Top of the Great Era

Chapter 3224 A Front

After hearing what he said, Zhou Buqi understood.

Samsung is different from Apple.

Apple integrates hardware and software, and all its products are closed products that can only be used by itself, not by outsiders. This means that even if Apple is willing to sell its self-developed chips, no one will buy them because they are not suitable or compatible.

Samsung is different.

Samsung's electronic products are conventionally open and have strong compatibility with the market.

This makes Samsung the most important supply chain manufacturer in the smartphone industry.

Naturally, this also includes chips.

Samsung makes chips not only to supply its own electronic products, but more importantly to sell them.

It’s just that Qualcomm has developed too fast in recent years and its American engineers are too excellent, resulting in its mobile phone chip business having left Samsung far behind.

In fact, when smartphones first appeared, Samsung's chips were no worse than Qualcomm's.

When brands including HTC, Apple, and Sony Ericsson first started making smartphones, they all purchased chips from Samsung instead of working with the expensive and domineering Qualcomm.

But it hasn't been so good in recent years.

Qualcomm is growing too fast.

The technology is too powerful.

In the field of mid-to-high-end chips, Qualcomm has left Samsung far behind, leading to an increasingly concentrated industry. Mobile phone manufacturers' flagship models are mainly powered by Qualcomm chips, and only some mid-to-low-end models may purchase Samsung chips.

Even within Samsung, Samsung Mobile made a similar decision under tremendous pressure, considering turning to Qualcomm for flagship models, while its self-developed chips were mainly used in mid- and low-end models.

This is naturally unacceptable to the ambitious Samsung.

In the past two years, Lee Jae-yong has invested heavily in the US semiconductor market and will continue to increase investment in the next few years. The main purpose is to rely on the US market to boost Samsung's semiconductor business.

The experiences of the past few years have given Samsung a clearer understanding of the chip industry.

If Samsung only relies on Koreans, it can only produce mid- and low-end chips at best.

If Samsung wants to compete with Qualcomm in the high-end chip field, it must invest heavily in the United States and rely on the world's top chip engineers in the United States. Behind the chip competition is a technology competition, and behind the technology competition is a talent competition.

The battle for talent is related to the national level. Samsung has no ability to change the status relationship between South Korea and the United States, so it shouldn't be so forceful. If it can't snatch talent, it should take the initiative to invest and build factories in places where talent gathers.

This is also the advantage of Koreans, they are very pragmatic.

Zhou Buqi didn't beat around the bush and said with a smile: "This time, Samsung's chips are very proud! No wonder Qualcomm, together with Ericsson, has filed patent lawsuits against Samsung and Asda's self-developed chips. It turns out they were waiting here!"

Li Zairong laughed and said: "I guessed it a long time ago. There must be something wrong with Qualcomm's chip business. Since their own chips are not working, they are trying to suppress other people's chips."

"Since we can't compete in the chip market, we can only resort to some unorthodox methods."

Zhou Buqi sat behind his desk with the phone on loudspeaker so that Zhou Shaoning and Ning Yaxian next to him could hear everything clearly.

Lee Zairong said: "Fortunately, Ericsson will not fully cooperate with Qualcomm. As long as they pay the patent fee, we can reach a settlement."

Zhou Buqi asked: "Even if Samsung pays Ericsson the patent fee they demand, the price of Samsung chips will still be lower than Qualcomm's, right?"

"Of course, Qualcomm has been using its monopoly position to raise prices, making the price of Qualcomm chips 20%-30% higher than similar products in the market. This unfair deal has caused Samsung and Asda to suffer huge losses in the past few years. Isn't Apple's lawsuit against Qualcomm also about this?"

Li Zairong had already understood what he meant, and he was very happy with his high-spirited tone.

Zhou Buqi then asked, "Galaxy Note has reached the final stage, right?" Li Zairong said frankly, "Indeed, there are still some debates within the company. Some people think that we should try to use Snapdragon 810, while others suggest using Qualcomm's secondary chip Snapdragon 808."

"Do you agree?"

"No."

"If it were me, I wouldn't agree either." Zhou Buqi put himself in opposition to Qualcomm. "Samsung and Asda are both developing their own chips, and this road is very difficult. If you want to break out of Qualcomm's gap, you must not only be good enough, but also wait for your opponent to make mistakes. Now is a good opportunity. I heard that Snapdragon 810 is a real technical failure, and it is a business impact caused by the internal workplace struggle of Qualcomm."

Li Zairong smiled and said, "I have heard some things, but I am not sure about the details. But it has only been a short time. In less than a year, there have been two CEOs. The internal power struggle must be very serious."

Zhou Buqi said: "Good news, this is good news!"

Lee Zairong said: "All Samsung flagship models this year will use self-developed chips. Our new chips also use the most advanced technology, and the 8-core processor is no worse than Qualcomm. In terms of competitiveness, we can have a huge advantage."

Seeing that he was beating around the bush and was unwilling to speak first, Zhou Buqi had no choice but to give up.

After all, Estar was in the passive position in this matter.

Zhou Buqi had no choice but to lower his stance and put forward his intention to cooperate. "In the business of self-developed chips, Asda and Samsung are on the same front, and Qualcomm is a common opponent for both parties. In addition, Ericsson's previous patent complaint also brought Samsung and Asda together. In this matter, the interests of both parties are consistent. I think we can further deepen our cooperation."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"Further cooperation?" Li Zairong laughed, "Okay, I'm looking forward to it!"

He is the head of Samsung Electronics.

He has to manage not only the mobile phone business, but also the semiconductor, screen, sensor and electronics foundry businesses.

The most profitable business, of course, is mobile phones.

However, the profit margins in the mobile phone business are very low.

Moreover, with the promotion and popularization of smartphones, the market stock has reached 20 billion units, which means that the sales growth in the smartphone market will gradually slow down in the next few years.

In the long run, Samsung Electronics will still rely most on its semiconductor and panel businesses.

No matter how the form of electronic products changes, TVs, computers, walkmans, tablets, smartphones, smart watches, VR headsets, digital glasses... all of these things are inseparable from semiconductors and displays. In the future, smartphones may no longer exist and may be replaced by a new form of electronics, but semiconductors and displays will always be at the core of the electronics industry.

This is also Samsung Electronics' long-term plan.

Don’t think that the mobile phone business makes the most money for Samsung.

However, from a strategic perspective, semiconductors and display panels are Samsung Electronics' core businesses.

If there is a chance to promote the development of Samsung's chip industry, even if it hurts the mobile phone business to a certain extent, it is worthwhile strategically. Samsung, as a family business, has been passed down to the third generation, and the Lee family wants to pass it on for a long time.

Zhou Buqi also grasped this point and was very sure that Lee Zairong would do his utmost to promote the cooperation between Samsung's self-developed high-end chips and Asda.

Even for the sake of Boss Zhou, he had no reason to refuse.

"Well, I'll make the decision. We will further strengthen the cooperation between Astar and Samsung." Zhou Buqi didn't beat around the bush on something that you and I both knew, and revealed the answer first, "Astar will launch two high-end models this year, one is Aster7, and the other is Motorola's Ultra2. If you agree, Astar can give up Qualcomm and use Samsung's chip solutions!"

Li Zairong was a little surprised. "Really? Two products?"

Zhou Buqi said: "There are indeed some disputes within the company. Most people think that Motorola's model can use the Snapdragon 808 chip. As you know, Motorola's high-end phone business is in the United States and is developed by an American team. They prefer to cooperate with Qualcomm. But I prefer Samsung. Since I have chosen Samsung's solution, there is no need to hesitate any more."

Li Zairong took a deep breath and said, "If that's the case, Samsung can give you the most favorable offer!"

"Well, I have three requirements." Zhou Buqi didn't hesitate to answer him. "First, the price must be low. Second, the supply must be sufficient. Third, the quality must be guaranteed. Now is the best time to fight against Qualcomm. If Samsung and Asda join forces, Qualcomm will suffer a fatal blow in the global high-end mobile phone market."

Li Zairong assured: "No problem, we can organize a team to discuss this matter right away, or should I send someone over?"