Chapter 155: Everything Was Perfect
The Ahsung Electronics Executive Meeting.
At the end of the long table, Chairman Cheon Ho-tae sat with sharp eyes fixed on the screen.
“I’ll report.”
When Executive Vice President Cheon Jun-young pressed the remote and the first slide appeared, the words ‘Titan 4 Development Status’ floated onto the large screen.
“Currently, the Titan 4 is at the stage just before hardware and software integration testing. The A-Core X4-based motherboard has secured production molds, and the LPDDR4 8GB RAM and UFS 3.1 module are also ready for production.”
“Battery?”
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae asked briefly.
“A stacked high-density battery will be applied. Energy density has improved by 17.5% compared to the previous cell, and compatibility verification with the fast-charging module has also been completed without issues.”
“Has the heating problem been resolved?”
Director Kim Seong-jae, aware of the X4’s heating issues, asked.
“By applying a graphite heat pipe and heat dissipation layer, the average temperature has been reduced by about 4 degrees compared to before.”
“That wouldn’t be enough to completely eliminate the heat generated when running high-spec apps, would it?”
“The average temperature did increase by about 2 degrees compared to the previous model, but it wasn’t a significant issue.”
Chairman Cheon’s gaze pierced Cheon Jun-young.
“Are you sure it won’t be a problem?”
“Yes, it operated without issues within all test item criteria.”
There was some slight heating in some extreme tests, but he didn’t bother to mention that.
The next slide projected a 3D model of the internal components’ stacked structure.
The LPDDR4 module was stacked in four layers.
The UFS 3.1 controller was configured in compatibility mode with the new serial interface.
“What about power consumption?”
Director Kim Seong-jae continued the questioning on behalf of Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.
“It has increased by about 18% compared to before, but with the application of the X4-exclusive power management chip, a structure enabling automatic shutdown of inactive cores and smart clock down has been applied to minimize power consumption.”
Cheon Jun-young continued the presentation, flipping through the materials.
He concluded the presentation by explaining the compatibility verification results with Lunar.
“This time, you must make sure to crush those Dojin bastards!”
“With these hardware specs, there’s no way we’ll lose to Quantum.”
“What’s the situation with Dojin?”
As Chairman Cheon’s gaze turned to Director Kim Seong-jae,
he handed over a report he had prepared in advance.
“Perhaps aware of the Titan 4, Dojin has started the development of Quantum 3 about two months ahead of schedule.”
“Even so, with the X3 and LPDDR4 4GB, UFS 2.0 specs, they won’t be able to catch up to our heels.”
Cheon Jun-young said confidently, but Director Kim Seong-jae’s demeanor was somehow heavy.
“It’s not certain, but… there are indications that Dojin has secretly contacted Qualcomm and Micron.”
“Qualcomm and Micron… Could it be because of the AP and storage?”
Chairman Cheon Ho-tae reacted immediately.
“It seems like it’s because of Qualcomm’s Snaptiger 820, and Micron was contacted to assess the possibility of supplying storage and memory.”
“Snaptiger 820… Isn’t that the follow-up model to the 810?”
Cheon Jun-young asked, looking surprised.
“It seems so. Even though only three months have passed since the release of the premium lineup, the 810, the fact that Dojin contacted Qualcomm suggests they’re trying to induce early mass production of the 820.”
“The visit to Micron is in a similar context.”
“It’s highly likely. So, I think… we should also bring forward the launch of the Titan 4 a bit more.”
At Director Kim Seong-jae’s words, the executives attending the meeting nodded.
They too judged that directly confronting Quantum would not be beneficial.
“Even if Dojin secures parts from Qualcomm and Micron, it will take at least three months to secure products at the level of X4 and UFS 3.1.”
Cheon Jun-young said with confidence.
Even they, the industry leaders, had to push their development team to the limit to meet the schedule.
It meant there was no way the latecomers could catch up that quickly.
“But, with Dojin involved, there might be some variables. It’s a bit awkward to say, but we shouldn’t underestimate Dojin’s technological capabilities.”
There was a moment of silence at Director Kim Seong-jae’s serious tone, and soon Chairman Cheon Ho-tae made a decision.
“No matter what, launch the Titan 4 within a month. This time, we must achieve meaningful results.”
This was the last chance.
With the consecutive failures of the Titan series
and even the feature phone market being encroached upon,
if they failed this time, even Ahsung would no longer be able to sustain its mobile business.
…
…
…
A month later.
As Cheon Jun-young was reviewing the promotional strategy ahead of the Titan 4 launch, Development Team Leader Jo Gwang-seok rushed in.
“Executive Vice President.”
“What is it?”
“Well… there’s been a bit of a problem.”
“Problem?”
When Cheon Jun-young asked nervously,
Team Leader Jo Gwang-seok quickly explained the situation.
“During the final reliability test of the stacked battery, cell expansion occurred at temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius. Especially when running high-spec applications simultaneously, there were two instances where local cells entered an electrochemical boiling state due to increased internal resistance.”
“…Boiling?”
“It’s a phenomenon where the electrolyte gasifies, causing internal pressure within the cell that pushes against the cell walls. It’s very rare, but in a sealed structure, it can be a potential risk factor.”
Cheon Jun-young asked, his eyes still on the test report.
“Any direct combustion cases?”
“None so far. However, under severe conditions, there was an observation of the battery pack’s external casing warping slightly due to internal thermal expansion. The likelihood of reproduction under normal usage conditions isn’t very high.”
Cheon Jun-young looked up from the report and fell into thought.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“How much time is left until mass production?”
“About a week from now. But to analyze the cause of the problem and make improvements, it will take at least two more months.”
Cheon Jun-young’s face darkened.
The schedule was tight as it was.
“It’s a problem that occurred under extreme conditions, and the likelihood of it being an issue under normal usage conditions is low, right?”
“…Theoretically, yes. But since we can’t completely rule it out, I’m reporting it.”
Cheon Jun-young put down the report and slowly stood up.
“We can’t delay mass production. If we postpone the launch in this situation and Quantum 3 takes over the market, we won’t have another chance.”
“But, if by any chance a problem occurs in consumer environments…”
Team Leader Jo Gwang-seok expressed concern, but Cheon Jun-young raised his hand to stop him.
“The likelihood of that is low, right? Now is not the time to consider risk possibilities. If this model fails too, it’s over for both you and me.”
No matter how much the eldest son, Cheon Jun-young, might be,
there was a high possibility that Chairman Cheon Ho-tae’s personality would not let this slide this time.
“…Understood. I’ll conduct the final checks again and try to improve the heat suppression logic through software.”
“Good. Proceed with that.”
Even after Team Leader Jo Gwang-seok left, he was somewhat concerned for a while,
but he didn’t think too deeply about it.
Now was not the time to worry about such small problems, but to somehow launch the product before Quantum 3 and achieve meaningful results this time.
And he believed in the overwhelming performance of the Titan 4.
At the same time.
Dojin Industries CEO’s Office.
“It seems Ahsung is going to launch the Titan 4 earlier than planned.”
At Chilbong’s report, I smiled.
“Looks like leaking the information about contacting Qualcomm and Micron worked.”
“But, they haven’t actually secured the AP or storage from Qualcomm and Micron, have they? Are we really just going to sit back and watch?”
Seong-hwan looked at me with a concerned expression.
I nodded, telling him not to worry.
“Even without the Snaptiger 820 and UFS 3.1, there’s a way to compete with the Titan 4.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“What’s as important as hardware performance is UX optimization and battery stability. No matter how outstanding the Titan 4’s performance is, if actual users aren’t satisfied, it means nothing.”
Seong-hwan asked.
“So, hyung, what strategy are you planning to use to respond?”
“I’m going to strengthen the SDRAM caching applied to the Quantum 2 and further enhance app compatibility and optimization with Lunar. And the key is to maintain the existing design of low-heat, high-stability battery cells to gain market trust.”
“Huh? While stability isn’t bad, that means we won’t be able to compete in terms of hardware, right?”
I acknowledged this point.
It was difficult to catch up with Ahsung’s overwhelming manufacturing competitiveness right now,
but Ahsung had also taken quite a gamble.
“Just by standing still, Ahsung will collapse on its own.”
“You think there will be a problem with the battery, as expected?”
At Chilbong’s question, I added an explanation.
“Don’t you think the Titan 4 is too focused on performance?”
“It is…”
“If they released those specs without process stabilization, there’s bound to be a problem somewhere. I think it will be with the battery.”
“So, all we have to do is wait for a problem to actually occur with the Titan 4?”
“No. Not just wait, but prepare to bring the issue to public attention.”
…
…
…
A week later.
Ahsung launched the Titan 4 as scheduled
and began a massive promotional campaign.
Being the highest-spec product among existing smartphones, consumer attention was immediately focused at the beginning of its release.
Praise poured in daily on online communities and social media like Nertube and Twister.
└ Wow, Ahsung really put their all into this one.
└ What the heck are these specs?
└ No frame drops no matter what game you run.
└ The screen quality is insane, and it feels like loading has disappeared.
└ This is what a true flagship is. Quantum? That’s like an old relic now, right?
Even IT professional reviewers unanimously selected the Titan 4 as the ‘Best Smartphone of 2015,’ and the reviews were favorable.
[The computational power of the X4 chipset is truly unparalleled. Uncomparable to any existing mobile AP - TechPlanet -]
[From storage transfer speed, app launch speed, to multitasking. The Titan 4 is a spec monster in itself - Digitalize -]
[With these specs, the price of 1.5 million won is quite reasonable - MobileReviewNet -]
[It feels like Ahsung’s smartphone has finally surpassed Quantum. I’ve been waiting for this moment. - DevWeekly -]
The response in overseas markets was also hot.
The initial batch of 5 million units prepared in major distribution channels in the United States, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates sold out on the first day,
and on China’s largest shopping mall, ‘Alibaba,’ it ranked first in smartphone sales within an hour of release.
Everything was perfect.
At least on the surface.
But this atmosphere didn’t last long,
and soon,
problems began to surface little by little.