OR Samsung is leapfrogging Apple while the Chinese local brands are coming close to Samsung but at less than 40% price. Meanwhile the superphone segment of the market becomes saturated.
This is even more important as coinciding with:
- Eight-core MT6592 for superphones and big.LITTLE MT8135 for tablets implemented in 28nm HKMG are coming from MediaTek to further disrupt the operations of Qualcomm and Samsung [‘Experiencing the cloud’, July 20-29, 2013]
- GiONEE (金立), the emerging global competitor on the smartphone market [‘Experiencing the cloud’, July 22, 2013]
- Xiaomi, OPPO and Meizu–top Chinese brands of smartphone innovation [‘Experiencing the cloud’, Aug 1, 2013]
- UPDATE Aug’13: Xiaomi $130 Hongmi superphone END MediaTek MT6589 quad-core Cortex-A7 SoC with HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA is available for Android smartphones and tablets of Q1 delivery [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Dec 12, 2012; Aug 1, 2013]
Now the following things are coming in addition to that:
[Samsung is] Leapfrogging Apple while regaining only some high-end SoC supply to it
Chinese local brands are coming close to Samsung but at less than 40% price
The superphone segment of the market becomes saturated
Previous (pre-saturation) milestones according to Samsung
This will be the organization of the ‘DETAILS for the assesment of upcoming changes’ part of this post.
To appreciate the real significance of the sudden change characterized above let’s first get acquainted with the current state of the lead market as described in China Report: Device and App Trends in the #1 Mobile Market [by Mary Ellen Gordon on Flurry Blog, July 23, 2013]
Smartphones and tablets have gone from being the latest gadgets for relatively affluent people in relatively affluent countries to ubiquitous devices in mainstream use in many countries around the world. In fact, as we reported in February of this year China surpassed the US to become the country with the largest installed base of connected devices as measured by Flurry Analytics. As we also reported, a second wave of countries around the world is now experiencing the type of growth mobile pioneer countries experienced previously. For example, the mobile markets in the BRIC countries are now all growing faster than the mobile markets in the U.S., U.K., and South Korea.
Knowing that the landscape is constantly shifting, we are beginning a series of blog posts reporting on the use of smartphones, tablets, and apps in particular countries and geographic regions around the world. Given China’s world-leading installed base and considering the China Joy conference (China’s largest digital conference) is this week we thought we would begin there.
In June of this year Flurry Analytics measured 261,333,271 active smartphones and tablets in China. That represented a whopping 24% of the entire worldwide connected device installed base measured by Flurry. The chart below documents the growth in the installed base. The left axis and blue line show China’s growth over the years. The right axis and red line show growth in the world as a whole (including China) a basis of comparison. As can be seen from the gap between the two lines growing through 2010 and much of 2011, growth in smartphones and tablets in China lagged the world as a whole through that period. But starting toward the end of 2011, the installed base in China began a period of exponential growth. During this period it surpassed the growth rate for the world as a whole, as shown by the blue line catching the red line in the graph. We expect China to maintain its leadership (in terms of active installed base) for the foreseeable future because device penetration rate is still relatively low and much opportunity remains, as we reported in a previous post.
Xiaomi Is A Local Manufacturer To Watch
Examining a random sample of 18,310 of the devices in our system in China that run iOS or Android apps revealed that Apple and Samsung are the top two device manufacturers, as they are most everywhere. China’s own Xiaomi was a strong third, with a 6% share of the market, ahead of HTC, Lenovo and a multitude of others. As we noted in a previous post, Xiaomi has been successful in accumulating a large number of active users for each device model it releases. Worldwide, only Apple, Amazon, and Samsung have more active users for each device model released.
It will be interesting to see if Xiaomi can continue to gain share in China – possibly by mopping up share from smaller manufacturers of Android devices – and also if they can begin making gains in other markets outside of China to become more of a global player. With rumors of a Xiaomi tablet circulating, we will also be watching to see if their entry into the tablet market will increase the use of Android tablets in China. Currently 21% of the iOS devices in our randomly drawn sample were tablets compared to only 4% of the Android devices.
Chinese Users Over Index in Reading, Utility, Productivity
In looking at how Chinese people use their connected devices we see similarities and differences compared to the rest of the world. As a general rule worldwide, games dominate time spent in apps measured by Flurry Analytics, and China is no exception. On average, Chinese owners of iOS devices spent 47% of their app in games. The percentage of app time devoted to games was even greater for Android at 56%.
Smartphones and tablets are not just about fun and games in China. Compared to iOS device owners elsewhere, the average time Chinese owners spend using Books, Newsstand, Utility, and Productivity apps is greater than the rest of the world (1.8x, 1.7x, 2.3x, and 2.1x respectively). On average Chinese owners of Android devices spend more than seven times as much time in Finance apps (7.4x) than Android owners elsewhere spend in Finance apps, but they also spend more time in Entertainment apps (1.7x).
Will China’s Exponential Growth Change The Device And App Markets?
It will be interesting to see how China now having leadership in terms of its installed base will impact the device and app markets elsewhere. Given Xiaomi’s success at building a large number of users for each model it releases, it might try to add further scale by expanding internationally – particularly to the other rapidly-growing BRIC markets where brand preferences are not already well-entrenched.
Within China itself, Chinese competitors may have an even greater advantage in the app market since cultural influences and differences are likely to be even more important in the app market than in the device market. There are already strong Chinese app companies such as Baidu and Tencent and clusters of app developers emerging in places like Chengdu. At first they are likely to concentrate on apps for the large local market, but that may eventually lead to growing app exports. For example, the fact that Chinese consumers over-index on some more work and educational-oriented apps may encourage Chinese developers to focus on those areas and innovate, and that could lead to creation of apps that end up being adopted elsewhere in the world. We’re looking forward to discovering what app is to China what Angry Birds was to Finland.
And it is also important to understand that as far as the current situation is concerned Samsung’s China magic upstages Apple [Reuters TV, July 25, 2013]
Tim Cook may be scratching his head over slumping China sales, but smartphone competitor Samsung is raking in the cash. Here’s how the South Korean tech giant is doing it.
Insight: How Samsung is beating Apple in China [Reuters, July 26, 2013]
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook believes that “over the arc of time” China is a huge opportunity for his pathbreaking company. But time looks to be on the side of rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which has been around far longer and penetrated much deeper into the world’s most populous country.
Apple Inc this week said its revenue in Greater China, which also includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, slumped 43 percent to $4.65 billion from the previous quarter. That was also 14 percent lower from the year-ago quarter. Sales were weighed down by a sharp drop in revenues from Hong Kong. “It’s not totally clear why that occurred,” Cook said on a conference call with analysts.
Neither is it totally clear what Apple’s strategy is to deal with Samsung – not to mention a host of smaller, nimbler Chinese challengers.
Today, in the war for what both sides acknowledge is the 21st century’s most important market, Samsung is whipping its American rival. The South Korean giant now has a 19 percent share of the $80 billion smartphone market in China, a market expected to surge to $117 billion by 2017, according to International Data Corp (IDC). That’s 10 percentage points ahead of Apple, which has fallen to 5th in terms of China market share.
Cook said Apple planned to double the number of its retail stores over the next two years – it currently has 8 flagship stores in China and 3 in Hong Kong. But, he added, Apple will invest in distribution “very cautiously because we want to do it with great quality.”
Samsung, with a longer history in China, now has three times the number of retail stores as Apple, and has been more aggressive in courting consumers and creating partnerships with phone operators. It also appears to be in better position, over an arc of time, to fend off the growing assault of homegrown competitors such as Lenovo Group Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, former company executives, analysts and industry sources say.
Apple declined requests for comment for this article.
VARIED MODELS
Samsung’s history and corporate culture could hardly be more different than Apple’s, the iconic Silicon Valley start-up founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Lee Byung-Chull started Samsung in 1938 as a noodle and sugar maker. It grew over the decades into an industrial powerhouse, or chaebol as Koreans call the family owned conglomerates that dominate the nation’s economy and are run with military-like discipline.
Apple, by contrast, became the epitome of Californian cool, an image the company revels in. That hip image translates in China – its stores are routinely packed – but hasn’t been enough to overcome the more entrenched Samsung.
A stuffy electronics bazaar in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen illustrates part of the reason why.
Samsung Galaxys and Apple iPhones of different generations sit side by side, glinting under bright display lights as vendors call out to get customers’ attention. With its varied models, Samsung smartphones outnumber iPhones at least four to one.
While Apple releases only one smartphone a year, priced at the premium end of the market, Samsung brings out multiple models annually with different specifications and at different price points in China.
And those models, analysts say, are loaded with features tailored specifically for the local market: apps such POCO.cn, the most popular photo sharing site in China, or the two slots for SIM cards (Apple offers one), which allows service from multiple cell carriers, either at home or abroad.
“The Chinese just love features. They want their phone to have 50 different things that they’re never going to use,” said Michael Clendenin, managing director of technology consultancy RedTech Advisors. “Apple just doesn’t play that game. Unfortunately, if you want to hit the mainstream market in China, and you want a lot of market share percentage points, you have to offer the Swiss army knife of cellphones.”
“SETTING THE PACE”
Analysts believe Samsung’s increasing strength in China is a critical reason behind its rival’s possible intention to introduce globally a new and cheaper iPhone model, as well as one with bigger screens – a staple of Samsung’s offerings.
Said a Samsung executive with experience in China: “We definitely think we’re setting the pace there. They are having to respond to us.”
Most audaciously, Samsung has gone after Apple not simply by offering lower priced smartphones, but by attacking its rival directly in the pricier end of the market. “We put a lot of emphasis on the high end market in China,” co-CEO J.K. Shin told Reuters in an interview.
Samsung launched a China-only luxury smartphone together with China Telecom marketed by actor Jackie Chan that retails for about 12,000 yuan ($2,000). The flip phone, named “heart to the world,” is encased in a slim black and rose gold metal body. The sleek look – called “da qi” (elegantly grand) – is coveted by Chinese when they shop for cars, sofas or phones.
“There are a lot of ‘VVIP’s’ in China, and for them we launched luxury phones promoted by Jackie Chan. This helps target niche customers and build brand equity,” said Lee Young-hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business.
While Samsung won’t sell millions of these smartphones, the creation of the phone in conjunction with a carrier reinforces Samsung’s willingness to go local – and tap into niche markets.
“The key point is that Samsung consistently adapts to the local market,” said TZ Wong, a Singapore-based technology analyst with IDC.
Apple’s latest mobile operating system offers links to popular Chinese applications like Sina’s microblogging platform Weibo, but the application itself must be downloaded onto the phone. On all of Samsung’s entries, it’s already there.
“People know intellectually that Samsung is from Korea, but when it comes to the messaging there is always a local face,” Wong said.
RETAIL PRESENCE
Samsung opened its first office in China in 1985 in Beijing – an era in which it was all but inconceivable that Apple and Samsung would end up in one of the world’s most intense corporate grudge matches. Like other South Korean chaebols, Samsung was a first mover in China, using the market primarily as a base to produce electronics for the world.
In contrast, Apple’s big push in China came only recently, with the advent of the smartphone age roughly five years ago.
The early entry gave Samsung an undeniable edge, and it adapted fast to a rapidly changing environment. By the mid-1990s, with the economy booming, Samsung made the strategic decision to treat the Chinese market not just as a production base, but to start marketing to China higher-priced electronics, said Nomura researcher Choi Chang-hee, who wrote a history of Samsung’s experience in China.
That shift has meant Samsung’s retail presence in China far outstrips Apple’s. Aside from selling via the distribution outlets of the three major telecom carriers, Samsung also has a strong retail presence through its partners Gome Electrical Appliances and Suning Commerce Group, as well as its own “Experience” stores and small retailers all over the country.
Apple works through the same channels, but its relatively late entry means it has a significantly smaller presence. Samsung, for example, has more than 200 official distributors and resellers in Guangzhou province, while Apple lists 95.
Over the last two decades, Samsung has also taken pains to build relationships with Chinese government officials and -perhaps more critically – the three major telecom carriers.
The notion of the importance of connections – or “guanxi” – in China is occasionally overrated in business. Not, according to Samsung’s Shin, in this case. “It’s our core policy to keep friendly relationships with the operators,” he said. In China, each carrier uses a different technology and that requires Samsung “to tweak our smartphones to their request.”
“It’s not easy,” Shin said, “but we do this to be more operator friendly.”
Contrast that with the ongoing negotiations Apple has had with China Mobile, the largest cellphone operator. For years the two sides have been unable to come to an agreement on revenue sharing, effectively precluding Apple from hundreds of millions of potential customers.
SCRUTINY FROM THE TOP
Samsung’s reach extends higher than just the CEOs of the top state-owned telecom companies. Top executives have met each of the last several Chinese leaders, most recently Xi Jinping, who spent time in April with vice chairman Jay Y. Lee, son of K.H. Lee, Samsung Electronics chairman.
“What surprised me most,” said Lee later, “was that they (Chinese leadership) know very well about Samsung. They even have a group studying us.”
The Chinese government has also made clear it’s well aware of Apple – though not always in a good way. In April, state media bashed Apple for its “arrogance,” protesting among other things that its current 1-year service warranty was insufficient. Apple initially dismissed those criticisms, but Cook later apologized to Chinese consumers.
Samsung’s success in China has its roots, one former executive said, in a previous obsession for the company: its desire not to replicate the mistakes made by Japanese rivals.
“Samsung spent a lot of time benchmarking Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic,” said Mark Newman, who spent six years in Samsung’s global strategy group and is now an industry analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong.
“One of the things that came out of that is the realization that the insular approach has its drawbacks, and so Samsung has made an effort over the last 10 years to be much more global.”
This strategy of decentralization is plainly evident in China, he said, home now to more Samsung employees than any country outside South Korea.
FIGHTING HIGH AND LOW
Samsung now leads in both low-end and high-end segments in China, according to IDC, and its logic of going after both ends of the market is straightforward. In China, where the average wage is roughly $640 per month, many users looking to upgrade from feature phones to smartphones cannot afford Apple.
By bracketing the market with multiple models, Samsung can breed deep relationships with customers, many of whom, market research shows, trade up to more expensive models as they get older. Playing high and low also positions Samsung to fend off the intensifying competition from Chinese firms such as Lenovo and Huawei and literally hundreds of smaller local players.
“That’s where the next battle for Samsung will be fought,” said Newman. “We’ll have to see if Apple does introduce a new, cheaper model for China – and the world.”
DETAILS for the assesment of upcoming changes
1. Leapfrogging Apple while regaining only some high-end SoC supply to it:
Samsung sells 76 mln smartphones in Q2, boosting market share-report [Reuters, July 26, 2013]
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd sold 76 million smartphones in the second quarter, expanding its market share to 33.1 percent, Strategy Analytics said on Friday.
Overall, the global smartphone market grew 47 percent to a record 229.6 million, the research firm said.
Second-ranked Apple Inc saw its market share shrink to 13.6 percent after selling 31.2 million iPhones, as smaller rivals such as LG Electronics Inc, ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd seized larger slices.
Strategy Analytics: Samsung Becomes World’s Most Profitable Handset Vendor in Q2 2013 [PRNewswire, July 26, 2013]
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, Samsung became the world’s most profitable handset vendor in Q2 2013. Apple slipped into second position, as margins have been hit by lackluster iPhone 5 volumes and tougher competition in China.
Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “We estimate Samsung’s operating profit for its handset division stood at US$5.2 billion [61% of the overall, see below] in the second quarter of 2013. Samsung overtook Apple for the first time, which recorded an estimated iPhone operating profit of US$4.6 billion. With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, Samsung has finally succeeded in becoming the handset industry’s largest and most profitable vendor.”
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Apple’s reign as the world’s most profitable handset vendor lasted almost four years, from Q3 2009 to Q1 2013. Apple’s profit margin for its handset division has been fading recently due to lackluster iPhone 5 volumes and tougher competition from rivals. Samsung is performing well in the US market, while Huawei, ZTE and other local brands are growing vigorously in China. Apple is now under intense pressure to launch more iPhone models at cheaper price-points or with larger screens to fend off the surging competition and recapture lost profits in the second half of 2013.”
Exhibit 1: Global Handset Operating Profits in Q2 2013 [1]
Global Handset Operating Profits (US$ Billions)
Q2 ’13
Samsung
$5.2
Apple
$4.6
Source: Strategy Analytics
The full report, Samsung Becomes World’s Most Profitable Handset Vendor in Q2 2013, is published by the Strategy Analytics Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, details of which can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/cr7fhmb.
But: while handset revenue was up by 9% the operating profit for handsets and network products together were down by 3%. Considering that 97.3% of the IM (IT & Mobile Communications) revenue is for handsets that essentially means a similar operating profit drop of ~3% for handsets alone. Note as well that while the margin was 17.7% a year ago (in 2Q ’12) now (in 2Q ‘13) it was the same 17.7%, so with that 3% drop there was no fundamental problem (yet).
From: Earnings Release Q2 2013, Samsung Electronics, July 2013 presentation [July 26, 2013]
Samsung explains that by “marginal profit decline due to increased costs of new product launches, R&D and retail channels investments, etc.” as you could see below:
Fundamental problem could well be with the market share outlook, as neither for 2Q ‘13, nor for the outlook market share was talked about at all.
Samsung Electronics Announces Earnings for Q2 in 2013 [press release, July 26, 2013]
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced revenues of 57.46 trillion won [$51.6B] on a consolidated basis for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, a 9-percent increase from the previous quarter. Consolidated operating profit for the quarter reached 9.53 trillion won [$8.53B, ~61% of which is estimated for its handset division, see above], representing a 9-percent increase on quarter, while consolidated net profit for the same quarter was 7.77 trillion won [$6.98B].
In its earnings guidance disclosed on July 5, Samsung estimated second quarter consolidated revenues would reach approximately 57 trillion won [$51.2B] with consolidated operating profit of approximately 9.5 trillion won [$8.53B].
Samsung Regains Its Biggest Client Apple [The Korea Economic Daily, July 15, 2013]
Samsung Electronics will supply mobile application processor (AP) to Apple Inc. from 2015. The mobile AP is a brain of Apple’s iPhone. Samsung Electronics will supply 14 nano A9 chips that will be used for Apple’s iPhone 7.
Samsung Electronics had supplied the AP to Apple since 2007 but lost the contract to supply 20 nano AP A8 chips [for iPhone6] to Apple to Taiwan’s TSMC last year when it was engaged in patent disputes with Apple. Samsung Electronics developed state-of-the-art 14 nano models ahead of its rival TSMC, regaining the order from Apple.
According to industry sources on July 14, Samsung Electronics signed an agreement with Apple to supply the next-generation AP that it will produce in 2015. The AP that will be produced using 14 nano FinFET technology is mounted on Apple’s iPhone 7 to be released in the second half of 2015.
Since its relations with Samsung Electronics worsened due to patent disputes, Apple has refrained from using Samsung parts since the second half of last year. Apple excluded Samsung memory chips, including mobile DRAMs, from iPhone 5 that it released in September 2012. Apple also decided to procure iPhone 6 APs from TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry company.
TSMC reaches deal with Apple to supply 20nm, 16nm and 10nm chips, sources claim [DIGITIMES, June 24, 2013]
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and its IC design service partner Global UniChip have secured a three-year agreement with Apple to supply foundry services for the next A-series chips built using 20nm, 16nm and 10nm process nodes, according to industry sources.
In response, both TSMC and Global Unichip said they do not comment on customer orders and statuses.
TSMC will start to manufacture Apple’s A8 chips in small volume in July 2013, and substantially ramp up its 20nm production capacity after December, the sources revealed. The foundry will complete installing a batch of new 20nm fab equipment, which is capable of processing 50,000 wafers, in the first quarter of 2014, the sources said.
A portion of the upcoming production capacity, estimated at 20,000 wafers, can later be upgraded to process wafers used to build 16nm chips, the sources continued. TSMC is scheduled to volume produce the Apple A9 and A9X processors starting the end of third-quarter 2014, the sources said.
The upcoming Apple A8 processor will be found in a new iPhone [iPhone 6] slated for release in early 2014, and the A9/A9X chips will be used in the newer-generation iPhone and iPad products, the sources claimed.
The sources did not identify whether TSMC will be the sole supplier of these Apple-designed chips.
TSMC’s phase-4, -5 and -6 facilities of Fab 14, its 12-inch fab located in southern Taiwan, will be dedicated to making Apple’s A-series processors, the sources further noted. The foundry will initially allocate a capacity of 6,000-10,000 12-inch wafers for the manufacture of those chips, and output will rise gradually starting 2014, the sources said.
TSMC chairman and CEO Morris Chang remarked previously that the foundry’s 16nm FinFET process would enter mass production in less than one year after ramping up production of 20nm chips. Risk production for its 20nm process kicked off in the first quarter of 2013.
Samsung Electronics is the Biggest Beneficiary of LTE-A [Korea IT News, July 15, 2013]
Samsung Electronics has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the commercialization of LTE-A services by all of the three South Korean telecom operators. This is because the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A is the only LTE-A smartphone put on the market at the moment. Thus, sales of the Galaxy S4 LTE-A has a good chance of making up for slower than expected domestic sales of the Galaxy S4. LG Electronics and Pantech plan to launch their LTE-A smartphones sometime next month.
150,000 Galaxy S4 LTE-A smartphones were activated in 14 days with SK Telecom alone. In other words, an average of 10,000 Galaxy S4 LTE-A smartphones went into service a day. Sales of the Galaxy S4 LTE-A is much faster than the Galaxy S4, propped up by Samsung-SK Telecom joint marketing campaigns and growing expectations of LTE-A’s twice faster speeds [LTE=75Mbps –> LTE-A=150Mbps] than LTE.
Sales of the Galaxy S4 LTE-A is projected to surge in the weeks to come since LG and Pantech’s LTE-A smartphones are scheduled to come out as early as next month.
The world’s first LTE-A [SK telecom YouTube channel, June 25, 2013]
More information:
- SK Telecom Launches World`s First LTE-Advanced Network [press release, June 26, 2013]
- World’s First Mobile Device with LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation Powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 Processor [OnQ Blog, June 26, 2013]
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Processors Power World’s First LTE-Advanced Smartphone [press release, June 26, 2013]
- Samsung LTE Leadership and Future-Focused Innovation Produces World’s First LTE-Advanced Smartphone [press release, June 26, 2013]
From: 25 things my new Android phone does that makes my iPhone feel like it comes from the 1990s [ZDNet, July 11, 2013]
A few weeks ago, I told you about my plans to ditch my old iPhone 4S and get a brand-new Samsung S4 Android phone. Well, a few days later, I did just that.
You can replace the battery
You can add an memory card to your phone
You can replace the back cover
It supports wireless inductive charging without a bulky sled
Wonder-of-wonders: you can actually plug a USB cable into it and drag and drop files from your computer
It’s got a full 1080p HD display
You don’t have to use iTunes
You can completely replace your launcher
Your home screen can be alive
You can replace your unlock screen with a customized version
It’s a frickin’ tricorder
It supports near field communications (NFC)
It has an IR emitter
You can turn your phone into a stealthy TV-B-Gone
The thing senses hand gestures above it
It watches your eyes
It has a 13 megapixel camera
Its camera can remove objects that don’t belong in the image
Its camera can take multiple images and composite them together automatically
You can install apps from a browser on your PC
It can show two apps on-screen at once
You can automate almost everything
When you buy something on the Google Play store, you get an email receipt within minutes, not weeks
It integrates (mostly) nicely with Google Voice
You can have a new hobby (whether you want it or not)
Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 [16GB] Factory Unlocked: $618 on Amazon ($700 list)
- Exynos 5 Octa 5410 SoC with 2GB RAM
- Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU with tri-core 533MHz PowerVR SGX544 GPU
Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 16GB 4G/LTE Factory Unlocked: $611 on Amazon($999 list)
- Snapdragon 600 SoC with 2GB RAM
- Quad-core 1.9GHz Krait 300 CPU with 450MHz Adreno 320 GPU
2. Chinese local brands are coming close to Samsung but at less than 40% price
Let’s take Jiayu* quad-core smartphone offerings as of July 15, 2013 in China (as they are the price leaders among the MT6589/MT6589T-based devices in China):
- Jiayu G3 Quad Edition (G3s) is from $110 in retail shops throughout the country
(Note that this price is even lower than the spec-wise similar Xiaomi $130 Hongmi superphone.)
- Jiayu G4 Standard (on sale for $155 (thin) and $163 (thick) list price since April 10) now with summer offer is from $130 in retail shops throughout the country
- 1.5GHz Jiayu G4 Advanced (G4s) is $216 since July 6 with 7 working days delivery
- 1.5GHz Jiayu G4 thin version is $160 since July 13 with not later than July 24 delivery
* About Jiayu (佳域)
Baoji Jiayuyutong Electronic Co., Ltd was established in April 2009, is one of the high-tech enterprises, committed to the mobile communication product, research and development, manufacturing, sales and service. The company has more than 800 employees, including more than 30 R & D personnel and 60 engineering and technical people. At present, the company has 10 complete product lines, 2 laboratory rooms, a variety of advanced testing equipment.
Brand interpretation: “good domain”, the Chinese word for pioneering domestic smart phone “Best of the Realm”; “JIAYU” to “good domain” Chinese spelling.
Jiayu G3S quick review [nikchris69 YouTube channel, July 13, 2013]
Index: 0:00 : quick look on the external 0:52 : quick look at smoothness 1:30 : quick look at general settings, ram, etc 5:28 : quick look at camera settings 8:10 : quick look at lockscreen Jiayu G3S is my new phone, it comes from China. I bought that very cheap (200$/150€) and it also came with hands-free and a case. Here it is with the paid version of Nova Launcher. More videos of this phone will come soon.
Jiayu Store links: Jiayu S1, Jiayu G4 and Jiayu G3s (other link: Mobile Dad, July 13)
Yiayu S1 (see above) at 1.7GHz is on par with Samsung Galaxy S4 in performance:
according to the Antutu benchmark results at http://www.jiayu-store.com/blog/
JiaYu G4 Hands On [Gizchina YouTube channel, May 13, 2013]
Here is a hands on video with the JiaYu G4 Basic [Standard]. The phone has a quad-core MT6589 1.2Ghz CPU, 1GB RAM, large 3000mAh battery [there is also a thinner version with 1850mAh battery], 13 mega-pixel rear camera and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. In this video you will get a good look at the phone along with examples of video streaming, gaming and Antutu results.
3. The superphone segment of the market becomes saturated:
Smartphone slowdown could spell trouble in Taiwan [Reuters TV YouTube channel, July 9, 2013]
July 10 – With signs the high-end smartphone market in the developed world is at a near-term saturation point, Taiwanese chipmakers like TSMC may find once-assured profits are more fleeting than expected.
Samsung’s smartphone champ braves a tough crowd [Reuters TV YouTube channel, July 4, 2013]
July 5 – It’s not easy being J.K. Shin. The Samsung Electronics co-CEO has driven record quarterly profits and handset shipments, and yet investors are still displeased. Reuters’ Jon Gordon reports.
Samsung Confronts Saturated Smartphone Market [Bloomberg YouTube channel, July 5, 2013]
July 05 (Bloomberg) — Howard Lindzon, CEO and Co-Founder of Stocktwits, discusses the size of both Samsung and Apple, and the ability to move beyond the Smartphone. He speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Has Apple lost its cool factor? [CNNInternational YouTube channel, June 10, 2013]
A look at Apple’s declining fortune and what they need to do to regain luster. CNN’s Dan Simon reports.
China smartphone aims to rival Apple [Financial Times YouTube channel, Jun 25, 2013]
Chinese consumers have been clamouring to get their hands on a Xiaomi smartphone since its launch in 2011. Known as a Chinese rival to Apple, the low-cost phone has been held up as a model of Chinese innovation. The FT’s Leslie Hook talks the Xiaomi’s founder, Lei Jun, about investing in start-ups and growing his business.
China’s Huawei launches world’s slimmest smartphone [AFP YouTube channel, June 18, 2013]
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei launches what it says is the world’s thinnest smartphone, which it hopes will take on high-end rivals like Apple and Samsung in the global market. Duration:00:53
Huawei Ascend P6 — 2-Minute Encounter [HuaweiDeviceCo YouTube, June 18, 2013]
Meet beauty from outside in.
The rise of Chinese smartphones [CNN YouTube channel, May 30, 2013]
Kristie Lu Stout vistis Huawei’s headquarters for a look at how the company’s trying to take on Apple and Samsung. For more CNN videos, visit our site at http://www.cnn.com/video/
Google and Motorola’s Moto X (hands-on) [The Verge YouTube channel, Aug 1, 2013]
David Pierce takes an early look at the new Moto X and speaks with Motorola brass about the philosophies that went into the design of the phone and the company’s relationship with Google.
More information:
- Moto X. All Yours. [The Official Motorola Blog, Aug 1, 2013]
- Motorola Moto X vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 [Gizmag, Aug 2, 2013]
- 16GB Motorola Moto X to cost $575 SIM-free [GSMarena.com, Aug 2, 2013]
Motorola Moto X was unveiled yesterday and the smartphone will soon be available from the top 5 carriers in the USA. The 16 GB variant of the Moto X is priced at $200 and the 32 GB unit costs you $250 with a two-year contract.
At the announcement event Motorola did not announce the pricing details of the SIM-free editions, but they are no longer a mystery as AT&T has confirmed the pricing of the device without a contract. At launch, the 16 GB model of the Moto X will cost you $575, while the 32 GB is priced at $629.
Moto X – Motomaker [motorola YouTube channel, Aug 1, 2013]
Design your own Moto X. Over 2,000 ways to customize.
BBC News – Can Moto X revive Motorola’s fortunes? [BBCWorldNewsWatch YouTube channel, May 30, 2013]
Motorola has struggled to keep up in the fast-paced smartphone market, but now the company has announced that it will take on its rivals with a new handset named the Moto X. Can the company really compete against the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC? The BBC’s Aaron Heslehurst spoke tech expert Stuart Miles, from Pocket-lint, to find out more about Motorola’s plans.
Moto X Phone release date, news and rumours [TechRadar YouTube channel, July 2, 2013] “could be landing in installs in October”, and “to undercut the big players of the market such as the Samsung Gala