114: A flavorful chapter

"I thought what they were releasing at the end was something fun, but it turned out to be a robot vacuum. I have one at home, and it's absolute garbage."

"Mine used to get a lot of use, but that was until my dog took a dump on the floor and the robot vacuum started up..."

"Speaking of dumps, I remember this guy from the north. They have floor heating in the winter, and after his dog's mess got smeared all over, it got heated up..."

"Hey, the guy above, that guy you're talking about wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

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"Eww! Stop talking, I can already picture it!"

"Good grief, have you guys ever seen a dog sitting on a robot vacuum, with the machine cleaning while the dog has diarrhea??"

"Alright, alright, stop talking. If you have pets at home, don't even think about buying one of these. What if you come home one day, open the door, and find your house has turned into a 'Dung-Smearing Performance Art Gallery'?"

"However, this red star bracelet is actually pretty good. I've already smashed several alarm clocks at home. I wonder if this bracelet's alarm can actually wake me up."

"Haha, it's a pity Xiaomi didn't come this time. Otherwise, I'd really love to see Mr. Lei's face when Chen Chen says the red star 3 phone's heat dissipation is 200% better than the Rival Company's."

"Don't say anymore, the guy above. Mr. Lei might be hugging his hundreds of thousands of mi 3 units right now, hiding under his covers and wiping away tears."

After the press conference, Chen Chen, who was resting with his eyes closed in the back seat of the maybach, suddenly looked excited.

"Detected that the initial version of the Shitou Technology product has successfully launched in this plane. Rewarding: Shitou robot manipulator technology."

"Detected that the initial version of the red star bracelet has successfully launched in this plane. Rewarding: Star Ring Interconnect technology."

"Claim now?"

"Not yet. Xiao Ai, you're already a mature AI. Can't you see I'm in the car right now?"

"Understood, Master."

The manipulator function was easy to understand, but what the hell is this Star Ring Interconnect?

Why have I never heard of it?

Moreover, Xiao Ai's behavior these past few times seemed rather unusual. It didn't issue tasks directly; instead, the rewards only appeared after he released certain products.

The key point is that these past few times, it said that the initial version of a certain product in this plane had been launched.

Could it be understood that these products had gone through countless iterations, developing all the way to the era where Xiao Ai exists?

Perhaps their forms had even changed by the end.

Just like the robot vacuum; in Xiao Ai's description, it was a "Shitou Robot," but in reality, "Shitou" was just the name the founder gave this robot vacuum. The full name was "Shitou Robot Vacuum," not "Shitou Robot."

Does this mean that the final form of this robot vacuum in the future is a robot in the true sense?

And this red star bracelet; Xiao Ai referred to it as the "Star Ring initial version." I just don't know what features the future "Star Ring N.0" will have.

"Brother Zhao, don't go to the company. Take me home first; I have some things to deal with."

Chen Chen said to his driver, Zhao Yunlei.

"Very well, Boss."

After returning home, Chen Chen couldn't wait to transfer all the data to his hard drive. He couldn't understand many of the parameters and data right away.

However, after studying it for a long time, he managed to figure it out. The so-called manipulator was the one that Li Lei, the founder of Shitou Technology, was researching—the kind that could automatically pick up trash on the floor. But that alone wasn't enough; it also required more powerful 3D modeling and radar or visual solutions to realize Li Lei's vision.

Looking at the data, it showed that many of the robot technologies inside started appearing in 2026. It was a pity that he hadn't lived to that time in his previous life; otherwise, he would have definitely gotten himself a robot vacuum with a manipulator.

And that Star Ring Interconnect technology also started appearing in 2028.

Back then, the red star bracelet could display the bracelet's operating interface by projecting it directly onto the wrist without needing a screen. It could also control the phone directly on the wrist projection without opening the phone.

This technology didn't reach the level of direct naked-eye viewing seen in movies; it still required the help of a certain medium, like skin.

The difficulty wasn't the projection display—projection technology could be found on phones costing over two hundred—but rather how to use it like a normal phone on such a projection display.

At the same time, achieving long battery life within the small volume of a bracelet was the real difficulty.

And Xiao Ai only gave this Star Ring Interconnect technology, which was useless for current bracelet technology.

Its real application was screen interoperability!

Just like the multi-screen collaboration from the future Huawei and Xiaomi, projecting the phone screen's content onto tablets, TVs, and computers—and, of course, including future car infotainment systems.

The technology Xiao Ai provided was much more advanced than the screen casting and multi-screen collaboration Chen Chen had used before. According to the introduction, there was almost no latency, and it could even operate while the screen was locked.

"Red Star already has TVs, and tablets are in the design phase. All that's missing is a computer."

Computers really weren't difficult; everything was off-the-shelf. You just needed to source components and assemble them; even the molds were standard public molds.

"I can start working on it and wait for phones to drive computer sales in the future."

Chen Chen pondered and decided to launch the computer business as soon as he returned to the company.

The Star Ring Interconnect technology was useful, but as for this manipulator, Chen Chen really couldn't think of any use for it.

Put it on a robot vacuum? Let Li Lei and his team research it first?

And then there were industrial robots; he wondered if this manipulator technology could be used there.

Forget it, he'd study it first.

What if this thing could be installed on a human body one day?

As the saying goes, "The flesh is weak, the machine ascends." Who knows, maybe one day Xiao Ai would provide a brain-computer interface.

After organizing the data, Chen Chen began to review his product line. Currently, the hundred-yuan phone category had the shining 2. This product line was Red Star's highest-volume model, and it was expected to reach over 20 million units by the end of the year, firmly holding the top spot in sales for hundred-yuan phones.

The development of the new phone, shining 3, had also been completed. It had a larger screen, higher specifications, and prices ranging from 799 to 999 depending on the memory configuration.

In the thousand-yuan phone category, the shining note was the backbone, and it was the absolute king in the 1000 to 1500 price range.

As for the price increase of the Red Star Digital Series, the vacated price range would be filled by the shining k series to be released next year. (The previous text has been modified; there is a 1998 version.)

The Red Star Digital Series was raised to the 2500 to 3000 price range, and above that was the Kunpeng series, occupying the 3000–4000 yuan price range that domestic brands craved.

As for the future Full-Screen Display series, Chen Chen had decided to push it directly into the 6000 yuan+ price range.

This year's red star 3 was made thin and light enough, and its photography capabilities were not bad, but ultimately, its appeal to the female market wasn't that strong. Therefore, it was really necessary to release another phone targeting the female market, focusing on being thin, light, having good selfie capabilities, and aesthetics, with a price between 2000 and 3000.

Of course, with the development of the times and the increase in consumer purchasing power, these price points would definitely continue to rise.

Just as Chen Chen was reviewing his product line, a piece of news suddenly shocked the entire mobile phone and technology industry.