Premium segment smartphones (US$400 wholesale price) generated almost 80 percent of the global handset profit during Q2 2017, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple dominated the premium segment where profit margins are high as most of its profits come from above US$400 models.
Qualcomm announced that the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) has reached a decision in a TFTC investigation, stating in a press release that certain of the company’s business practices are in violation of Taiwanese competition law and imposing a fine of approximately $23.4 billion Taiwan dollars (approximately $773 million US dollars at current exchange rates).
Nokia is bringing several new products to its extensive FTTx portfolio so operators can accelerate ultra-broadband deployments and deliver more bandwidth to more people sooner. Nokia's enhanced FTTx portfolio includes fiber and high-speed DSL deployment options including a mini outdoor fiber node, a 212Mhz reverse-power G.fast solution and DSL backhaul remote nodes.
Nuage Networks, the Nokia venture focused on software-defined networking (SDN) solutions, announced a significant addition to its roster of global financial customers with its first SDN-based, large enterprise project win in China with China Pacific Insurance Company (CPIC), the country's second-largest property insurance company.
ASUS chief executive, Jerry Shen, said “always-connected PC” will soon be a reality at Qualcomm’s 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong on October 17. He said the company is always in search of new ideas and user experiences, and is currently looking to attract customers to the new category of always-connected personal computers.
Apple appears to be facing a setback in China after a Financial Times survey revealed that smartphone buyers in the country are choosing domestic brands over California-based Apple iPhone products, with Huawei being their first choice. Huawei has the top spot, according to the survey, with 31.4 percent of respondents opting for the brand.
The report said, “The proportion of people saying they would buy an iPhone as their next phone dropped to 24.2 percent in September, compared with 25.8 percent at the time of the iPhone 7 launch in 2016 and 31.4 percent in 2015.”
Huawei surpassed Apple in global smartphone sales consistently for June and July this year, according to research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse. But with the release of Apple’s latest iPhone X, there’s a chance Huawei could be pushed back into third place. Samsung holds the number one spot globally.
“This is a significant milestone for Huawei, the largest Chinese smartphone brand with a growing global presence,” said Counterpoint’s Research Director, Peter Richardson. “It speaks volumes for this primarily network infrastructure vendor on how far it has grown in the consumer mobile handset space in the last three to four years.”
Huawei’s global growth, Richardson says, can be attributed to its consistent investment in R&D and manufacturing, coupled with aggressive marketing and sales channel expansion. While this success streak could be temporary considering Apple’s annual iPhone refresh, Richardson adds, it nevertheless underscores the rate at which Huawei has been growing.
Samsung Electronics announced that Vice Chairman Oh-Hyun Kwon plans to resign as the company’s head of the Device Solutions Business and will not seek re-election as a member of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Board when his term ends in March, 2018. Vice Chairman Kwon will also resign as the Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Display.
Singtel and Ericsson will jointly establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to facilitate 5G development and deployment in Singapore. 5G, the next-generation mobile network technology, is expected to roll out globally from 2020 and will deliver massive connectivity, ultra-low latency, gigabit speeds, and enable advanced applications such as smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, and autonomous vehicles.
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, and Zhuhai Da Hengqin Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. (DHQ Tech) will together explore the technological and regulatory viability of promoting multi-currency ‘Tap & Go’ mobile payment in the Greater Bay Area of Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau, in order to boost e-commerce, business trade and tourism in the region.
Q2 growth for tablets and business smartphones was up slightly this year, as the market shows signs of a rebound, according to research by Strategy Analytics. Business smartphone shipments grew 14.8 percent year-on-year to reach 107.1 million units in Q2, up 6.1 percent sequentially from Q1. Tablets reached 17.3 million units in Q2, up 7.5 percent from Q1.
