Chapter 40

“On May 24th, the second product launch will take place in the company’s ‘O’ shaped building dome!”

The large headline was accompanied by detailed content below. What was interesting was that the Mac version of Real-time Online Translator was also installed on Cook’s computer, and he was also a user of XlouS’s products. That was why he was able to read the content of XlouS’s website. At the same time, the website came with a promotional video, which he had just watched.

Cook clasped his hands together and lightly touched his nose hook, not saying a word.

After a long time, he looked at the looping video on his computer screen and spoke without turning back. “Contact the CTO immediately. The other department executives should also be present—hold an emergency meeting. Now.”

Upon instructing, he got up, picked up his jacket, and left the office.

Not only Apple, but world-renowned companies such as Samsung, HTC, Xiaomi, and so on—companies that had some share and influence in the mobile phone manufacturing industry—were also holding emergency meetings not long after the video was released.

Compared to the spate of emergency meetings from the major phone makers, the media and the Internet were buzzing.

XlouS unsurprisingly became a hot topic after announcing this video, and the news headlines in the technology section were once again dominated by XlouS.

XlouS unveils new product promo video—is it the coming of age for wearable smart devices?——<>

XlouS announces its black-technology product, the mysterious S-1!——<>

The world’s first truly wearable smart device, S-1. XlouS is about to change the world!!!——<>

XlouS Corporation once again became a hot topic of discussion in the internet technology circle.

[Damn! XlouS’s cooldown that lasted for more than two years is finally over. They came back with a big move! It shouldn’t be fake news, right?]

[I doubt so. The product launch is in a little over two months, so how can it be fake? Use your brains a little. XlouS wouldn’t go down the road to ruin like Baidu, right? They should be smarter than that.]

[I find myself in love with this product already. What should I do? My life is over. Should I sell my kidney to buy it?]

[Haha. My kidney is ready to be harvested. Let’s just hope it’s not fake news!]

[I’ll just quietly watch the commenter above me continue to be pretentious! No, I don’t care anymore. Even if I have to eat steamed buns for three months, I need to buy it!]

[Hahaha. Our country finally has a company that can call the shots with Alphabet. S-1 is a product of real black technology! From this moment on, this cynic is officially an XlouS fan!]

[I support the commenter above! Baidu can finally lay down its burden. They should get back to selling medicine!]

[Hahaha. Yes! Baidu: “Why am I being shot for not saying anything?”]

[I think it’s the phone makers that are anxious right now, especially Apple. This is getting interesting! But again, XlouS—good job! Bump!]

It was true that some influential mobile phone manufacturers were flustered, but the most anxious was probably none other than Apple.

Apple Headquarters.

“If the content of the video released by this company is true, then the iPhone 8S Plus is in grave danger,” Cook said, standing in front of the projector that was replaying the 90-second promo video released by XlouS. Cook stopped his pacing and looked at the company executives in the audience. “Even if it’s only half as good as the video.”

He looked around the room and his calm voice reached the crowd. “Apple is once again in great crisis.”

Apple had been around for more than 40 years since its creation and had faced countless crises. However, they overcame their life-and-death moments and became a global giant.

Cook looked at the crowd. The meeting room was silent. They watched the video on the projection screen and the CTO muttered to himself. “How could such a perfect product appear in a Chinese company? It is a country that’s behind in high tech.

“But it is what it is, and I don’t think XlouS is engaging in exaggerated false advertising. It would be catastrophically hard on their reputation without a product to go along with it, and the executives at XlouS are clearly not stupid,” Cook said.

At that moment, Cook’s assistant suddenly and hastily brought a document to him. He opened it and fell silent for a long moment. Then, he closed the document and gazed at the crowd again, “Ladies and gentlemen. I have bad news. The crisis has begun.” He tossed the document aside and said, “Our company’s stock dropped 2.5%! Down 4.7% today! Over 20 billion USD evaporated in one day! And this isn’t the end yet!”

He looked at the crowd. “Crisis is upon us, and are we ready to deal with it?”

“Initially, this version of ‘S-1’ shouldn’t be cheap; perhaps over 2,500 USD per unit. But it’s also twice the price of a flagship iPhone.” One of the executives commented.

Cook looked at the person, “Means that they are targeting the high end of the market and will be Apple’s biggest competitor. That’s bad news, Leon!”

“Since when does Apple need to get into a price war with a competitor?” Cook questioned and added. “Apple only gets about 20 percent of the market share in the mobile phone industry, but accounts for 80 percent of the industry’s profits. Other phone makers are bleeding into a sea of red on price wars, while the price of Apple’s new products has never changed much. It is all based on the fact that our products are good enough.”

“But now, someone is trying to get their head around the price, or at least mention it.” This was something Cook couldn’t tolerate. “It’s a sign of decline.”

As Cook was conducting an emergency meeting, word came from the board of directors: an assistant had informed Cook of the company’s upcoming shareholder meeting. It was apparent that the evaporation of over 20 billion USD in one day was just the beginning, and it was definitely a big deal.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Hemisphere, XlouS warmed up the audience with this promo video for the upcoming May 24th launch of its new product. XlouS quickly became the talk of the industry. Apparently, the video was 90% reliable and XlouS wasn’t going to do anything to dig its own grave on the eve of the launch.

The mobile phone industry was panicking at the emergence of this ferocious wolf. If the product was as the video depicted, the wearable smart device, dubbed ‘S-1’, would be unbeatable. The first to bear the brunt would be Apple, whose core was the mobile phone business. And there was no doubt that the giant company would have its fiercest rival. If Apple’s new product didn’t break new ground, S-1 might be the one to beat them when it officially launched and the situation would be too difficult for Apple to move forward.

It wasn’t surprising that S-1 had only Apple’s iPhone to contend with. Or rather, there was only Apple’s iPhone to contend with among the mobile phone manufacturers in the world today.

And with the release of the new product video and launch of XlouS, especially after the release of this video, Wall Street’s market analysts once again jumped out to announce that XlouS with its first product, Real-time Online Translator, could get more than 22 billion USD in revenue per year. After bringing the S-1 wearable smart device to the market, the company’s market value was estimated to exceed 250 billion USD. The analysts gave XlouS an exact valuation of 284.3 billion USD.