Samsung's next flagship—the Galaxy S6—was confirmed to ship with a 2K display.
If Audi's upcoming Harmony X2 stuck to a standard 1080 × 1920 panel, there'd be no competition. Samsung would crush them in visual quality alone.
Even if they couldn't match Samsung pixel-for-pixel, Haifeng was determined to close the gap. And that meant one thing: upgrading to 2K resolution—no matter the cost.
At BOE headquarters, Haifeng met directly with the company's display chief, Wang Sheng.
Wang looked hesitant after hearing the request.
"President Lu, the screens you're asking for… they're a bit special."
BOE could manufacture 2K mobile panels now, but they weren't perfect.
There were still issues with consistency and yield. And given how closely CS and BOE had worked together over the years, Wang didn't want to burn a key partner.
"Your brand has supported us for a long time," he said cautiously.
"I wouldn't want you using something subpar."
Haifeng didn't hesitate.
"BOE's 2K panels aren't on Samsung's level yet. Doesn't matter. I still want them."
This was war. If he didn't arm the Harmony X2 with a competitive display, there was no future against Samsung.
Wang let out a breath of relief, then smiled.
"Understood. How many units are you planning to order?"
"Two million," Haifeng said without blinking.
"How soon can you deliver?"
Wang's brows lifted slightly at the volume. That was the most significant 2K screen order in China that year.
"At that quantity, the total comes to ¥2 billion (≈ $275 million), with the first batch shipping by mid-August."
"¥1,000 per screen?" Haifeng raised an eyebrow.
"That's steep."
He grinned.
"If it were ¥1.5 billion total, I'd sign right now."
Wang shook his head.
"This is a 2K screen, President Lu."
They negotiated back and forth for half an hour.
Eventually, they settled on ¥1.7 billion for 2 million panels—¥850 per screen (≈ $117 each).
Haifeng signed the deal and left without delay.
It was already August 1st. That gave CS less than two months before October.
And in that tight window, they had to deliver an actual flagship phone—with next-gen specs, cutting-edge design, and zero margin for error.
Across the company, the pressure was tangible.
Entire departments were working overtime. Production lines were humming nonstop.
Inside the office, Liu Jianyu stood beside Haifeng, reviewing the component cost breakdown.
His expression was grim.
"President Lu… can we beat the Galaxy S6 with this?"
He hadn't felt this uncertain at the start. But the closer they got to launch, the more pressure mounted.
This time, both Samsung and Qualcomm were going all in. One controlled global hardware. The other controlled the chip supply chain.
By comparison, CS was still a rising domestic player.
"Take life and death lightly," Haifeng said calmly.
"If they don't agree, just do it anyway."
It was a quote Lei Jun hadn't even said yet—but would, in the future.
Liu Jianyu looked up.
Haifeng's expression was calm. Unshaken.
And in that moment, Jianyu understood. He couldn't afford to doubt.
CS wasn't backing down from this fight. And as head of mobile, he shouldn't either.
He straightened.
"Understood. I'll oversee capacity and quality personally. We'll launch the Harmony X2 flawlessly."
The weight lifted. Liu Jianyu buried his doubts and threw himself into production.
Meanwhile, public attention had moved on.
The Harmony S2, once the talk of the industry, had faded from view.
Online sales had slowed. Samsung's spec announcements had pulled the spotlight away. Then Apple dropped its keynote announcement.
Consumers shifted.
Seeing the shift, Haifeng called to pull the S2 from online sales and move it exclusively to physical retail.
The phone's timing had been off from the start.
At launch, it had exploded.
However, as new announcements came in—from Samsung, Apple, and Qualcomm—the S2 got buried in the noise.
It had been a stunning product. But an untimely one.
It might've rewritten the entire narrative if it had launched even a month earlier.
Now? No one was paying attention. Not when Apple's new iPhones were on the horizon.
The high-end phone market had become a three-horse race:
CS's Harmony X series, Samsung's S series, and Apple.
Every other brand was fighting for scraps.
Most domestic brands had dropped into the ¥1,000–¥3,000 range, scrambling to survive in the budget segment.
By September 1st, the world shifted again.
At 10 AM U.S. time, Apple took the stage.
Haifeng was watching. He always paid close attention to competitors, especially giants like Apple.
This time, they released three products:
Two new phones and a tablet.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.
Though both carried the same number, the difference was clear.
The iPhone 6 featured Apple's 20nm A8 chip, a modest improvement over the previous generation.
The real battle wasn't in raw specs anymore.
It was about ecosystems, presentation, and timing.
And Haifeng was taking notes.