I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 450 $12, good things should be sold at a high price! Chen Yansen: Do you think I'm a garbage collector?
In a meeting room on the second floor of Zhuxianzhuang Science and Technology Park.

Cook's eyes lit up, and he quickly leaned forward, picked up the battery from the display tray, and examined it closely.

He couldn't understand the Chinese characters on the membrane, but the words '3200mAh' gave him a jolt.

This thing is too thin!

要知道，iPhone 5的电池容量只有1440毫安时，长宽高的数值却分别达到了90.0毫米、30.0毫米、5.45毫米。

This 3200mAh battery is only slightly larger than the iPhone 5's battery, yet it's thinner.

If the data is not fabricated, DeepBlue Battery is capable of disrupting the global battery supply landscape and redefining industry rules.

"What are its exact dimensions?" Cook asked Chen Yansen, unable to contain himself.

"91.0 mm, 32.0 mm, 5.0 mm."

Chen Yansen leaned back in his chair and responded casually.

This is a provisional battery sample for the Yaocheng X1 SE. Compared to the Yaocheng X1's battery, its length, width, and thickness have been reduced, making it half the size.

The Radiant Orange X1 initially adopted a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, partly to cater to domestic users' preference for large screens, and partly to balance the conflict between battery life, body thickness, and internal space utilization.

Ultimately, however, for many people, the 5.7-inch screen still sacrifices the phone's portability and one-handed operation.

"Lithium-sulfur batteries? How did you solve the problems of shuttle effect, lithium dendrite formation, and short cycle life?"

Cook pressed on incredulously.

“This problem will cost extra!” Chen Yansen replied half-jokingly.

He wouldn't reveal a single word about the core content of the patent to Cook.

Cook chuckled and unconsciously crossed his arms over his chest; he had already developed a strong interest in the Deep Blue Battery.

To outsiders, Apple's design philosophy is almost obsessive.

In pursuit of a premium feel for a slim and lightweight design, and to control costs, they even sacrificed battery life.

However, if the phone can be made thinner and lighter while maintaining battery life, that would obviously be a better choice.

To put it simply, Apple's core users are concentrated in Europe and the United States. These users are more sensitive to portability and are mostly light users. However, Chinese users clearly have a higher demand for battery life, but this has never been taken seriously.

After clearing his mind, Cook tentatively asked, "Mr. Chen plans to incorporate it into Orange Mobile's supply chain?"

“Of course,” Chen Yansen replied with certainty.

"How many charge-discharge cycles will it take for the capacity retention to drop below 80%?" Cook continued to press.

“The lab data can reach 1200 times,” Chen Yansen replied.

Cook frowned slightly upon hearing this, not because he thought it was too little, but rather because he felt it was too much.

If the battery degrades too slowly, it will reduce users' motivation to replace their devices.

Chen Yansen glanced at him and then added, "However, the performance will degrade under normal temperature, low temperature and high temperature conditions. After about 1000 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 Galaxy S4 is only 460 cycles, while that of the HTC One is 380 cycles."

Cook pushed up his glasses, looking as if he were about to give Chen Yansen some business advice.

Chen Yansen chuckled inwardly.

He certainly understood what Cook meant, but he hadn't finished speaking yet.

DeepBlue Battery will adjust the formulation of electrolyte and MOF membrane materials to artificially control the cycle life of the battery, and divide the products into three grades: high, medium and low. The performance is different and the price will naturally be different.

He has been working in the e-commerce industry for over a decade, and when it comes to using tricks and tactics, he can definitely be considered Cook's grandmaster.

This practice is common in the industry and cannot be considered malicious control behavior.

For example, the cost of batteries for inexpensive small appliances and toys is the primary consideration, and such products are more in line with the buyer's needs.

After all, if the price is too high, the profit margin will be squeezed.

Batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage devices have much higher requirements for cycle life. They may even lock a portion of the capacity through the battery management system to reduce the cycle stress on the electrode materials and increase the number of cycles by more than 50%, but this will also sacrifice some performance.

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said unhurriedly, "Deep Blue can also make batteries with a 500-cycle lifespan."

"What is the external supply price of this battery?" Cook asked indirectly, trying to find out from the sidelines.

“It depends on the purchase volume. If the total orders for the year reach 5000 million, the price can be as low as 24 US dollars,” Chen Yansen replied.

$24?

Cook quickly calculated that, including materials, labor, and manufacturing costs, the material cost of each battery was at most $8. This guy is really greedy.

Desay supplies iPhone 5 batteries to Apple at a price of $5 each, which includes the supplier's profit, so the cost is only $4.

Deep Blue batteries do perform well, but they are also expensive!

16GB版本的iPhone 5s，把A7芯片、 M7协处理器、显示屏、摄像头、内存、存储、基带、外壳和传感器等组件的成本全加一起才200美币出头。

Using a simple capacity conversion, a 1600 mAh Deep Blue battery would cost $12.

Is it worth it for Apple to account for 5% of the total materials used in the device?
Cook's smile slowly faded, and he fell into deep thought.

Chen Yansen ignored him, picked up the bottled water on the table, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip casually.

Good things should be sold at high prices!
When the Orange C1 and Orange D1 were launched, apart from the Aurora OS, they were no different from models like Xiaomi, ZTE, and Coolpad; they were all smartphones that simply piled on features.

However, since the introduction of fast charging, battery management system, Aurora Future OS and photography algorithm, the prices of Orange C2, Orange C3 and Yaocheng X1 have been rising all the way.

In Chen Yansen's opinion, these products are worth the price!

High profits are needed to support more workers, managers, and R&D personnel, thereby promoting the healthy development of the entire industry.

As for the Green Orange series, that was another strategy adopted to increase the market share of the Aurora Future system.

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.

He expected to accept anything under $8, but Chen Yansen didn't play by the rules and quoted a price that far exceeded his expectations.

After a moment's thought, Cook cut to the chase and asked, "Mr. Chen, if I award the iPhone 5s battery order to DeepBlue and promise an annual order volume of no less than 3000 million units, what's the lowest price you can offer?"

“14 US dollars.” Chen Yansen showed no mercy, paused, and then said, “For amounts exceeding 5000 million yuan, we can settle at 12 US dollars.”

He knew Cook's purpose for the trip, and Cook also understood that Chen Yansen had seen through his business intentions.

Once the two had opened up, they stopped their witty banter and began exchanging views at length on the safety testing of the DeepBlue battery. Cook was secretly amazed to learn that the DeepBlue battery had passed compliance, thermal safety, and mechanical safety tests; based on his understanding of China, the process shouldn't have progressed this quickly under normal circumstances.

But then he thought that with DeepBlue Battery's influence in the industry, it would probably get the green light for everything it did, and its progress would naturally be extraordinary.

Although Xu Zhenhui, who was sitting to the side, felt bored, he could only keep him company the whole time.

A subordinate from the Central Propaganda Department stood in the corner of the conference room, setting up a video camera and pointing it at the group of people, recording the meeting.

As noon approached, Chen Yansen invited Cook to have lunch in the city, but Cook insisted on going to the staff canteen, and Chen Yansen couldn't refuse.

The group took the elevator to the first floor and then walked towards the cafeteria.

Cookton was surprised to encounter members of Tiangong Technology and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory along the way, with about 30% to 40% of the staff being foreign employees.

When he saw Mike Keller, his face darkened, and he turned to look at Chen Yansen, saying, "So you've poached Mike."

Although Mike Keller was not Apple's chief scientist, he led the development of the A5 chip and can be considered one of the core personnel in the chip division.

The reason he gave when he left was that he wanted to work for a more professional company like Qualcomm or ARM.

Now, the two have unexpectedly met in the virtual city!

Mike Keller also spotted Chen Yansen and Cook, and casually walked over to greet them: "Boss!"

In his eyes, Cook was just a professional manager, and the two were merely former colleagues.

“Mike, there’s no Qualcomm or ARM in Virtual City,” Cook said, squinting.

“But the city of Void has the technology of the Celestial Craftsmen, and it’s even stronger, so I came here,” Mike said without hesitation.

"Talent is mobile, Mr. Cook, don't you think?" Chen Yansen asked him, staring at him.

“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, so why are you, a high-level employee, putting on an act with me?
Chen Yansen didn't care about Cook's thoughts at all.

Immediately afterwards, everyone entered the cafeteria and immediately saw the clean and tidy dining area, with the queues in an orderly manner.

Cook looked around and realized that the proportion of foreign employees was not low.

Chen Yansen led Xu Zhenhui, Cook, and the others to sit down, and Meng Yun asked them about their preferences before making arrangements.

We can't really expect Xu Zhenhui and Cook to take their trays and obediently line up, can we?
You can choose not to practice social etiquette, but you can't be ignorant of it.

During the meal, Chen Yansen steered the conversation to Apple's iPhone manufacturing business, and Cook seemed thoughtful after hearing this.

However, changing partners is a major decision for Apple, and he couldn't give an answer on the spot.

At that time, Apple's main contract manufacturers were Foxconn, Pegatron, Quanta Computer, Flextronics, and Singstar. The first two manufactured mobile phones for Apple, while Pegatron was brought in to prevent Foxconn from becoming the dominant player.

Quanta and Flex are responsible for the production of Mac computers, while Singstar is responsible for chip foundry business.

However, Shanxing competes with Apple in the mobile phone business, acting as a chip foundry. In negotiations, Shanxing is more assertive and less intimidated than Apple.

Some shareholders are already dissatisfied with this and are preparing to change the foundry, perhaps to TSMC in Taiwan or MediaTek.

Seeing that Cook showed no sign of backing down, Chen Yansen didn't take it too seriously. He was certain that the other party would eventually need his help.

As more and more mobile phone manufacturers adopt Deep Blue batteries, the battery life shortcomings of Apple phones will become increasingly apparent.

Other phones need to be charged every two days under heavy use, but Apple phones need to be charged twice a day.

Excluding a segment of die-hard users, most buyers won't tolerate Apple's practices.

Therefore, neither of them would give in, and even after talking for another afternoon, they were unable to reach a preliminary agreement on cooperation.

Chen Yansen wanted to sell at a high price, rip off Apple badly, and also snatch some manufacturing orders from Foxconn.

Cook, on the other hand, wants to replace some of the iPhone 5s batteries with Deep Blue batteries at a purchase price of 20% or even 30% off, thereby improving battery life.

As the sun began to set, Chen Yansen lost his patience and said dryly, "Since Apple has no sincerity, let's put the cooperation on hold for now."

With only half an hour left before the end of the workday, and Cook having wasted the entire day, President Chen certainly didn't want to work overtime.

Upon seeing this, Cook panicked. He had come to the virtual city ostensibly to pay a visit, but in reality, he wanted to establish a partnership with Deep Blue Battery.

He's not stupid; he knows that the larger the market share of Deep Blue batteries, the greater the negative impact on Apple.

Once all smartphones on the market have doubled their battery life, even Apple's low energy efficiency cannot compensate for the lack of battery capacity.

So he quickly said, "Mr. Chen, I need a week to consider it."

"No problem," Chen Yansen chuckled, seemingly unconcerned.

The last time someone said they would consider it for a week was Huang Renxun, but almost two months have passed and there's still no movement.

Chen Yansen has given up hope of getting a bargain on Nvidia.

With the idea that guests are always welcome, he also invited Xu Zhenhui, Cook, and others to the Sky Garden.

Many local entrepreneurs in Xucheng also took the initiative to come over by using their connections and networks.

At eight o'clock sharp, Chen Yansen got up to say goodbye.

Seeing that Chen Yansen had left, Cook saw no need to stay. After saying goodbye to Xu Zhenhui, he took a car to Shanghai to prepare for the next day's store inspection.

the other side.

Chen Yansen got into the car, and Lao Huang drove him to the Delta Villa area. As soon as he got out of the car, he received a call from Huang Renxun.

"Mr. Chen, the proposal for 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 2 million US dollars," Huang Renxun said.

What do you mean?
Do you think I'm a junk collector?

The Tegra 4 uses ARM's A15 architecture, which causes serious overheating, with a measured peak power consumption exceeding 5W, compared to the Snapdragon 800's 3.5W. This results in the phone's frequency being reduced and its battery life being poor. The baseband is also an external modem.

In summary, the overall cost far exceeds that of the Snapdragon 800.

The Tegra 4i integrates a baseband, but the CPU is downgraded, and its performance is inferior to the Snapdragon 800. Its only advantage is its low cost: the price per chip is around $18.

The Tegra 3 outperforms the MediaTek A7 or Qualcomm A5 in performance, but it lacks a baseband and has a serious drawback in power consumption. Even Chen Yansen disliked its use in the Qingcheng phone.

He stopped and resolutely refused: "I can acquire the 2% equity at market price, but I do not agree to the purchase of Tegra processors."

“Mr. Chen thinks the order amount is too high? We can purchase it in batches,” Huang Renxun said cautiously.

(End of this chapter)