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Friday, 1 May 2020

Global smartphone shipments are down big time, but there are two winners

The Q1 2020 smartphone shipment reports are out now, and three tracking firms have reported double-digit drops in global shipments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canalys and Counterpoint Research reported year-on-year drops of 13% for the quarter, while Omdia said smartphone shipments dropped by 16%. Either way, this represents an unprecedented drop for the industry. Click the images below to view the tracking figures.

The three tracking firms all reported lower figures for the top three players (Samsung, Huawei, and Apple respectively), with Samsung and Huawei seeing a year-on-year drop of between 17% and 18%, while Apple was listed as dropping by between 5% to 12%.

Xiaomi and Realme stand out

But two out of the three tracking firms reported that fourth-placed Xiaomi was the only brand in the top five to actually grow its smartphone shipments (by between 7% and 9%). The third tracking company reported an 8.2% year-on-year decline for the Chinese firm.

Omdia and Counterpoint Research also note that Realme saw explosive growth during the quarter, claiming growth of between 88% and a massive 157%. Omdia didn’t list Realme in its report.

To be fair, Realme is a relatively new brand, and growth tends to look impressive when you’re starting from zero. But the company’s recent Realme 6 series offer plenty of bang for the buck, while the Realme X50 Pro 5G is one of the cheapest 5G flagships in Europe right now. So it isn’t really a surprise to see its smartphone shipments grow in general — its performance in the current economic climate is impressive though.

COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a 10-year low in smartphone sales

Update: April 2, 2020 (1:05 PM ET): A recent report by technology analyst firm CCS Insight revealed yearly smartphone shipments could fall short by 13% YoY by the end of 2020 thanks to the coronavirus …

Two out of the three tracking firms say OEMs are bracing for an even steeper decline in Q2 2020, although all eyes are on the second half of 2020 for a potential recovery.

“The smartphone market will face major struggles in the first half of 2020 as different countries experience the initial shock and recovery periods at different times. That’s why OEMs are more afraid of second-quarter sales results,” Jusy Hong, research director at Omdia, was quoted as saying. “However, Omdia does expect the smartphone market to start to recover in some countries and regions in the second half of the year.”

“Most smartphone companies expect Q2 to represent the peak of the coronavirus’ impact,” said Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton, adding that brands need to adapt their strategies during this time.

DxOMark: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip got a camera score of 105 points

DxOMark has just published the camera score of Samsung's newest foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Flip.

This is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

Not bad for a dual-cam module

Despite not having a lot of cameras, the Samsung flip phone achieved an impressive score. It got a Photo score of 109 points and a Video score of 96 points for an average score of 105 points.

105 total score

In comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip is just a bit below the Apple iPhone XS Max with 106 points. It is even ahead of the ASUS ZenFone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note9 with 104 and 103 total points, respectively.

But obviously, it is lower than the similarly priced flagships with over 120 points like the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

To recall, this device features a 12MP f/1.8 primary camera with Dual Pixel and OIS. It is paired with a 12MP f/2.2 123-degree ultra-wide-angle camera.

DxOMark noted that it has a fairly wide dynamic range under all conditions with good color rendering and white balance. But, details are sometimes low and autofocus is slow. For videos, it has vivid and pleasant colors with fast focus and effective stabilization. But, the dynamic range is limited.

When it comes to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, the star of the show is that folding screen, and your take on the phone’s premium price tag is more about what that feature means to you than anything else. The Flip’s imaging system is far from an afterthought, but it doesn’t really compete with the best available cameras in other phones in its lofty price bracket (including Samsung’s other flagship devices).

DxOMark has yet to reveal the selfie score of its 10MP f/2.4 front camera.

Source: DxOMark

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Samsung 2020 Q1 results reveals increased profits from smartphones

Samsung Electronics announced the first quarter 2020 results which reveal that the mobile business reported increased operating profit despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samsung Galaxy S20 series

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Samsung profits

Samsung published its January to March 2020 quarterly report that reveals a slight revenue decrease but with increased profits compared to Q1 2019.

The mobile business reports less revenue compared to a year ago but with increased operating profits. This means that despite the decline in units shipped, the Galaxy S20 along with the growing 5G mobile line-up allowed Samsung to maintain a profit.

The Korean giant expects a sharp drop in most regions caused by the COVID-19 economic downturn. This means that Samsung expects both sales and overall business performance will decline as many stores were closed, and as many people were left without income source, which results in less purchasing power.

Samsung is focusing on minimizing the impact by intensifying the overall smartphone market competition.

Lastly, the company reveals that new foldable and Note-series models should be expected as well as improved 5G mass-market adoption.

To recall, Samsung is the world's largest mobile phone maker.

What do you guys think?

Sources: Samsung, GSMArena

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YouTube rolls out personalized ‘topics filters’ on iOS and Web

YouTube is making it easier for you to watch videos on topics that you like. The streaming company is rolling out recommendation filters in the form of topic bubbles on desktop and iOS that’ll be situated atop your feed. The company said previously the feature was only available on Android. However, it’s rolling out to iOS and desktop users starting today. So you might see that appear on top of your feed anytime now. These topics are based on your viewing history and personalized recommendations. YouTube has also added support for French, Portuguese, and Spanish languages for this feature. The company…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: iOS,YouTube

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Poco F2 Pro prices may have just leaked

Poco X2 and back panel

The price of Poco’s next flagship phone is a question that’s been on everyone’s mind. Surely the company can’t deliver a $300 phone with the costly Snapdragon 865 SoC onboard, but it needs to maintain its value-for-money motto to remain true to its brand image.

Looks like we now have some idea as to where Poco is headed with its F2 series. Portuguese website 4gnews claims to know the prices for the Poco F2 Pro in Portugal.

According to the publication (which doesn’t seem to have a track record for major leaks), prices for the Poco F2 Pro will start at €649 (~$711) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model. The 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant will reportedly come in at €749 (~$820). Meanwhile, the Poco F1 first launched in Europe at €329 for a 6GB/64GB model, and €369 for the 128GB variant.

What to expect for wider pricing?

That sounds pretty expensive for a Poco phone then. In fact, these prices bring the upcoming Poco flagship almost on par with the OnePlus 8 series. However, the report notes that smartphone prices in Portugal are usually higher than the rest of Europe.

For instance, the vanilla OnePlus 8 costs €719 in Portugal compared to €699 in France and other European countries. If we go by this example, the Poco F2 Pro could end up costing somewhere around €600 to €630 in most of Europe.

First Redmi, now Poco: What’s the deal with all the Xiaomi sub-brands?

With over 158 million smartphones shipped in 2019, India is indisputably the second-largest smartphone market in the world. As sales plateau in China, manufacturers have been looking at new ways to grow their market in …

Now remember, we haven’t really come across this source before, so take these Poco F2 Pro prices with a grain of salt. If, however, they do turn out to be true, this is the highest Poco has ever gone in terms of pricing. The Poco F2 Pro is largely believed to be the same phone as the Redmi K30 Pro.

In China, the K30 Pro costs 2,999 yuan (~$424 or €387) for the most basic 6GB RAM version. Add a telephoto camera and it becomes the Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition, priced at 3,799 yuan (~$537 or €491).

These price tags are way lower than what the Poco flagship is expected to cost in Europe, although European prices are generally higher than Chinese prices. For example, the Mi 10 series starts at 3,999 yuan (~$566) in China, while the phone starts at €799 (~$875) in Europe. So we wonder what the company is up to and if it’ll manage to create the same buzz as it did with the Poco F1.

We’ll update this article as and when we know more about the Poco F2 or F2 Pro.

i android eu

Friday, 1 May 2020

Global smartphone shipments are down big time, but there are two winners

Xiaomi and Realme stand out

COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a 10-year low in smartphone sales

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Samsung just gave us a rough launch window for Galaxy Note 20, Fold 2