Chapter 451: 12 US dollars, good things have to be sold at a high price! Chen Yansen: Do you think I'm a garbage collector?
Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park, in a conference room on the second floor.
Cook's eyes lit up and he leaned forward, picked up the battery from the display tray, and looked at it carefully.
He couldn't understand the Chinese characters on the diaphragm, but the words '3200mAh' gave him a shock.
This thing is too thin!
You should know that the battery capacity of iPhone 5 is only 1440 mAh, but its length, width and height are 90.0 mm, 30.0 mm and 5.45 mm respectively.
This 3200 mAh battery is only slightly larger than the iPhone 5's battery, but is thinner.
If the data is not falsified, Deep Blue Battery is capable of subverting the global battery supply landscape and redefining industry rules.
"What is its specific size?" Cook looked at Chen Yansen and asked, unable to help but ask.
"91.0 mm, 32.0 mm, 5.0 mm."
Chen Yansen leaned back in his chair and responded lightly.
This is a tentative battery sample for the X1 SE. Compared with the battery of the X1, its length, width and thickness have been reduced, and its volume is exactly half the size.
The original X1 used a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED touch screen, on the one hand to cater to the domestic users' preference for large screens, and on the other hand to balance the contradiction between battery life, body thickness and internal space utilization.
But in the final analysis, the 5.7-inch screen still makes the phone less portable and easier to use with one hand for many people.
"Lithium-sulfur battery? How do you solve the problems of shuttle effect, lithium dendrite formation and short cycle life?"
Cook asked incredulously.
"You'll have to pay extra for this question!" Chen Yansen answered half-jokingly.
He would not reveal a single word to Cook regarding the core content of the patent.
Cook chuckled and folded his hands subconsciously in front of his chest. He had developed a strong interest in the deep blue battery.
In the eyes of outsiders, Apple's design concept is almost paranoid.
In order to pursue the high-end texture of thin and light models and to control costs, even battery life is sacrificed.
But if you can make the phone thinner and lighter while ensuring battery life, it would obviously be a better choice.
To put it bluntly, Apple's core users are concentrated in Europe and the United States. These users are more sensitive to portability, and light users account for the majority; while Chinese users have a significantly higher demand for battery life, but this has never been taken seriously.
After sorting out his thoughts, Cook asked tentatively: "Mr. Chen plans to include it in the supply chain of Orange Mobile?"
"Of course." Chen Yansen replied affirmatively.
"After how many charge and discharge cycles will the capacity retention rate fall below 80%?" Cook continued to ask.
"The laboratory data can reach 1,200 times," Chen Yansen replied.
After hearing this, Cook frowned slightly. It was not that he felt it was too little, but rather that it was too much.
If the battery decays too slowly, it will weaken the user's motivation to replace the new phone.
Chen Yansen glanced at him and added, "However, the performance will be attenuated under normal temperature, low temperature and high temperature environments. After about 1,000 cycles, the capacity will drop to 80%."
1000 times?
It’s still too high!
"Mr. Chen, according to TechInsights' test report, the average cycle life of the Sanxing Galaxy S4 is only 460 times, while the HTC One is 380 times."
Cook pushed his glasses up, looking as if he was going to teach Chen Yansen how to do business.
Chen Yansen sneered inwardly.
Of course he understood what Cook meant, but he hadn't finished speaking yet.
By then, Deep Blue Battery will adjust the formula of the electrolyte and MOF diaphragm materials, artificially control the cycle life of the battery, and divide the products into three grades: high, medium, and low. With different performance, the prices will naturally be different.
He has been working in the e-commerce industry for more than ten years. When it comes to tricks, he can definitely be regarded as Cook's ancestor.
This practice is common in the industry and cannot be considered an act of malicious control.
For example, for batteries of cheap small appliances and toys, cost is the primary consideration, and such products are more in line with the buyers’ usage needs.
After all, if the price is too high, the profit margin will be compressed.
Batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage devices have much higher requirements for cycle life. They may even lock part of the capacity through the battery management system to reduce the cycle stress of the electrode material and increase the number of cycles by more than 50%, but this will also sacrifice some performance.
Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said slowly: "Deep Blue can also make batteries with a lifespan of 500 cycles."
"What is the external supply price of this battery?" Cook asked in a roundabout way.
"It depends on the purchase volume. If the annual order can reach 50 million, the price can be 24 US dollars." Chen Yansen replied.
24 US dollars?
Cook thought for a moment and made a rough estimate. Taking into account the materials, labor, and manufacturing costs, the material cost of each battery would be at most 8 US dollars. This guy is really heartless.
The iPhone 5 batteries that Desay supplies to Apple cost US$5 each, which includes the supplier's profit, so the cost is only US$4.
The performance of Deep Blue batteries is indeed good, but the price is indeed expensive!
The 16GB version of the iPhone 5s, including the A7 chip, M7 coprocessor, display, camera, memory, storage, baseband, casing and sensors, costs just over US$200.
Simply converting the capacity, the cost of a 1600 mAh Deep Blue battery is 12 US dollars.
Accounting for 5% of the total material of the whole device, is it worth it for Apple?
The smile on Cook's face slowly faded, and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Chen Yansen ignored him, picked up the mineral water on the table, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip casually.
Good things should be sold at a high price!
When Orange C1 and Orange D1 were launched on the market, apart from being equipped with the Aurora system, they were no different from models such as Xiaomi, ZTE, and Coolpad. They were all smartphones with a lot of materials piled up.
However, since the launch of fast charging, battery management system, Aurora Future OS and photography algorithms, the prices of Orange C2, Orange C3 and Orange X1 have been rising.
In Chen Yansen’s opinion, these products are worth the price!
Only high profits can support more workers, managers and R&D personnel, thereby promoting the healthy development of the entire industry.
As for the Orange Green series, it is another strategy adopted to increase the market share of Aurora Future Systems.
Cook hesitated for more than ten seconds, unable to make a decision.
He didn't expect the Deep Blue battery to be priced so high.
According to his expectations, any price within 8 US dollars would be acceptable, but Chen Yansen did not play by the rules at all and his offer directly exceeded his expectations.
After thinking for a while, Cook simply asked directly: "Mr. Chen, if I give the iPhone 5s battery order to Deep Blue and promise to order no less than 30 million batteries per year, what is the lowest price you can give me?"
"14 US dollars." Chen Yansen didn't give any face at all. He paused and said, "If it's over 50 million, it can be settled at 12 US dollars."
He knew the purpose of Cook's visit, and Cook also understood that Chen Yansen had seen through his business intentions.
After the two of them started talking, they stopped exchanging witticisms and instead began to discuss the safety testing of Deep Blue batteries.
After learning that the Deep Blue battery had passed the compliance, thermal safety and mechanical safety tests, Cook couldn't help but marvel at it. Based on his understanding of China, under normal circumstances, the process should not proceed so quickly.
But he changed his mind and thought that with Deep Blue Battery's influence in the industry, everything would be allowed to proceed at an extraordinary speed.
Although Xu Zhenhui, who was sitting next to him, felt bored, he had no choice but to accompany him throughout the whole process.
A subordinate in charge of the Central Propaganda Department stood in the corner of the conference room, set up a camera, pointed the lens at several people, and recorded the meeting.
As noon approached, Chen Yansen invited Cook to have lunch in the city. The other party insisted on going to the staff cafeteria, and he couldn't refuse.
The group took the elevator to the first floor and then walked towards the cafeteria.
Cookton was surprised to see that he kept meeting members of Tiangong Technology and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. About 30 to 40 percent of the employees were foreigners.
Until he saw Mike Keller, his face darkened, and he looked sideways at Chen Yansen and said, "It turns out that Mike was poached by you."
Although Mike Keller is not Apple's chief scientist, he has led the research and development of the A5 chip and is considered one of the core personnel in the chip department.
The reason he gave when he resigned was that he wanted to develop in more professional companies such as Qualcomm or ARM.
Now, the two of them met unexpectedly in Xucheng!
Mike Keller also saw Chen Yansen and Cook, and greeted them nonchalantly: "Boss!"
In his eyes, Cook is just a professional manager and the two of them are just former colleagues.
"Mike, there is no Qualcomm or ARM in Xucheng," Cook said with narrowed eyes.
"But Xucheng has Tiangong Technology, and it's stronger, so I came here." Mike said without hesitation.
"Talent is mobile, what do you think, Mr. Cook?" Chen Yansen stared at him and asked.
"Mr. Chen is right." Cook replied with a wry smile.
What's wrong with poaching a few of your people?
Google, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments have no objections. How dare you, a high-level employee, start a fight with me?
Chen Yansen doesn't care what Cook thinks at all.
Then, everyone walked into the cafeteria and saw a clean and tidy dining area with an orderly queue.
Cook looked around and found that the proportion of foreign employees was not low.
Chen Yansen led Xu Zhenhui, Cook and others to sit down, and Meng Yun asked about their preferences and then went to make arrangements.
We can't really ask Xu Zhenhui and Cook to hold their plates and queue up obediently, right?
You may not have to understand the ways of the world, but you cannot fail to understand them.
During the meal, Chen Yansen brought up the topic of Apple's mobile phone OEM business, and Cook seemed to be thinking about something.
But changing partners was a major decision for Apple, and he couldn't give an answer on the spot.
At this time, Apple's main foundries were Foxconn, Pegatron, Quanta, Flextronics and Sanstar. The first two produced mobile phones for Apple, and Pegatron was introduced to prevent Foxconn from dominating the market.
Quanta and Flextronics are responsible for the production of Mac computers, while Sanxing is responsible for chip foundry business.
However, Sanxing competes with Apple in the mobile phone business. As a chip OEM, it is fearless in negotiations and is even stronger than Apple.
Some internal shareholders are dissatisfied with this and are preparing to change the foundry, perhaps TSMC or MediaTek.
Seeing that Cook had no intention of giving in, Chen Yansen didn't take it too seriously. He was certain that the other party would ask him for help one day.
Once more and more mobile phone manufacturers adopt deep blue batteries, the battery life shortcomings of Apple phones will become more and more obvious.
While other phones only need to be charged once every two days under heavy use, Apple phones need to be charged twice a day.
Excluding some die-hard users, most buyers will not indulge Apple.
Therefore, the two refused to give in to each other, and even after chatting for another afternoon, they were unable to reach a preliminary agreement on the cooperation intention.
Chen Yansen wanted to sell at a high price, give Apple a big rip-off, and at the same time snatch some OEM orders from Foxconn.
Cook wants to replace some iPhone 5s batteries with dark blue batteries at a 20% or even 30% discount on the purchase price, thereby improving battery life.
As the sun set, Chen Yansen lost his patience and said dryly, "Since Apple has no sincerity, let's put the cooperation on hold for now."
There is only half an hour left before get off work ends. Cook has already wasted the entire day, and Mr. Chen doesn't want to work overtime.
Cook was startled when he saw this. He came to Xucheng saying that he was visiting, but actually he wanted to establish cooperation with Deep Blue Battery.
He is not stupid. He knows that the more market share Deep Blue Battery gains, the greater the negative impact on Apple.
When the battery life of all smartphones on the market has doubled, even if Apple's energy efficiency ratio is lower, it cannot make up for the shortcomings of battery capacity.
So he hurriedly said, "Mr. Chen, I need a week to think about it."
"No problem." Chen Yansen chuckled and said indifferently.
The last person who said he would take a week to consider it was Huang Renxun, but it has been almost two months and there has been no movement at all.
Chen Yansen no longer holds out hope of picking up a bargain on Nvidia.
Adhering to the idea that guests are welcome, he invited Xu Zhenhui, Cook and others to the Sky Garden.
Many local entrepreneurs in Xucheng also used their connections and personal connections to come over.
As soon as eight o'clock arrived, Chen Yansen stood up and said goodbye.
Seeing that Chen Yansen had left, Cook felt that there was no need for him to stay. After saying hello to Xu Zhenhui, he drove to Shanghai to prepare for the next day's store inspection.
The other side.
Chen Yansen got into the car and Lao Huang took him to the Delta Villa District. As soon as he got out of the car, he received a call from Huang Renxun.
"Mr. Chen, the proposal of Senlian Capital to make a strategic investment in NVIDIA has been approved by the board of directors. A maximum of 2% of the equity can be transferred, but Orange Technology must purchase Tegra processors worth 200 million US dollars." Huang Renxun said.
What's the meaning?
Do you think I'm a rag collector?
Tegra 4 uses ARM's A15 architecture, which generates serious heat. The measured peak power consumption exceeds 5W, while Snapdragon 800 only consumes 3.5W, which causes the phone to have lower frequency and poor battery life. The baseband is also external.
After calculation, the overall cost is far higher than Snapdragon 800.
Tegra 4i has an integrated baseband, but its CPU is downgraded and its performance is inferior to Snapdragon 800. Its only advantage is low cost: the price of a single chip is around 18 US dollars.
Tegra 3 is stronger than MediaTek A7 or Qualcomm A5 in terms of performance, but it has no baseband and its power consumption is also a disadvantage. Even Chen Yansen dislikes using it on the Orange mobile phone.
He stopped and decisively refused: "I can buy 2% of the shares at the market price, but I don't agree to buy Tegra processors."
"Mr. Chen, do you think the order amount is too high? We can purchase it in batches." Huang Renxun said cautiously.
(End of this chapter)
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