Highlights: Both Samsung and Apple lost smartphone shipment market share. Chinese players HOVX (Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi) end the year with positive growth. HMD Global registered a 126 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth. The global smartphone market saw a 4 percent decline in shipment in Calendar Year (CY) 2018 even as the fourth quarter of the year saw a 7 percent fall, Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor Service has said. The research firm claims that the decline in shipments in Q4 2018 marks the fifth consecutive quarter of this behaviour. Chinese players HOVX (Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi) continue to defy market decline ending the year with positive growth, the report notes. “This is the first time that the global smartphone market has witnessed decline for a whole year. The decline in smartphone shipments can be attributed to lengthening replacement cycles in developed markets like US, China and Western Europe. Smartphone OEMs tried to push sales by adding features such as AI, multiple camera assemblies, full-screen displays, in-screen fingerprint scanners etc. but consumers held on to their devices longer due to the absence of groundbreaking innovations and higher prices of devices being offered by the OEMs,” Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement. Pathak said that in 2019, the smartphone-makers are looking to launch devices with specifications like 5G, foldable displays, punch-hole cameras and full-screen in-display fingerprint scanners to lure consumers to upgrade. The global decline can be attributed to the decrease in smartphone shipments in China, which was responsible for almost 1/3rd of global smartphone shipments in 2018. The magnitude of decline is so huge that the collective smartphone shipment growth of emerging markets such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia and others was not enough to offset the decline in China. “With China showing little or no sign of recovery due to various politico-economic factors, Chinese brands are looking to expand overseas. To increase market share, Chinese brands have been aggressive in both hardware/software design and marketing. They are bringing many firsts into smartphone designs and are taking multiple brand strategies to enter new segments without making a compromise of their brand image,” added Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research. Brand-wise segregation of smartphone shipments: Samsung and Apple saw a tough quarter and tough 2018 as demand for their flagship phones have waned due to competition from affordable premium offerings from Chinese brands such as Huawei and OnePlus. Apple has already attempted to reduce prices in China in oorder to reduce losses, but the firm claims that a small price cut will not move the needle. It says that Apple’s buy-back programmes and installment plans “will be more effective.” Huawei took the third spot, followed by Xiaomi, which surpassed Oppo globally to take back the fourth position. BBK Group, which owns Oppo, Realme, Vivo and OnePlus brands, is collectively the world’s third largest manufacturer, even bigger than Huawei in terms of volume. HMD Global, the company that sells the Nokia-branded phones, registered a whopping 126 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in the CY2018. In the fourth quarter, the company registered a 6 percent YoY growth. Related Read: Jio Phones top feature phone, overall handset Indian market in 2018: Counterpoint Research Overall iPhone sales down 20% YoY in November: Counterpoint Research
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Highlights: Apple is reportedly working on a laser-based 3D camera system for 2020 iPhones. The new camera setup is said to enable better AR implementation and imaging functionality. The company is said to debut the tech with a new 10-inch iPad. We already know that Apple is working on its new generation of iPhones as we brought you the first look at how the upcoming iPhone XI might look like, with a triple-rear camera on the back. Now, a new report by Bloomberg claims that the company is planning to launch the 2020 iPhones with a “more-powerful 3-D camera to get a leg up in the Augmented Reality (AR) market". Citing people close to the development, the report states that future iPhones could come equipped with a longer-range 3D camera that is made for scanning the environment and reconstructing it in 3D. It is said to work up to about 15 feet from the device, as opposed to the front-facing 3D camera in current generation iPhones that can scan a user’s face from about 30 cms for enabling Face ID. While the current generation face scanning technology used by Apple employs dot-projection for creating a 3D model, future iPhones will reportedly use a laser scanner that is better suited to work over longer distances. This sensor could theoretically enable enhanced AR functionalities with better depth perception for placement of objects in the AR space. It could also be used for imaging application and enable better depth in images captured in portrait mode. Apple is apparently talking to Sony about testing sensors for its phones. The new laser-based 3D sensor is said to be one of the many new features, as Apple is also said to introduce a third “more advanced camera, enhanced photo-capture tools and a more powerful chip” in its 2020 iPhone lineup. Even though the new 3D camera system might be introduced in the upcoming iPhones, the report suggests that it could first debut on an upgraded iPad Pro, which could be launched in early spring 2020. Additionally, the company plans to unveil an updated version of the more affordable iPad with a faster chip, maybe the A12 Bionic, and a 10-inch display. While the new iPad Pro comes with USB-C ports, this upcoming iPad is said to retain the Lightning connector. Additionally, there could also be a new, cheaper iPad Mini in the works. Coming to this year's speculated iPhone lineup by Apple, previous reports suggested that the company is planning an upgrade for the iPhone XS (codename D42), XS Max (D43), and the iPhone XR. Bloomberg reports that the top-end iPhone model coming this year will feature a triple-rear camera setup and the other models could be updated with the new camera setup as well. This new camera setup should’ve made its way to the current iPhone line-up but the company reportedly delayed it. In addition to the new camera tech, Apple could also incorporate a USB-C connector instead of the Lightning port. An upgraded processor can also be expected, along with updated Face ID sensor for unlocking the device and payments approval. Delving more details on the camera setup, the report states that inclusion of a third camera on the 2019 iPhones will enable them to capture a wider area, maybe with a wide-angle lens, and enable better zoom capabilities. This new setup is said to capture more pixels for the Apple software that might be used in various scenarios. An example being reparation of a video or photo to include a subject that’s accidentally cut off from the initial shot. The Live Photos feature is also said to get an update with the length of the video being doubled from three to six seconds. Finally, there is some new information on Apple’s upcoming iOS 13. The new operating system revision could introduce a dark mode for devices, along with some improvements for CarPlay. iPad centric updates include a new home screen, improvements to file management, and the option to tab through multiple versions of a single app, which is said to be similar to switching between tabs in a browser. Later this year, Apple is said to combine two new services via iOS updates, a magazine subscription service and its alleged video streaming service. Related Reads: Apple bans Facebook Research App that allegedly spied on teenagers Apple sued over FaceTime eavesdropping bug Sharp hopes to be OLED supplier for future Apple iPhones: Report 
Highlights: Fortnite for Android and iOS now supports bluetooth controllers. The game supports 60FPS on select Android devices. The update for Fortnite on mobile brings with it bug fixes. If you are frustrated using touch controls for Fortnite on iOS and Android then there is good news for you. Epic has updated the game on iOS and Android to support bluetooth controllers. On Android you can use any bluetooth controller, but on iOS users can only use controllers that are “Made for iPhone” certified. On its official website, Epic says, on Android “most of Bluetooth controller adapters, such as Steelseries Stratus XL, Gamevice, XBox1, Razer Raiju, and Moto Gamepad” are supported. On iOS, “MFi controllers, such as Steelseries Nimbus and Gamevice” are supported. Fortnite already supported 60FPS on the new iPhones but the developer has also added 60FPS support for select Android devices. As of now, 60FPS is supported on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (USA variant), HONOR View 20 and the Huawei Mate 20 X. The update also brings with it bug fixes for issues that bar players from building multiple structure types while simultaneously holding down the build button and changing build types. Epic has further "Fixed Harvesting Tool button no longer swaps back to the previously selected weapon, Fixed Multiple simultaneous button presses on mobile can disable the fire button, Fixed No padlock icon appears on the directional pad when locking with auto-run on mobile and Fixed Several UI buttons having lower resolution than the other buttons.” There are a number of other additions to the game and you can check out all the details of the update on the official Epic website here. Moving to other platforms the game is running on, Fortnite for Xbox has received keyboard and mouse support. Microsoft announced keyboard and mouse support for the Xbox One and Fortnite was one game that capitalized on it. At CES, Razer showcased its Xbox Keyboard and mouse combo and announced support for a number of games. Sadly, PUBG isn’t getting keyboard and mouse support on the console. Speaking of the other popular battle royale game, PUBG, a survey conducted in India found that 73.4 percent of players were found to play PUBG on their smartphones. This is of course because the game is free for smartphones and the specifications required to run PUBG on a phone are not as demanding as Fortnite on a phone. Apart from smartphones PUBG is available on the PC, Xbox One and PS4. The PS4 was the last gaming hardware to get the game. Also read: Fortnite made $2.4 billion revenue in 2018, PUBG earned $1.028 billion: Report Fortnite V7.20 content update brings new Sneaky Snowman item, Sniper Shootout Limited Time Mode and more "PUBG Wala hai kya?" asks PM Modi addressing online gaming during Pariksha Pe Charcha event
