, Yike did not promote the Zhurong chip too much this time. The introduction parameters for the two chips of Mars and Selfy were bland.

Originally, many media were paying attention to the performance of Yike's own chips, but the emergence of the fingerprint function attracted most people's attention.

Is this Yike flagship as smooth as advertised at the press conference? Everyone is looking forward to the actual machine being released soon.

——"Yike Mars launches fingerprint function, which may lead the smartphone trend again".

——"Samsung, Apple, and Yike, three companies compete for the new phone season in June".

——"Where did Yike get 100 points?"

——"The useless functions of Yike's flagship mobile phone are difficult to produce good results."

There are also media outlets that describe industry conditions with half-truths and half-falsities.

——"Ever since Apple released the retina screen, Yike has been looking for screen manufacturers like crazy. Fang Zhuo is in Asia to work hard to solve the threat posed by this matter."

Of course, there are also media on Yike's side.

——"Since Yike released its flagship with fingerprint function, Apple has been frantically looking for the possibility of acquiring this type of technology company. Steve Jobs is obviously not willing to lag behind in this regard."

Also, there are media discussions about Samsung’s situation.

——"Samsung has gone crazy after watching Apple and Yike's press conference!"

No matter who is crazy about the smartphone Yusanjia, Fang Zhuo is indeed looking for screen-related solutions.

He has already received an actual iPhone 4 and has experienced the improved effect of this screen.

Fortunately, the fingerprint function was introduced this year and related work was promoted. Otherwise, as more manufacturers join the Android camp, the product will indeed be weak.

On June 21, the day after the press conference, China also held a mobile phone press conference hosted by Liu Qiangdong. The style was different. He focused on the performance of Zhurong chips and announced Yike Design with enthusiasm. The chip is already world-class.

Just when Liu Qiangdong was holding a domestic press conference, Fang Zhuo was studying the next competition and cooperation with everyone in the conference room.

The three new phones this month are actually differentiated to a certain extent.

Apple has a leading screen, Yike has a leading fingerprint, and Samsung has a leading cooperation relationship with Qualcomm.

The three flagship phones are different in other parameters, but what consumers perceive most is this outstanding feature.

The screen of a touch-screen mobile phone is very important. The early-stage fingerprint unlocking and subsequent fingerprint payment sound cool. As for the Qualcomm chip... this is more popular. You can choose either Samsung's Trump2 or Yike's Selfy2. .

Selfy2 and Trump2 use Qualcomm chips of the same level, and there is not much difference in functions. The image function that the former has emphasized since last year has been enhanced this year. In addition, Selfy2 is the thinnest and lightest among the new phones in June. Only 8.7mm.

"Apple's screen supplier has been confirmed to be South Korea's LG. We have inquired there and it is an exclusive contract with Apple. The top screen in the industry now, Samsung's Trump2, is equipped with a screen they call Super Amoled. The performance was also very good.”

“In addition to Samsung’s new phones, the OLED screen used by Nokia’s N8 also has a relatively delicate performance, but its resolution is only 640*360, and it also uses DC dimming. The dark light is directly purple, and the outdoor performance is quite good. "

Fang Zhuo listened to the report from Li Songqing, Vice President of Supply Chain, and asked: "Whose display screen is the Nokia N8?"

Li Songqing realized that he was missing a sentence and replied: "It is also Samsung's OLED."

Yike's screen supplier is Sharp, and the two parties have had a good relationship since they cooperated in 2007.

However, Sharp has suffered serious losses in the past two years, and its investment in technology has dropped. This time Yike also uses OLED screens, but compared with its two rivals, it is indeed inferior.

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly, not too surprised by the answer, and said thoughtfully: "Where is BOE?"

"BOE will only be able to ship large quantities of LTPS OLED panels in the third quarter of this year, and it will definitely not be able to catch up at this time." Li Songqing paused and continued, "In February, we also conducted contact and verification, and it was temporarily unable to meet our requirements. standard."

A few seconds later, he added: "The domestic OLED level needs to continue to catch up. From the incoming ITO glass to the final module formation, there are dozens of processes, regardless of upstream and front-end technology, or materials and equipment. It still relies on Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States, and BOE itself is also under great financial pressure.”

BOE is another history of burning money, as everyone here knows.

Fang Zhuo is very familiar with Wang Dongsheng, the head of BOE. They had brokered the launch of the Luzhou production line, and also exchanged opinions on the alliances of manufacturers such as Samsung. Its LCD has developed better than in the same period in history.

But OLED's catch-up, as Li Songqing said, relies on external sources for quite a few links, and related technologies are also lagging behind.

Fang Zhuo glanced at Li Songqing.

"In the short and medium term, we should still try to purchase Samsung screens." Li Songqing made a serious suggestion, "But in the long term, we should strengthen cooperation with BOE now. OLED will obviously become the standard for mid-to-high-end mobile phones in the future. .”

Yike will definitely not be able to purchase LG screens, not only because of Apple's exclusivity, but also because Yike had a tumultuous relationship with LG Electronics before, and the relationship was not very harmonious.

On the other hand, Samsung, although there are frictions between the two sides, Samsung and Yike have mutual patent authorization.

Li Songqing believes that such procurement cooperation can be completed through cooperation at the patent level.

"You guys talk to BOE first, and I'll talk to Mr. Wang later." Fang Zhuo recognized the direction proposed by Li Songqing, thought about the current situation carefully, and said, "Samsung, don't rush now, Apple's retina screen will be released this time , everyone will study it, and we will also see what Sharp expects."

Each of these flagship mobile phones that appeared in June has something to learn from. How to strengthen them as soon as possible is an important task to continue to improve their competitiveness.

However, the direction of hardware improvement is always easier to find.

A group of people continued to discuss the direction of the three flagship phones for a while.

When the meeting was about to end, new messages appeared on Li Songqing's mobile phone.

"Mr. Fang, someone internationally is asking about fingerprint chip solutions." He reported the situation with a smile.

This time, Yike's push-type fingerprint solution is still the result of acquisition + digestion + evolution. It originated from shopping for goods after the financial crisis.

Facts have proved that even if it has not yet received large-scale recognition from consumers, industry insiders who have initially received mobile phones are aware of Yike's leadership in this regard.

Since Yike is leading, foreign people don't need to consider issues such as supply chain, bottlenecks, independent research and development, etc. They only need to see whether Yike will make a move. If they can buy it, they will definitely buy it directly.

Fang Zhuo couldn't help but smile and said: "This is good news. We can talk about it first, but we need to prioritize meeting our own production capacity."

Due to market considerations, only Mars4 has fingerprint recognition. Selfy still maintains its style and gives users a complete screen without adding physical keys.

Li Songqing nodded, feeling that the fingerprint chip solution might still have some results. The solution of own design + own factory can be very competitive. This matter can be followed up carefully.

The meeting ended, and Liu Qiangdong’s press conference was basically over.

Fang Zhuo had just walked into the president's office when his secretary Liu Zonghong took his cell phone to inform him about news from his business partners.

"Mr. Fang, there's a call from Samsung asking about fingerprint recognition."

"Also, several domestic manufacturers such as Meizu have received invitations from Qualcomm and are willing to work together to expand the market, which may involve the sale of high-end chips."

Fang Zhuo frowned and relaxed, then asked: "How is the chip at Morning Star?"

"Still verifying." Liu Zonghong replied.

After Morningstar was acquired, Yike opened up technical assistance and exchanges, and its target is still entry-level chips for smartphones.

"The actions of Samsung and Qualcomm are understandable. There is no need to stop domestic mobile phone manufacturers, and they cannot stop them. It is a good thing for everyone to improve their competitiveness." Fang Zhuo said this.

But before he could think about it, today was destined to be a day full of news.

"Mr. Fang, Google CEO Schmidt announced his resignation." Liu Zonghong was surprised to convey the news immediately.

Fang Zhuo was also shocked after hearing this: "Lao Shi is gone?"

Liu Zonghong handed over the phone, which showed the news that Schmidt announced his resignation and that founder Larry Page would take over as CEO.

"Lao Shi actually resigned." Fang Zhuo was surprised, "Then... we can kick him out of the board of directors. Our seats are still very precious."

Liu Zonghong was searching for information and quickly said: "Schmitt has raised questions because of his close relationship with the military. He will focus on his work as a national defense consultant in the future."

Fang Zhuo shook his head: "Forget it, Lao Shi and I have a good relationship. Anyway, the board of directors' words don't count. We can't add insult to injury at this time and damage his mental state. Our friendship is still very wonderful."