Chinese smartphone-makers dominate global market share, shipments decline yet again: Counterpoint

The combined global smartphone market share of Chinese smartphone-makers Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme (HOVXR) reached 42 percent -- the highest ever -- even as global smartphone shipments fell by 1.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) to 360 million units during the second quarter of 2019, making it the seventh consecutive quarter of decline, Counterpoint Research has said in its latest report.

The market research firm attributed heavy marketing, faster portfolio refresh, high spec devices at aggressive prices, and multi-channel presence as some of the key reasons why the Chinese brands fared better than other global OEMs. This happened even when the Chinese smartphone market continued to decline. China alone accounts for over one-fourth of the global smartphone shipments and declined by 9 percent YoY during the quarter. Meanwhile, India remained a key growth market as the shipments set a second-quarter record.

“The US-China trade war escalated with Huawei added in the entity list in May. Despite the ban, Huawei was able to register a 4.6 percent growth during the quarter, capturing a 16 percent market share. The effect of the ban did not translate into falling shipments during this quarter, which will not be the case in the future. In the coming quarters, Huawei is likely to be aggressive in its home market and register some growth there, but it will not be enough to offset for the decline in its overseas shipments. This will further lead to the decline of the overall smartphone market in 2019. However, the gap created in the market by Huawei gives a window of opportunity to other OEMs, especially Samsung, to leverage,” Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.

Varun Mishra, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research noted, “We expect that 5G will have a faster rollout than 4G LTE. Unlike 4G, which was split between FDD-LTE and TD-LTE, 5G has a universal standard, which will make the ramp-up faster. We expect sales of 5G devices to be over 20 million in 2019. Network expansion of carriers, subsidies, and more OEMs committing to early 5G device launches than during the early 4G era Since these devices are expected to be limited to the premium segment in 2019, the adoption will also drive the market average selling price (ASP). Consumers are also expecting to pay higher for the 5G smartphone than what they paid for the 4G device.”

The firms says that a portion of the decline in 2019 is likely to be compensated by the adoption of 5G. Even though shipments has continued to decline, the market Average Selling Price (ASP) is likely to increase, which will drive revenue for the industry. The adoption of 5G in mature economies and the shift from entry-level phones to mid-segment phones in emerging economies will drive up ASPs, Counterpoint Research said.

Brandwise segregation:

Samsung grew by 7.1 percent (YoY), capturing over one-fifth of the global smartphone market share. The OEM has completely overhauled its product portfolio in 2019 with its A and M series targeting the sub $300 price segment aggressively. Huawei grew by 4.6 percent (YoY), but the US trade ban will affect its growth momentum, especially in the overseas market. The effect in Q2 2019 was not severe because the order came late into the quarter. The real effect of the trade sanction will be in Q3 2019, it said.

Apple iPhone shipments fell by 11 percent, and iPhone revenues fell by 12 percent year-on-year. This was the third consecutive quarter of decline in Apple iPhone shipments. To ramp up sales, Apple implemented price cuts for the iPhone XR in India and China markets. Realme entered the top 10 OEMs globally for the first time. It took Realme only one year to achieve this feat. This was also the third consecutive quarter that Realme sold within the top 5 brands in India.

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Indian Air Force Mobile Game Launched, Features Wing Commander Abhinandan’s Lookalike

In a bid to make the youth aware about Indian Air Force and encourage them to join the Forces, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa launched a combat-based mobile game 'Indian Air Force: A cut above'.

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Lenovo Yoga S940 Thin and Light premium laptop, Yoga A940 all-in-one desktop and more new laptops launched in India

Lenovo has announced some new devices in India at an event today with the highlighted product being the new Lenovo Yoga S940 laptop. The company boasts of equipping the new laptop with AI-enabled “advanced audio and display technologies.” However, alongside the new laptop, the company also announced Yoga A940 All-In-One (AIO) PC aimed at content creators, which supports digital pen input on its 27-inch QHD IPS touchscreen display with Dolby Vision. In addition, the new IdeaPad S540, IdeaPad S340, and IdeaPad S145 laptops were announced. The IdeaPad S540 comes in 14-inch and 15-inch versions and is powered by up to Intel 8th Gen Core i7 processor, while the IdeaPad S340 comes in 14-inch and 15-inch variants, and also runs on up to Intel 8th Gen Core i7 processor.

Lenovo Yoga S940

The Lenovo Yoga S940 comes equipped with Contour Glass, which the company claims helps reduce the display bezels. The laptop manufacturer has also touted some AI-based features on the laptop like moving content from the device’s display to a monitor, blurring background during video calls, and more. The Yoga S940 is powered by up to Intel 8th Gen Core i7 processor and comes with up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB of PCIe SSD storage. The laptop features two display options: 14-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) IPS HDR with Dolby Vision and 14-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS with Dolby Vision.

The Yoga S940 features two Type-C Thunderbolt ports, one Type-C DC-in and a USB 3.1 port, along with a standard audio jack. Equipped with Dolby Atmos Speaker System, the laptop is said to offer a battery life of up to 7.5 hours on the 4K display variant and up to 15 hours on Full HD display model. The Yoga S940 is available at a starting price of Rs 1,39,990 from Lenovo.com, leading e-tailers and offline via Lenovo stores in India. One can also use the company's ‘Made to order’ program to customise and build their own S940.

Lenovo Yoga A940 AIO

As mentioned earlier, the Yoga A940 comes equipped with a 27-inch QHD IPS touchscreen display with Dolby Vision. The device features a rotating hinge, which enables tilting of the display to a 25-degree drafting mode, which is said to assist while drawing, sketching, or annotating with a digital pen. The Yoga A940 AIO also features Lenovo Precision Dial, that is said to enable precise selections and adjustments to content. The Yoga A940 all-in-one desktop will be available at a starting price of Rs 1,69,990 on Lenovo.com and in key stores.

                     

Lenovo IdeaPad S540 

The Lenovo IdeaPad S540 comes in 14-inch and 15-inch variants with a Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS Anti-Glare display. It is powered by up to Intel 8th Gen Core i7 processor and comes with the options of Nvidia GeForce MX 250, GTX 1650, and Intel Integrated Graphics. With up to 12GB RAM and up to 16GB Optane DRAM, the company offers up to 512GB of PCIe SSD storage, along with SSD + HDD storage option of up to 128GB + 1TB. There’s also up to 1TB + 16GB HDD + Optane option. The Ideapad S540 is equipped with one USB-C port, two USB 3.1 ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port for the Nvidia GTX model. The laptop is priced starting at Rs 64,990. 

Lenovo IdeaPad S340

The Lenovo IdeaPad S340 comes in 14-inch and a 15-inch variants as well. The laptop is powered by up to Intel 8th Gen Core i7 processor. For memory and storage, Lenovo has equipped the device with up to 12GB DDR4 RAM and 16GB Dual Channel Optane DRAM. There’s also up to 128GB/ 256GB M.2 SSD PCIe/SATA support along with Hybrid (M.2 PCIe/SATA) configuration of 128 GB + 1TB/2TB HDD, 1TB/2TB HDD. The 14-inch variant of the laptop is available with up to 14-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS panel with 250 nits of brightness while its 15-inch variant comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) TN panel and IPS panel for the touchscreen variant. The Lenovo IdeaPad starts at Rs 36,990.

Lenovo IdeaPad S145

The Lenovo IdeaPad S145 is priced starting at Rs 23,990 in India. The entry-level laptop comes equipped with AMD's A6 processor. It can be bought with the optional Nvidia GeForce MX110 GPU. Available in various memory and storage configurations, the laptop comes in 14-inch and 15-inch variants. It is equipped with a Full HD 14-inch (1920 x 1080) TN panel and also comes in 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) TN Anti-Glare panel. The device features two USB 3.1 ports, one USB 2.0 Port and one HDMI 1.4b. 

Inline image courtesy: Lenovo

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Honor 8X, Honor 10 confirmed to get Android Q update

After the whole Huawei fiasco with the US government, Honor has confirmed that it will be updating the Honor 8X and Honor 10 to Android’s latest version, Android Q later in the year. Hence, while Huawei has reportedly been working on a homegrown smartphone OS, the development of EMUI 10 based on Android Q appears to be going on in full swing too.

As per Honor India’s Twitter handle, it said, “Thank you for showing your interest for Android Q. We would like to inform you that our software team has already evaluated and confirmed the compatibility of Android Q upgrade with Honor 10,” in reply to a query. The Honor 10 was launched last year with EMUI 8.1 based on Android 8.1 Oreo and eventually updated to EMUI 9.0 based on Android 9 Pie last year.

The Twitter handle posted a similar reply to a query about the Honor 8X update. It said, “Thank you for showing your interest for Android Q. We would like to inform you that our software team has already evaluated and confirmed the compatibility of Android Q upgrade with Honor 8X.” To recall, Honor 8X was launched with EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo last year. However, it went on to get the Android Pie update earlier this year, and now it looks like the device will get the next major Android update as well.

In the meantime, the Honor 7X, which was launched in 2017, may finally start receiving the Android Pie update in August. In reply to a query about the Honor 7X, the company replied, “Thank you for reaching out to us. We would like to inform you that our software team has confirmed the compatibility of device with EMUI 9.0/Android Pie and expected to be released the final version of EMUI 9.0/Android Pie tentatively by end of July 2019."

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Nintendo Switch Lite is Now Up for Pre-Orders in the UK, US Ahead of September 20 Release Date

Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch Lite handheld console have kicked off in the UK and US ahead of its scheduled September 20 market release.

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Google Chrome 76 with Incognito Mode tweaks is now rolling out globally

Google has started rolling out Chrome 76 to Mac, Windows, and Linux devices globally. The latest version will include all the changes that have already been discussed in the recent weeks. Google says that Chrome 76 (version 76.0.3809.89) for Android will become available on Google Play over the next few weeks, and it also includes stability and performance improvements. For those who would like to see a full list of the changes can go to Git log, and can file a bug if they see any issues there.

The major improvements are made in the Incognito Mode. The latest release will now make it harder for publications, which rely on subscriptions, to detect if a user is using the Incognito Mode for browsing their websites. Some publishers have used a loophole in Chrome to deter metered paywall circumvention. These websites use FileSystem API loophole to detect whether a person is browsing in Incognito Mode and once detected, they provide users a different experience, that is, they are still able to limit the “free articles”.

To get more clarity on the subject, let’s take a look at an example. Generally, a subscription-based publication gives a certain number of free articles in a month. If you are browsing a publication like this, it generally mentions the number of ‘free articles’ that you can read in a month. Once you pass that ‘free article’ limit, the publication will ask you to subscribe to read more articles.

In a bid to skip this limit, users generally visit such sites through Incognito Mode. However, these sites have mechanisms (such as access to cookies) in place that can detect the free article count. With the latest modification in Chrome, these sites won't be able to detect if a user is browsing in Incognito Mode.

“Sites that wish to deter meter circumvention have options such as reducing the number of free articles someone can view before logging in, requiring free registration to view any content, or hardening their paywalls. Other sites offer more generous meters as a way to develop affinity among potential subscribers, recognising some people will always look for workarounds.  We suggest publishers monitor the effect of the FileSystem API change before taking reactive measures,” Barb Palser, Partner Development Manager, News and Web Partnerships, had said when she wrote a blog post explaining the changes.

Further, starting with the Chrome 76, the Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) will now check for updates daily instead of every three days before. Additionally, Chrome 76 will block Flash by default in the browser. However, users still have the option to switch back to the current “Ask first” option for a few more releases. Google says that by not using Flash, users would be able to enjoy “faster, safer, and more battery-efficient browsing experience.” Adobe had announced the end of support for Flash in July 2017.

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Android Auto gets new launcher, Google Assistant badges and more

Google has announced a new update for its Android Auto platform. This update will come to all vehicles running the official version of the platform and will roll out over the next few weeks. The update includes a new app launcher, Google Assistant badges, improvements to how media is played and more. Google made the announcement via its official blog. “As you hit the road this summer, Android Auto is sporting a new look with features that make driving more simple, personal and helpful,” the company writes.

The new Android Auto update adds a new app launcher that is aimed at being more streamlined. The bottom left button will bring up the app launcher, with the commonly used apps featured on the top row. Further, several icons will now feature a Google Assistant badge. Tapping that icon will prompt Assistant to read out the information to you. This includes weather reports, news, reminders and more. Android Auto will now also automatically pick up music and podcasts from where you left off. However, the feature is limited to media apps compatible with Auto.  

The new update also introduces updates to navigation. If you already have a route queued on your phone, Android Auto will automatically populate the directions and start navigating to the location. Further, the navigation bar will now sit at the bottom of the display, letting users manage multiple apps more easily. There is also a new notification button that lets users access recent calls, messages, and alerts. Further, Android Auto now supports widescreen displays.

Google notes that this new version will not be reflected in Android Auto on the phone. The phone screen experience will be switched to the Google Assistant’s new driving mode that was showcased at this year’s Google I/O.

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