Chapter 111: Benchmark
Compared to the X1, the A-Core S has relatively lower performance.
At this point, there wasn’t enough time to switch the AP to the X1.
That left only one option.
To maximize the performance of the A-Core S.
“I’ll make the product to be showcased at this unpack event myself.”
“Huh?”
Chilbong and Han Yu-ju, unaware of Midas’s abilities, looked puzzled at my statement that I would make it myself.
Conversely, faces like Seong-hwan and Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki showed a strange sense of anticipation.
“If the representative makes the product themselves, does that mean it’ll perform better than what’s made on the actual mass production line, like with the camera module?”
“We’ll have to see, but it should be a bit better than what’s made on the line.”
“What do you mean…”
Chilbong, about to retort that it was nonsense, quickly shut his mouth.
The expressions of the team leaders from Dojin Tech around him were more serious than expected.
No one was smiling.
Everyone was taking the representative’s words seriously.
‘Wait, this isn’t a toy… It doesn’t make sense to manually make a product that requires micron-level precision.’
It was hard to believe.
But since there was no other way to overcome this crisis,
I decided to watch for now.
…
…
…
After the meeting,
I headed straight to the secret space in the basement of Dojin Industries.
This place, where a huge budget had been invested, was filled with all kinds of advanced equipment.
It was also where the first mockup of the smartphone had been made.
“Let’s see. AP, memory, display panel, motherboard, connectors… Seems like nothing’s missing.”
I laid out the components needed to assemble the Quantum one by one on the table.
Since I couldn’t do everything by hand, I also had to check the microscope and precision assembly equipment.
“First, let’s place the thermal pad…”
I attached a high thermal conductivity graphite sheet along the curved frame,
then pressed and secured it with a dedicated tool.
Next, I carefully lifted the motherboard and placed it on the frame.
It required extreme concentration.
I checked each contact point under a microscope,
and carefully connected the cables with anti-static tweezers.
During the process, it was also crucial to ensure there was no microscopic contamination or poor contact on the reflective surfaces,
which I verified using fiber-optic lighting.
“Next, the vibration motor, ear speaker, proximity sensor… Where’s the camera module?”
Every step required intense focus.
None could be handled carelessly.
Even one misplaced component could cause the smartphone to malfunction or underperform.
‘Still, Midas’s abilities are truly remarkable.’
Not only was the performance of the final product exceptionally good, but it was also a huge help in situations like this.
Since it involved manual work,
there were quite a few mistakes due to hand tremors.
But each time, Midas’s abilities corrected every mistake.
As if knowing exactly where each part belonged,
the components settled into place without a millimeter of error.
After about four hours,
I finally secured the display panel
and completed the case assembly.
Whoo—!
After catching my breath, I pressed the power button, and the ‘Lunar’ logo slowly appeared on the screen.
Soon, the smartphone I knew so well smoothly powered on.
There were no errors, no lags.
The UI transitions were smooth and highly intuitive.
The sensor responses also worked flawlessly.
“I wonder how the performance is.”
Since I made it myself, I could guarantee it wouldn’t be low,
but I wanted to see the actual numbers.
…
At the same time,
at the Ahsung Group chairman’s office.
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae sat on the sofa with his back to the window overlooking the cityscape.
“Is this the Titan?”
“Yes, Father. Once this is released, we’ll easily surpass the sales of the ‘Ace-Premium.’”
The Ace-Premium was already achieving record-breaking sales,
but in Chairman Cheon Ho-tae’s view, the Titan’s performance was incomparable to existing feature phones.
There was a reason the A-Phone was constantly on everyone’s lips.
Setting the Titan down, Chairman Cheon asked Cheon Jun-young,
“How are the Dojin guys doing?”
“They’re scrambling.”
Cheon Jun-young smirked.
“It’s certain they can’t apply the A-Core X1 before the unpack event, right?”
“No matter how advanced Dojin Tech’s technology is, it’s physically impossible.”
Optimizing for a changed AP wasn’t something that could be solved by simply throwing people at it.
Kim Seong-jae added further explanation.
“The Quantum smartphone from Dojin is already optimized for the A-Core S, so switching to the X1 would require a complete overhaul, from drivers to the HAL layer and interrupt management.”
“So how long would that take?”
“Even if we throw every resource at it, it’ll take at least a month. And that’s assuming we finish the optimization in one go.”
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae smiled, satisfied.
“No matter what they do, they can’t show higher performance than the Titan at the unpack event.”
Cheon Jun-young replied with one corner of his lip curled up.
“So, we’re planning to quietly leak the Titan’s actual benchmark results to the press just before the unpack event. Boot speed, app loading, frame rate—we’ll make sure the differences are noticeable to the average consumer.”
Director Kim Seong-jae chimed in.
“No matter how much Dojin talks about OS optimization or UI intuitiveness, one benchmark score will quickly kill the market’s interest.”
Having seen the Titan with his own eyes, Chairman Cheon Ho-tae was convinced the mobile market would be reshaped by smartphones.
So, he was determined to outmaneuver Dojin and dominate the market.
“Send some of our reporters to their event to stir up the atmosphere.”
“Will do.”
At the Dojin Tech unpack event.
[Hello, I’m Kang Tae-joon.]
Wearing jeans and a casual T-shirt instead of a suit, I greeted the audience from the stage.
“Ohh.”
“That’s a bold outfit choice.”
“Usually, people wear suits for events like this, right?”
“Still, it looks good. Gives off an engineer vibe.”
Amid the reporters’ murmurs, I moved to the center of the stage where a table was set up
and slowly removed the cover.
Whoosh—
The cover fell to the floor,
and the ‘Quantum,’ emitting a soft aurora glow, was revealed.
[This is the ‘Quantum’!]
“Ohh, the design looks pretty impressive.”
“Yeah, the colors seem nicer than the Titan Ahsung announced.”
Flashes went off as reporters gasped in awe.
After observing their reactions for a moment,
I used the remote to display the presentation materials on the large screen.
Key phrases describing the Quantum appeared on the screen:
-From the era of pressing buttons to the era of touching screens.
-A mobile device designed with a philosophy entirely different from feature phones.
-A small computer in your hand.
I added further explanation to the displayed phrases.
[Until now, the core functions of mobile phones were calling and texting. But the Quantum is designed to encompass your entire daily life.]
I advanced to the next slide.
-Capacitive touch display
-Multi-touch based UI
-Lunar exclusive app store
[When you touch the Quantum’s screen, a whole new world opens up. With a single touch, you can play music, take photos, check documents, and send emails.]
“Wow, the polish on this is incredible.”
“The icons are all so pretty, and the layout is super clean.”
“How’s Ahsung’s situation?”
Ahsung was also holding an unpack event for the Titan at the same time as Dojin.
“People attending over there say the Titan isn’t bad either. Look at this.”
One of the reporters at the event showed a photo they’d received to the others.
But the reaction wasn’t great.
“In my opinion, the Quantum seems better in terms of design and intuitiveness.”
“Definitely, the Quantum looks more polished.”
As the reporters seemed to lean toward the Quantum, Shim Han-ul from the Dongsung Daily intervened.
“But isn’t the concept of a smartphone the fusion of mobile and PC?”
“Kang Tae-joon just showed that phrase earlier. A small computer in your hand.”
“Then, as important as the design is, isn’t performance even more crucial? Who buys a computer based on its looks these days?”
The female reporters didn’t strongly agree with Shim Han-ul,
but the male reporters instinctively nodded.
The underlying belief was that computers should fundamentally perform well.
Shim Han-ul seemed ready to say more,
but the demonstration video of the Quantum playing on the stage screen cut him off.
[What we focused most on while developing the Quantum was the ‘intuitive experience’—how easily anyone could use it.]
Swiping left and right to switch apps,
pinching with two fingers to zoom in or out on photos.
For me, who’d used smartphones for decades, these were obvious features,
but at this point in time, they were nothing short of revolutionary.
“Whoa, that’s kind of amazing.”
“Look at that zoom. You can do that without buttons?”
“The touch response looks pretty smooth too.”
Murmurs of awe rippled through the audience.
Seizing the moment, I quickly brought up the next slide.
-Full browser included.
-Map-based location services.
-Integrated messenger and email notification system.
[If previous mobiles were simply tools for calls and texts, the Quantum adds internet, video, location, chat, documents, and games on top of that.]
I emphasized that with the Quantum in hand, you could connect to the world from anywhere.
Then, one reporter raised their hand and asked me a question.
“Shim Han-ul from Dongsung Daily.”
[Go ahead.]
“Can you share the benchmark results for the Quantum?”
His oddly smiling expression made it clear this wasn’t a friendly question.
But I showed no reaction
and simply brought up the organized benchmark test results on the screen.
[Quantum - Benchmark Results]
-Boot time: 33 seconds
-Average app loading speed: 1.5 seconds
-Frame rate: 50fps
-Overall performance score: 2,700
A brief silence fell,
and Shim Han-ul’s eyebrows twitched.
“…2,700?”
He reflexively opened his laptop to check something, his face filled with doubt.
Then, with newfound confidence, he raised his voice.
“These numbers don’t seem possible given the Quantum’s specs!”
[Please be specific.]
“From what I’ve confirmed, the Titan released by Ahsung Electronics comes with the A-Core X1 AP, 1GB of memory, and a Full HD display, yet its score is around 2,500.”
Shim Han-ul’s words stirred the crowd.
“The Titan uses the X1 AP?”
“The X1 is a higher-tier model than the A-Core S in the Quantum, right?”
“So, the Quantum scoring higher seems a bit off?”
“Hmm… Could the numbers be manipulated?”
The reporters, especially Shim Han-ul, questioned whether the Quantum’s numbers were incorrect.
With flashes going off nonstop, it felt like they were ready to break the story as soon as it was confirmed.
I took the microphone again.
[If you don’t trust the numbers, why don’t we conduct a live test right here?]