Chapter 126: Immense Pressure from the East (Shamelessly Asking for Monthly Votes Again)
A photo certainly can't say much.
However, when this lady received this highly commemorative gift, many smartphones with the same identifier had already crossed the ocean within a short day and were laid out on the desks of many influential people. It is no exaggeration to say that a tiny cellphone had touched the hearts of countless people.
Ever since the iPhone 4 defined what a smartphone is, after more than a decade of development, the appearance of cellphones hasn't radically changed. Even with foldable screen phones, the logic of operation hasn't changed much. The force of habit is terrifying and often becomes the user's first choice.
Of course, compared to the first generation, the hardware has advanced immeasurably.
In these past ten-plus years, where Moore's Law has persisted, the computing power of hardware has already surpassed the first-generation smartphones by who knows how many times.
Not to mention the addition of 4G and 5G networks ten years later.
Without a doubt, in countries and regions with high network coverage, smartphones have become an indispensable part of people's daily lives.
Similarly, the competition in this market is far more fierce than ordinary people can imagine.
...
In the United States, in Cupertino, California, where Apple Headquarters is located.
The enormous Apple Park has become a landmark building here.
Designed and promoted by Jobs himself, this flying saucer-shaped building, which cost over five billion US dollars, is absolutely flawless in appearance.
Giant glass panels glitter in the sunlight.
It is said that to withstand earthquakes, this massive building, which covers an area of 260,000 square meters and can accommodate tens of thousands of people working at the same time, was built directly on top of a huge steel isolator. It can ensure that the entire building can move 1.5 meters in any direction while keeping all its functions operational.
Regrettably, Jobs never got to see this headquarters building that countless people have praised.
At this moment, in a modern meeting room on the northwest corner of the fourth floor of this beautiful building, a serious meeting was taking place. Laid out on the oval conference table were several Huaxia's hard-to-obtain Youwei M60P series smartphones.
For Apple Inc., this was definitely not good news.
Without a doubt, the Youwei Group had already replaced Samsung as Apple's biggest competitor in business logic a few years ago.
No, it should be said that Samsung has never been considered a competitor in Cook's eyes.
Even though Samsung's smartphones once had the world's highest market share, and its high-end phones also had a group of loyal users.
The reason is simple.
Samsung lacked the ability, or rather, the will to cross that red line – the ecosystem.
Yes, what Apple fears has never been just a single smartphone brand, but the ecosystem built around the smartphone as the core.
Smartphones, watches, earphones, iPads, laptops, and on to Apple computers.
With a foundation laid by the iPhone 4, by offering superior performance to build brand recognition, while getting users to accept the learning curve of getting used to the iOS system, and by using a complete set of ecosystems to lock in users and raise the cost of switching as well as accept the brand premium, is why Apple became the most profitable company in the world.
The mere hot sale of a series of high-end smartphones would naturally not be a concern for Apple, as the logic of competition is different.
Therefore, Samsung is not scary to Apple, but Youwei is.
This Huaxia company actually intends to follow the same path as Apple, and even go further.
Designing its own chips and developing its own operating system, using near-ultimate interactive features to serve customers who recognize the Youwei brand.
Mobile phones, tablets, computers, seamless file sharing, ultimate screen mirroring, tap-to-transfer, along with various wearable devices, smartwatches, smart glasses, smart screens, integrated smart home solutions, smart office, and even smart cities.
Accompanied by Youwei Group's advanced basic communication technology, they have constructed a high-end brand premium and an all-around ecosystem moat.
This is what really troubles Apple.
Even if Samsung launches a flashy high-end smartphone and captures an Apple user, as long as their users are still using iPads, Apple laptops, and like Apple watches, they will eventually return to Apple's embrace.
But if the same user switches to a Youwei high-end phone and finds it satisfying, and starts trying other Youwei devices, they might never come back.
And losing such a user means a continuous decrease in revenue for the most profitable Apple Store.
That's what truly hits at the roots!
Similarly, this is why Youwei's latest smartphones have shown up at the Apple global headquarters.
After all, knowing the enemy and yourself, you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.
There is less than a month left until Apple's annual autumn product launch.
This year's new generation of Apple phone is also poised for release.
At this time, it's definitely too late to change the product.
But understanding a competitor's product can at least allow for timely, targeted marketing strategies and an assessment of potential changes in the global market, and the re-planning of stock quantities for different countries and regions. Thus, reducing costs and increasing benefits.
Clearly, the number of phones Apple received first-hand wasn't many, at least not enough for each participant to have one.
So they took turns experiencing it.
Of course, those who didn't get a turn had other work to do.
Everyone had a preliminary analysis report about the M60P, this new phone.
Different positions naturally focus on different issues.