Charm Blue has been authorized by the Marching Ant Company's intelligent assistant!
ZTE has received smart assistant authorization!
OnePlus has reached a cooperation agreement with the Marching Ant Company!
Huawei has released a new flagship series—[Walker]—equipped with the Kirin 1000 smart chip, multilingual intelligent assistant, Android 10, the latest generation Leica camera, and a full-screen display. Walker, a new journey begins.
Xiaomi followed up with the launch of its new flagship, the Black Rice 2…
Over the course of just half a month, news of mobile phone authorizations and smart assistant partnerships flooded the media. The Marching Ant Company's move to open up multilingual intelligent assistant licensing had kicked over a hornet's nest. Phone manufacturers eager for the opportunity surged like a flock of startled chickens.
The battle for dominance in the mobile phone industry had officially begun.
The external licensing of the intelligent assistant marked the true beginning of the smart era. No one wanted to fall behind—those who lagged would be left behind.
At Apple HQ, Cook sat reading the sales report for their smartphones, his brow furrowed.
It had been over two weeks since the Marching Ant Company began licensing their intelligent assistant. Initially, after the release of the S3, sales remained high thanks to Apple's enduring brand appeal. But the day Huawei launched its Walker, the growth in Apple's orders slowed sharply. The release of Xiaomi's device only caused another drop.
The Marching Ant Company's move to license its assistant mainly to Chinese mobile brands was clearly a push to elevate their position. Apple had to prepare for the long-term impact.
Cook had to admit, the Marching Ants had played this move masterfully. Authorizing such a core technology had created massive disruption and added to Apple's mounting headaches.
Though the direct impact wasn't catastrophic, it wasn't minor either. With lower-cost phones now offering comparable smart features, more consumers were hesitating to pay Apple's premium prices. After all, buyers had become much more discerning.
And yet, the ones feeling the pressure the most weren't Apple.
At Samsung's office, a staff member reported grimly over the phone:
"President, we still haven't been able to schedule a meeting with the Marching Ant Company."
Gao Zhendong's face darkened. "Why not?"
"They said Zhao Min is on a business trip and canceled all appointments. We'll have to wait until she returns."
His expression turned ice-cold.
They'd heard that same excuse months ago—that Zhao Min was busy. Back then, they'd watched helplessly as she signed deal after deal with other companies. And now that it was finally their turn, she conveniently went on a trip?
If this wasn't deliberate, he'd eat his own shoe.
"President, what should we do now?" the cautious voice on the phone asked.
"Keep trying to reach them. We'll talk more when I get back," Gao Zhendong replied before hanging up, his expression still sour.
He forced himself to stay calm. As a corporate leader, he couldn't afford to lose his composure.
There had been an avalanche of tech news recently, especially in the mobile industry. The Marching Ant Company's decision to license its intelligent assistant had shaken the market.
Samsung had kept a low profile throughout. Thankfully, their flagship phone had already launched earlier in the year. If it hadn't, they'd be in the same mess as last year.
At least they still had a buffer before the next release cycle. But they needed to move quickly—the pace of hardware upgrades was only accelerating.
If the Marching Ant Company refused to engage, things could get ugly. The latest reports from the marketing department had been far from reassuring.
Just then, an assistant entered with a file. "President, the meeting participants are here."
"Alright."
Gao Zhendong stood up and followed him to the conference room.
The room was already filled with department heads, all talking quietly. A heavy tension hung in the air—no one looked optimistic.
Ever since the assistant licensing news broke, they'd held frequent emergency meetings. The company was in a tight spot.
As soon as Gao Zhendong entered, the room fell silent.
"Let's begin," he said, taking his seat.
A marketing director rose, brought up a presentation slide, and began.
"I'll give a quick overview of last month's sales. Shipments were 23.74 million units—a 5.3% drop year-on-year."
That single figure drew sharp gasps from around the room.
"In early October, shipments were stable. Then, on the 10th, Apple released the S3. Sales began to slow. Starting on the 20th, as Huawei, Xiaomi, and others launched their new phones, our numbers took a sharp hit. That's the primary reason for the drop."
The director continued cautiously, outlining the situation as they currently understood it.
"The most affected region is Europe. Southeast and South Asia also saw downturns. And the U.S. market continues to be impacted by the S3.
"In Europe, our previous advantage was that Huawei and we could both use the Marching Ant smart assistant. Those assistants supported Chinese and English, so we weren't too affected. But now that Huawei's multilingual assistant has entered the market, it's having a noticeable impact.
"Similar trends are unfolding in Southeast and South Asia. Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have all leveraged the multilingual assistant to boost sales. And that pressure will only increase as time goes on."
Once the assistant becomes standard across all Chinese phone brands, and Samsung doesn't offer anything comparable, their situation would become dire.
"Li Renzhong, what's the progress on your side?" Gao Zhendong asked.
"No breakthrough," Li Renzhong sighed.
Gao Zhendong's face darkened further. He looked around the room. "Clearly, our situation is becoming dangerous. If we keep dragging our feet, we're going to be phased out. Think—what can we do?"
The room buzzed with hushed discussions.
Eventually, a sharply dressed, cold-looking man stood and said, "There's no other way but to obtain authorization for the smart assistant. Unless we make a major tech breakthrough soon, our only option is to secure Marching Ant's cooperation."
Gao Zhendong let out a bitter laugh. "We can't even get a meeting, much less authorization."
"The method is wrong," the cold-faced man replied, shaking his head. "I've dealt with many Chinese partners. They value face. Especially those in leadership. If you drink with them, call them a friend, flatter them a bit—they're happy. Make them feel respected, and it's easy to strike a deal."
"Go on."
Gao Zhendong perked up. The others leaned in too.
"Chinese people don't usually retaliate directly. If you wrong them, they'll just curse you and move on. But if you later apologize and flatter them, they'll often forgive you. They have a saying: 'You don't hit a smiling face.'
"They also like gifts and compliments. Make them feel smart or important, and they'll be more open. I suspect this grudge is still about the OLED supply incident."
That incident had soured relations, but it hadn't been an open conflict—just enough to cause resentment.
"So, if we offer some face-saving gesture, apologize subtly, and lower our stance, they might be willing to move forward. They won't want to pass up a profitable deal either."
The room fell silent again, everyone digesting his words.
"How do you suggest we lower our posture?" Gao Zhendong asked.
"You should go in person," the cold man said. "Show them that we take them seriously. Be respectful, admit the OLED mistake, let them feel like they've won. Once they feel they've regained face, the rest will be negotiable."
Gao Zhendong narrowed his eyes, glancing around.
No one objected. In fact, no one had offered any better ideas. If they didn't get smart assistant authorization soon, Samsung would be left behind. They had to try something.
After a moment, Gao Zhendong gave a firm nod.
"Alright. Tomorrow, you and I will fly to China."