Looking at the Apple fans in the audience, Cook felt they were so unfamiliar, so unbelievable.
At previous Apple product launches, the Apple fans in the audience were like they were pumped with adrenaline, more excited than him.
Regardless of the specs, fans would cheer enthusiastically.
But at this launch, the Apple fans in the audience had all changed.
The cheers were gone, replaced by boos and "f**k"s rising and falling, and some even gave him the middle finger.
When he said the front camera only had 300,000 pixels, some even threw water bottles at him, luckily he was far away!
These are all haters!
"What the f**k?"
Cook cursed in his heart, looking utterly bewildered, completely dumbfounded.
The Apple fans who once supported Apple without question had now become haters who would blast them at any provocation!
Such an abrupt change was not only unbearable for Cook, but other Apple executives were also stunned, finding it truly hard to accept.
Cook opened his mouth, his expression utterly disheartened, and had no choice but to bring out his killer move:
"The new iPad's system has been comprehensively upgraded."
"From the previous generation's iOS 4.3, it has been directly upgraded to the brand new iOS 5.1!"
"It can be said to be the biggest upgrade in iPad history, bar none."
Hearing this, the Apple fans below finally quieted down a bit, their interest piqued, all wanting to see what highlights the new iOS 5.1 system had.
Cook was in a great mood and began to elaborate.
But the more he spoke, the noisier and more impatient the audience below became.
The bullet comments became very interesting:
"iOS 5.1 is BS, just some very ordinary upgrades, Cook is still bragging, it's ridiculous."
"Yeah, it's just an optional upgrade, what's there to talk about?"
"Trash Apple, the system part is done and there are no highlights, it's not even as good as XUI3.0 on the Xingyi tablet!"
"Exactly, no multi-tasking split-screen mode, no beauty mode, the iOS system upgrade was for nothing!"
"Trash Apple, Xingyi tablet has already shown you the way, split-screen, beauty mode, you can't even copy, trash!"
"Don't talk nonsense upstairs, Apple has always been about independent innovation, refusing to copy or follow trends."
"??? So if I use Apple, I'll never get to use beauty mode and split-screen features in my life? Then why the hell would I use an Apple?"
"In terms of hardware, the new iPad is still trounced by the Xingyi tablet. In terms of system, the new iPad can't even copy, it's not worth buying."
"The launch is almost over and no surprises, boring, a total waste of my time, I'll just fully pre-order and wait for the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro!"
"Forget the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, even the Xingyi Tablet X1 is better than the new iPad. Apple's mythical status has been ended by Xingyi Technology."
"Isn't that right? iPhone is trounced by Xingyi Phone, iPad is trounced by Xingyi Tablet. LOL."
...
Cook watched the audience's reactions, his heart sinking further.
Without a doubt, the iOS 5.1 system still fell short, and consumers weren't buying it at all.
After all, iOS 5.1's so-called innovations simply couldn't compare to XUI 3.0's beauty mode + split-screen.
Such a powerful and practical innovation like beauty mode + split-screen was a game-changer in 2012!
Left with no choice, Cook could only pull out his final weapon, a critical strike against the xPhone 1 Pro, Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, and all phones and tablets with Nvidia quad-core processors!
"Besides the system-level upgrade, the iPad 3rd generation's processor will also be comprehensively upgraded!"
Hearing this, everyone's interest was piqued; Apple's processors were still very powerful.
"The iPad 3rd generation will be equipped with the A5X dual-core processor custom-designed for tablets!"
"Dual-core?"
Instantly, the enthusiasm of many audience members receded again, and boos arose in the venue.
The Xingyi tablet had already reached quad-core, while Apple was still dual-core, indeed falling behind.
Cook was completely unfazed, still maintaining an air of absolute confidence:
"Although the A5X's CPU is dual-core, it's equipped with a quad-core GPU, offering incredibly powerful performance."
"After our tests, the A5X's GPU performance is four times that of Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core processor!"
"What?"
"A5X GPU is four times Tegra 3's?"
Hearing this, everyone present was stunned, netizens watching the live stream were dumbfounded, and even the media were speechless.
If it were 1.5 times, that would be reasonable.
But directly four times, this gap, is Nvidia's GPU too poor? Or Apple's GPU too strong?
This matter became intriguing.
Of course, some people directly stated:
"Bragging, pure bragging!"
"Fake, all fake!"
"It's impossible for it to be four times!"
In response, Cook chuckled:
"We conducted tests comparing the new iPad equipped with A5X against an Asus tablet equipped with Tegra 3, and the result was that the A5X's GPU performance is four times that of Tegra 3!"
Seeing Cook's composure, everyone was astounded.
The bullet comments exploded:
"Cook is so confident, could it be that the A5X is really that powerful? Four times Nvidia's GPU?"
"GPU is crucial, especially for gaming, it relies heavily on the GPU. If Nvidia is that bad, then it's a huge problem."
"Yeah, if Apple's A5X is really that powerful, then the new iPad is still worth looking forward to."
Cook continued:
"As everyone knows, current CPU performance is largely excessive, whether dual-core or quad-core, frankly, it's enough."
The implication was that Apple's A5X dual-core CPU was perfectly sufficient, and there was no need for quad-core, which would be a waste.
"However, GPU performance is often insufficient, especially as games become larger and larger, and graphics become more high-end, the demands on GPU performance are ever increasing."
"Our competitors use quad-core CPUs, but their GPUs are very weak. I don't understand, I truly don't understand, it feels like they've got their priorities reversed."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Cook continued:
"And we at Apple, abandoning the excessively powerful quad-core CPU, chose a sufficiently powerful dual-core CPU. At the same time, we made the GPU quad-core, with off-the-charts performance, four times that of competitors' GPUs! This is the most reasonable configuration to give everyone the best experience!"
Thunderous applause reverberated throughout the launch event.
Cook was greatly relieved, though also a little bittersweet.
At previous Apple product launches, applause thundered, rising and falling.
At today's Apple launch, there was applause only twice.
Once at the beginning, when everyone politely applauded as a welcome.
The other time was when Apple unveiled its big move: the A5X processor's GPU performance is four times that of Nvidia's quad-core processor!
It really wasn't easy!
Furthermore, the new iPad had few other outstanding features; only the screen and GPU were presentable.
So, Cook continued to heavily emphasize these two aspects:
"Chairman Wang is right, the screen is the face of a phone or tablet. Therefore, the new iPad's screen completely crushes the Xingyi Tablet, making it number one globally!"
"And the processor is the heart of a phone or tablet. To this end, the new iPad's processor also achieves optimal performance. Its image processing capability is four times that of Asus tablets, four times that of Xingyi tablets, and even four times that of all Tegra 3 products!"
Applause rang out again.
Striking at the snake's vulnerable spot, Cook's focus on GPU performance was a stroke of genius.
Just like laptops, CPU performance is mostly sufficient, even excessive, but graphics cards need constant upgrades, and the GPU is the most core component of a graphics card!
Cook's move completely reversed the situation, and public opinion changed:
"The A5X's GPU is so powerful, it's actually four times that of Tegra 3. In that case, wouldn't the new iPad's GPU be four times that of the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro?"
"That's right, the new iPad's GPU is too strong, unbeatable for gaming. The screen is also good, as is the audio-visual experience."
"Sigh, the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro is good in every aspect, except its GPU is too weak."
"Who would have thought that Nvidia, a graphics card manufacturer, would make such a poor GPU for mobile chips."
"The Tegra 3 GPU is only one-quarter of the iPad's, which is a bit too weak."
"I originally wanted to go for the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, but now I'm hesitating, considering whether to buy the new iPad."
"I'm a heavy gamer, I'd rather accept the new iPad's wide bezels than the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro's trash GPU."
"I also like games and want to buy the new iPad, but the 300,000-pixel front camera is really too bad."
"I'm also conflicted. The Xingyi tablet has high overall specs, but a terrible GPU. The new iPad doesn't have high overall specs, but its GPU is four times that of the Xingyi tablet, it's hard to choose!"
...
Seeing these changes in public opinion, the Apple VP backstage was in a great mood and decisively told Cook at the front via earpiece.
Cook smiled faintly, knowing he had this.
It didn't matter how poorly the new iPad performed earlier; this final wave of GPU, with its four-fold advantage, utterly defeated the Xingyi Tablet and a host of other competitors.
After all, tablets using the Tegra 3 processor, besides the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, included the already launched Asus tablet, the unreleased Samsung tablet, and so on.
As long as the A5X's GPU instantly crushed the Tegra 3's GPU by four times, the iPad could silently crush all Tegra 3-powered tablets, and even phones!
Cook was in high spirits:
"Finally, the pricing: the 16GB Wi-Fi version is $499. The 32GB Wi-Fi version is $599. The 64GB Wi-Fi version is $699."
"Additionally, besides the Wi-Fi version, Apple has also launched a Cellular version, supporting 4G!"
Cook continued:
"The 16GB + Cellular version is $629. The 32GB + Cellular version is $729. The 64GB + Cellular version is $829!"
"The new iPad is now accepting full-payment pre-orders, and will officially launch in one week, on March 16th!"
"For ultimate performance, choose the new iPad; its image processing capability is four times that of the Xingyi Tablet, it will definitely not disappoint you!"
Applause erupted again, and the new iPad launch event officially concluded!
With its powerful GPU performance, Apple fought a beautiful comeback battle.
That night, many people looked conflicted, torn between choosing the new iPad or the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro.
Many others directly and decisively abandoned the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, fully pre-ordering the new iPad.
After all, four times the GPU performance is truly intimidating.
A host of media outlets reported on it.
But Old Huang's face turned black with rage:
"Shameless, Apple, to actually measure a four-fold difference? Damn it, how did they measure that?"
"If it were one time, or 1.5 times, I'd believe it. But you're giving me four times, do you think our Nvidia engineers are all trash?"
"This is outrageous!"
"Get me a new iPad immediately for testing! I want to see exactly what the difference is!"
His subordinate looked troubled:
"Chairman, the new iPad won't be released until next week, we can't get one!"
"F**k! Cook, that sly old fox!"
Old Huang exploded in anger, instantly understanding everything:
"They only said the A5X's GPU performance is four times that of Nvidia's Tegra 3, but they didn't release the specific testing process, nor did they conduct live tests, and the new iPad isn't even released yet, so we can't test it ourselves!"
"Isn't this f***ing hooliganism?"
The subordinate fell silent: "..."
But thinking about it carefully, it really seemed to be the case!
Old Huang swore loudly:
"They just open their mouths and claim a four-fold difference without showing the process or evidence, instantly turning our Tegra 3 into dust, that's hooliganism!"
"Damn it, this is going too far!"
"This is going too far!"
As Old Huang cursed, he thought of another crucial question:
"And Apple said they used an Asus tablet for testing, why didn't they use the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro?"
The subordinate's eyes lit up:
"They were worried that the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro's configuration and performance were too strong, and the test results wouldn't even show a two-fold difference, let alone four-fold!"
"Exactly, that's it!"
Old Huang sighed, instantly understanding everything:
"They chose the Asus tablet because they wanted to pick on the weakest link. The Asus quad-core tablet was the world's first quad-core tablet, the first tablet to feature our Tegra 3 processor. At that time, system optimization was not in place, algorithm optimization was not in place, and the Asus tablet's configuration was also weak. So a three or four-fold difference in measurements is normal, it doesn't prove anything!"
"But Apple's behavior is clearly cheating, exploiting Asus's GPU."
"If only they dared to compare it with the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, the result might be different!"
The subordinate nodded:
"That's right, Chairman, that's exactly it. Apple is too shameless, truly shameless. And their move was too brutal; with one strike, they directly crippled all products with our Tegra 3 processor! It's too much! We must fight back!"
Old Huang nodded:
"Fight back, yes, but we need to discuss it with Chairman Wang."
"Right, this also concerns the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, it's best to discuss a strategy with Chairman Wang. If this isn't handled well, sales of Nvidia processors will be severely affected."
So, early in the morning, Wang Yi was woken up by Old Huang's call.
Wang Yi let go of Lin Shu's big white rabbit, and pressed the answer button:
"Hello?"
"Chairman Wang, it's me, wake up quickly, something big has happened."
"Old Huang? What's wrong?"
Wang Yi yawned.
It's past six AM, what university student wakes up this early?
Are they crazy?!
"It's that sly old fox!"
Wang Yi: "..."
Old Huang continued:
"It's Apple, it's Cook, while you were sleeping..."
Old Huang recounted what happened:
"Now the entire internet is spreading the news that the iPad 3rd generation's A5X processor's GPU performance is four times that of Nvidia's Tegra 3, and four times that of the Xingyi Tablet!"
Wang Yi's mouth twitched, instantly understanding everything:
"What a masterful move to pull the rug out from under us! Cook's killer blow not only aims to defeat the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, but also all Tegra 3 products. They want to dominate!"
"Exactly, that's the problem. Apple's intentions are too sinister, truly shameless."
Old Huang was agitated, almost cursing out loud!
"And the testing process, they said they used an Asus tablet, not the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro?"
Old Huang nodded:
"That's right."
Wang Yi instantly had a plan:
"Apple deliberately used the Asus tablet for testing because they knew its configuration was poor and its optimization was bad, thus lowering the data for the Tegra 3 processor. Then, they could fatally strike products like the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro that feature the Tegra 3 processor. This way, sales of products like the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro would plummet, and Apple could dominate!"
"Exactly, that's it!" Old Huang nodded, in strong agreement, "Plus, the new iPad hasn't been released yet, so it's hard for us to even buy one to test and counterattack!"
"What's so difficult about that?" Wang Yi smiled, "The new iPad isn't on the market yet, but there are demo units, right?"
"Chairman Wang, you mean to arrange for people to go to an Apple 4S store to test?"
Old Huang's eyes lit up:
"That's a method, but what if they don't allow testing?"
Wang Yi smiled faintly:
"That's even simpler. If they truly don't allow testing, arrange for someone to buy two at a high price. As long as the money is there, someone will go into an Apple store and grab, no, take them for you!"
"???"
Old Huang froze, then suddenly realized:
"Chairman Wang is brilliant! Not long ago, one of HTC's flagship stores in the Empire was smashed. It's normal for something to happen at an Apple flagship store, right? Hahahaha!"
Wang Yi said with a smile:
"There are always more solutions than problems. Test this as quickly as possible, and counterattack as quickly as possible. For testing, we won't show our faces; arrange for others to do it. Focus on CPU testing, trounce Apple's dual-core, especially multi-tasking and background switching. Thoroughly expose the drawbacks of Apple's fake background and its lack of support for multiple programs running simultaneously! Directly brand Apple products as unsuitable for gamers!"
Old Huang's face lit up with joy:
"This is a good idea, play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, directly exposing the flaws in Apple's system!"
Wang Yi continued:
"Of course, GPU aspects must also be tested; find tests that are favorable to us. Even if Apple's GPU eventually proves to be more powerful, the difference won't be four times, at most 1.5 times. And our CPU is more than twice as powerful as theirs, coupled with the drawbacks of a pseudo-background, Apple won't be able to make waves!"
"Alright, I'll arrange it as soon as possible!"
Old Huang was in high spirits and immediately set about preparing for this.
Wang Yi paid no mind to this; Old Huang was more anxious than him.
After all, if Tegra 3 were crippled, Nvidia would suffer huge losses.
How Nvidia's mobile chip business fared this year entirely depended on Tegra 3!
It could be said that Tegra 3 was only allowed to succeed, not to fail.
However, this matter indeed had a significant impact on the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, so much so that in the following two days, new sales of the Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro began to plummet, completely losing its previous terrifying momentum.
Conversely, full-payment pre-orders for the new iPad continuously increased.
Even the full-payment pre-orders for the xPhone 1 Pro decreased significantly.
One can only say that this wave, Cook played a move of "pulling the rug out from under."
The previous Tegra 3 was the world's first quad-core processor, a mythical existence.
But now, Cook's audacious move directly pulled Tegra 3, the god of quad-cores, from its divine position!
GPU performance was only one-fourth of the A5X's!
With this one point, the Tegra 3 myth was shattered.
Products equipped with Tegra 3, such as the xPhone 1 Pro and Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro, also took a critical hit.
Wang Yi let out a wry smile:
"Apple, oh Apple, you're really sly. To even come up with such a dirty trick!"
"Impressive, impressive!"
However, Nvidia's counterattack would take some time, and Wang Yi didn't mind making another move.
So, before the tablet matter had concluded, a sensational piece of news once again shocked the world:
[xPhone 1 Pro's full-payment pre-orders exceeded 3 million in the first week, and over 4 million in two weeks!]
As soon as this news broke, the world was in an uproar.
It made those who doubted the xPhone 1 Pro quiet down.
Even Apple headquarters held an emergency meeting for this:
The VP spoke in a deep voice:
"Using the A5X GPU's four-fold performance over Tegra 3 as a talking point, we pulled the rug out from under the Xingyi Tablet, and its sales plummeted. But the xPhone 1 Pro's sales are also terrifying; in one week, full-payment pre-orders exceeded three million, and four million in two weeks! Should we make a move?"
Cook waved his hand:
"It doesn't matter, it's just pre-order volume. What if there are four million orders? Xingyi Technology doesn't have the inventory; they probably can't even produce four million xPhone 1s in March. Our iPhone 4S sold four million units in its first week, that's not pre-orders!"
Three million orders and three million sales are very different.
"Furthermore, the xPhone 1 Pro can only be sold in Xia Nation, and its price is high. Once the Xia Nation market is saturated, they won't have much potential afterwards."
The VP nodded:
"Then we'll temporarily ignore the xPhone 1 Pro and focus all our efforts on the Xingyi Tablet X1 and Xingyi Tablet X1 Pro!"
"Exactly, these two are sold globally and have the biggest impact. As for the xPhone 1 Pro, it might not even sell 20 million units in a year, and besides, our iPhone 5 will be launched in the second half of the year, so it can naturally surpass the xPhone 1 Pro."
Cook pondered:
"However, the development of the iPhone 5 will have to be torn down and redone, with comprehensive upgrades. It absolutely cannot be trounced by the xPhone 1 Pro again!"
"Yes, I will personally handle this,"
The VP said decisively.
"Very good."
Cook nodded with satisfaction, but felt extremely depressed internally.
Due to the hot sales of Xingyi Phone, iPhone 4S sales in Xia Nation dropped significantly, with estimated annual sales decreasing by twenty to thirty million units!
Now, the best-selling phone in Xia Nation has become the Xingyi Phone, no longer the iPhone!
To change this situation, they could only rely on the next generation iPhone 5!
It must be comprehensively upgraded!
The gears of fate began to turn.
Thanks to Wang Yi, the Xingyi Phone burst onto the scene, and the entire mobile phone industry began to undergo massive changes.
The iPhone 5 had to be scrapped and comprehensively upgraded to meet the challenges and threats posed by the Xingyi Phone!
Meizu also began significant price reductions, dropping from 2999 to 2099, engaging in a fierce price war with Xiaomi.
After experiencing the pain of Qualcomm chip shortages, Xiaomi had to switch to Nvidia processors ahead of schedule, launching the Xiaomi 1T.
But with the Xingyi Phone and Meizu sandwiching it, Xiaomi's domestic sales were mediocre, making it difficult for Xiaomi to grow large.
Lei Bus decisively decided to go all-in on A-san, starting their journey to A-san ahead of schedule.
Of course, other phone brands weren't idle either, all undergoing various changes.
For example, ZTE, the fourth largest in global sales, held multiple meetings to study transformation issues, shifting from feature phones exclusively supplied to operators, to true smartphones!
In those years, the "Big Four" domestic phone brands were still Zhong Hua Ku Lian, especially ZTE, which was fourth in global shipments last year.
ZTE even established a smartphone research institute to comprehensively study the xPhone 1 and xPhone 1 Pro, elevating the R&D standards of ZTE phones.
Huawei also did the same!
Huawei, after the launch of the xPhone 1, immediately gathered top talent to conduct comprehensive research on the xPhone 1.
Although the Huawei P1 was comprehensively behind the xPhone 1, its development was already complete, and components were finalized, so it had to continue production and be launched.
However, internally, Huawei simultaneously began R&D for a new smartphone, benchmarking it against the xPhone 1.
It's just a pity that as ZTE and Huawei's new phones benchmarking the xPhone 1 were just taking shape, the xPhone 1 Pro arrived!
This pace of iteration gave ZTE and Huawei a significant headache.
As for other companies, they couldn't even keep up!
(End of Chapter)