China to continue to drive iPhone sales – despite subsidy cuts
NEW BLOG: Neither cuts in handset subsidies, nor rumours of government bans, will dent sales of iPhones in China anytime soon. Reports earlier in the month that certain Apple products were blacklisted...
View ArticleiPhone 6 delay in China: blame NFC capability
NEW BLOG: The omission of China in the first wave [1] of iPhone 6 launches has nothing to do with a crackdown on successful foreign companies, a willful delay in the certification process or a rethink...
View ArticleBlog: The ‘s’ aside, Apple is offering a new type of upgrade
“The process of buying an iPhone could be simpler,” proclaimed Apple CEO Tim Cook, who, during the glitz and glamour of the company’s annual product unveil earlier this month, had an unexpected...
View ArticleBlog: Chinese firms strengthen smartphone share – but for how long?
Five years ago the smartphone market was dominated by western and South Korean firms. In Q3 2010 Nokia was the market leader, followed by Samsung, LG and BlackBerry, with Apple breaking into the...
View ArticleBlog: Rumours swirl as smartphone makers battle for top spot on Singles’ Day
UPDATED 24-11: China’s Singles’ Day (11 November or 11-11) has turned into more of a brag-fest, with smartphone brands racing to release their “record numbers” the next day. Xiaomi, after three years,...
View ArticleBlog: China smartphone market slows, but top 5 brands flourish
China’s smartphone market is slowing after years of double-digit growth, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the 2015 results of the top five selling brands in the mainland, which saw shipments jump...
View ArticleBlog: As Apple sneezes, mobile operators catch cold
Apple recently reported its first drop in iPhone sales [1] since the iconic handset was launched in 2007, with Greater China suffering the sharpest drop globally. While iPhone sales in mainland China...
View ArticleBlog: Is Africa the new smartphone hotspot?
Sub-Saharan Africa isn't generally discussed in terms of being a hotspot for smartphone usage, but in the last few months we’ve heard from a growing number of voices discussing the region as the next...
View ArticleBlog: Will waterproofing make a splash in mid-tier?
Despite high-profile launches of waterproof flagship handsets, the majority of devices still go to market vulnerable to spillages and heavy rain. Increased consumer expectations and cost of repair led...
View ArticleBlog: Samsung talks up Bixby, but will it deliver?
The world will be watching Samsung next week when the company unveils its first major phone since the crisis-ridden Galaxy Note 7, which was embarrassingly recalled over its battery's tendency to...
View ArticleBlog: Are smartphones losing role as central interface?
When Google unveiled its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Google Assistant in October 2016 [1], CEO Sundar Pichai commented the world is moving from being “mobile first” to “AI first”. The...
View ArticleBlog: Dismissing Huawei laptop push unwise
In 2012 I attended a Huawei smartphone launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. I don’t remember which device it was; what I remember was the bullish forecast Richard Yu, CEO of the vendor's...
View ArticleBlog: Huawei looks for privacy boost from machine learning
On the same day Apple was holding its 2017 Worldwide Developer Conference [1] (WWDC) in California, US, I was on the other side of the world talking software with Huawei in Shenzhen, China. At first...
View ArticleBlog: Is next Apple Watch perfect timing for LPWA?
Along with the much-anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone (which could be called the iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone Edition - take your pick at this stage), Apple is also reportedly planning to release a...
View ArticleBlog: Qualcomm turns the focus to technology
It's been a tough year for Qualcomm. Obviously various regulators continued their investigations into the company, but such a statement could apply to any year, not just 2017. The first thing to mark...
View ArticleBlog: Tech tribulations follow US/China trade spat
It’s not an easy time to be a Chinese company working with US partners. With the two countries on the verge of a fully-fledged trade war [1], relationships are likely to become more fraught,...
View ArticleBlog: Honor takes on parent Huawei in top 3 ambition
Honor, the Huawei-owned smartphone brand targeting “digital natives”, raised eyebrows late last year when it outlined some lofty goals for growth. But early figures for its latest smartphones indicate...
View ArticleBlog: Are smartphone rentals value for money?
The largest mobile operators in South Korea and Singapore – SK Telecom (SKT) and Singtel – introduced two-year handset leasing plans in early June for a number of iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models....
View ArticleIntelligence Brief: The new iPhones – what we know and what you should be...
Next Wednesday I’ll be in LA (at Mobile World Congress Americas) running from meeting to meeting and soaking up insights about the mobile industry from all the exhibitors, speakers, etc. Meanwhile, up...
View ArticleIntelligence Brief: Where were the Apple AR wearables?
Despite some early speculation that Apple might choose to pre-announce a new augmented reality (AR) device, there were no new AR product launches at last week’s iPhone event [1]. This silence is...
View ArticleGuest Blog: Huawei smartphones skirt security woes
As Huawei's infrastructure business comes under continued pressure, its devices unit is experiencing continued strength, James Kielty from DeviceAtlas finds. At MWC19 Barcelona, Huawei rotating...
View ArticleBlog: Huawei woes could spark smartphone shakeup
Huawei’s loss of access to Google products and services [1] in its Android devices is set to lead to significant disruption in the smartphone market, as both the Chinese vendor and its peers look to...
View ArticleBlog: Have foldable problems snapped market demand?
What a difference six months makes. Rewind to MWC Barcelona in February and smartphones with folding displays were a major industry talking point, but have widespread reports of damaged review copies...
View ArticleBlog: Survival of the Fitbit
It’s the dream for many technology start-ups to be eventually acquired by a huge player like Google in a multi-million-dollar deal, and in Fitbit’s case this looks set to come true with a staggering...
View ArticleBlog: Is EC common charger move a blow to Apple?
The European Commission (EC) spent more than a decade rallying smartphone manufacturers to install a common charging port in their devices, but its patience has waned, with the institution deeming it...
View ArticleBlog: Why are iPhones so pricey in the Philippines?
Successive analyses by Mobile World Live (MWL) into iPhone pricing in 11 key Asia-Pacific markets revealed consumers in the Philippines face the highest prices for Apple’s smartphones in the region....
View ArticleBlog: Has smartphone innovation gone stale?
Year-after-year we see smartphone manufacturers mass produce and unveil identical small black boxes, albeit with their own little twists to catch the eye. But fundamentally they are all the same: not...
View ArticleBlog: Will BlackBerry mark-3 strike the right key?
When TCL Communication announced the end of its licence to make and sell BlackBerry handsets [1] it looked likely the brand would end up confined to conversations about the good old days of BBM and how...
View ArticleBlog: Why did life stop being good for LG?
Despite its Life’s Good slogan, this week delivered a bleak outlook for followers of LG Electronics’ mobile handsets, as the company confirmed it would axe the loss-making division [1] rather than...
View ArticleBlog: Can self-repair fix the smartphone waste problem?
As regulators across multiple markets [1] seek to tackle ever-increasing mountains of electronic waste, smartphone makers have been pushed to extend the lifespan of devices. In response several...
View Article
