Apple smartphone sales mark significant growth in Asia markets

A recent study on Apple's smartphone sales, carried out by Counterpoint, reveals a surprising level of success in various Asian markets. It turns out that ever since the California tech-giant ushered into the phablet market last September it has been steadily gaining ground in China, Japan and South Korea. The success of Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models was somewhat anticipated in Asia, as traditionally the market has been showing a very high interest in smartphones as a primary means of connectivity, rather than PCs or other tech. The numbers themselves are surprisingly high. The most dramatic increase, Counterpoint says, comes from Samsung's own domestic market. The global smartphone leader has naturally kept a tight hold on South Korea, with LG following at second place. After iPhone 6 hit the market, however Apple has registered a surge in market shares from 15% before the launch to a whopping 33%. This puts the Cupertino-based company firmly in second place and may have even had a detrimental effect on Samsung's comfortable market position, as the Korean manufacturer experienced a significant drop to around 60%. The 33% market share is a huge accomplishment on Apple's side and Tom Kang, research director for mobile devices at Counterpoint, had this to say: No foreign brand has gone beyond the 20% market share mark in the history of Korea's smartphone industry. It has always been dominated by the global smartphone leader, Samsung. But iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have made a difference here, denting the competition's phablet sales. Apple's success apparently extends even further into Asia. In Japan, a traditionally strong market for the US company, the latest device lineup brought about a staggering rise to 51% market share from a little below 20%, before the handsets hit stores. In China, where competition is incredibly tough, Apple has procured a 12% share. This may not sound like much, but it is enough to ensure third place in the market, right behind Xiaomi with 18% and Lenovo with 13%. Furthermore the modest share somewhat shadows the fact that Apple has registered a 45% growth in sales over the same period a year earlier, which again is a huge success story. Interestingly enough Samsung, currently the global smartphone leader is also having trouble in China. Its position fell drastically and the Korean manufacturer is now forth on the market with 9% of the sales. This is all part of a bigger trend, as Samsung has been fighting with a 37% decline in operating profits for the last three months over the same period a year earlier. Even though this is the fourth consecutive quarter of decline for the Samsung, there is light in the tunnel and analysis states that the free-fall is slowing...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_smartphone_sales_mark_significant_growth_in_asia_markets-news-10850.php

Galaxy S6 to be unveiled on March 2 at MWC, executive confirms

A Samsung senior official has been quoted in Korean media, stating that the company's next flagship, the Galaxy S6, will indeed be announced at the MWC in Barcelona, specifically on March 2. What's more, Samsung has developed several prototypes and is yet to determine which exactly will become official. This goes in line with the multitude of contradicting rumors and leaked images. Apparently, the company is simply surveying user opinions, by feeding the buzzwords unibody and glass back panel to the press. Samsung still don't have their mind set on whether a dual-edge screen version will see the light of day, the same source claims. The choice of hardware is also a persistent topic in the news, with reports that Samsung will go for an in-house Exynos chipset instead of the Snapdragon 810. Meanwhile, an LG executive has denied that the company plans to reveal the G4 in Barcelona, instead focusing on wearables. The company's position is that with the May 2014 launch of the G3, they still have plenty of time to develop its successor. Source |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxy_s6_to_be_unveiled_on_march_2_at_mwc_executives_confirmed-news-10849.php

Oppo U3 officially debuts, no 4x zoom unfortunatelly

The Oppo U3, the company's latest offering in the phablet realm, is now officially launched. As we suspected, however, the rumored 4x zoom lens turned out too good to be true, and a fixed focal length lens is all you get. Oppo U3 Still, the smartphone packs pretty respectable hardware. Built around the massive 5.9-inch display of 1080p resolution, the device features a 64-bit bit Mediatek 6752 chipset with an octa-core processor, clocked at 1.7GHz. It is paired with 2GB of RAM and the 16GB of internal storage is expandable. A 3,000mAh battery is next on the list of chief specs and the fast charging support means 30 minutes of charging can get you an impressive 75% charge (as long as you use a suitable charger). Imaging department is covered by a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie snapper. The main unit on the back employs a Sony IMX214 sensor with a 1/3.06" diagonal and can pull off software tricks resulting in 50MP images, if you absolutely must make billboard-sized prints. The front camera utilizes wide angle glass and an LED flash for more flattering group selfies. Despite the colossal size of the phablet at 156.8 x 81 x 8mm and 195g, Oppo is keen to target it at a more graceful audience. The company is offering a Rabbit's Tail case, which is basically a fur ball, attached to the back cover, allowing for more secure hold by gentle fingers. Oppo U3 Rabbit's Tail Case The Oppo U3 runs on Android KitKat 4.4.4 out of the box. No word is out yet on prices and...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_u3_officially_launched_no_4x_zoom_unfortunatelly-news-10848.php

Bloomberg: Samsung won't use S810 in the Galaxy S6

There's a lot of talk going around that Qualcomm's latest flagship chipset - the Snapdragon 810 - has overheating issues, which may delay the launch of the flagship smartphones this year. Qualcomm, of course, refuted this and the rumors didn't stop the announcements of the LG G Flex 2 and the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, both of which are powered by the chipset (though they are yet to launch commercially). Nevertheless there's a second report now that Samsung will ditch the S810 in favor of its own Exynos designs. Bloomberg quotes unnamed industry insiders, who say that Samsung has already made the decision but has not made it public. Stock of both Qualcomm and Samsung took a hit. Of course, Samsung would prefer to use its own chips as much as it can. The last few generations Samsung had to use Snapdragon due to increasing demand for LTE connectivity and Qualcomm's dominance when it comes to modems. Samsung has since solved the LTE issue and already has a chipset that will deliver the quad Cortex-A57 and quad Cortex-A53 that the Snapdragon 810 promises, but with a Mali GPU instead of Adreno. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is expected to launch soon after it's announced at the MWC, which spans late February/early March. Whether because of Snapdragon issues or to improve its self-reliance, Samsung has invested $15 billion for a new factory near Seoul to manufacture new chipsets that will likely go into the company' new flagship. Both Qualcomm and Samsung declined to comment on the Bloomberg...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/bloomberg_samsung_wont_use_s810_in_the_galaxy_s6-news-10847.php

Beastly Snapdragon 820 and 815 specifications leak

With the Snapdragon 810 still not completely out of the woods in regards to the recently debunked, presumable overheating issues and yet to make it into an actual mass-produced device all eyes are on Qualcomm to handle the situation gracefully and insure its future well-being. Weather or not the 810 SoC is problematic and could potentially boost rival MediaTek market shares is still open for debate, but it appears that Qualcomm has remained undaunted in its bright future, that is if today's leak is to be believed. A rather interesting photo came to our attention, which seems to show the future lineup of Qualcomm processors, hopefully set to come in 2015. This leak comes rather suspiciously only hours after a roadmap of planned MediaTek chips made it online, which is a bit odd, but we will still give it the benefit of the doubt and dive a little deeper in what it foretells about the future of mobile hardware. First on the list we have the Snapdragon 616. In many respects it seems like a logical continuation of the current Snapdragon 615. It should have the same eight Cortex A53 cores, although evidently clocked a little higher, between 1.8 GHz and 2.2 GHz. Besides that the GPU has been bumped up to an Adreno 408 and the modem now supports Cat.6 LTE speeds. Next up we see the Snapdragon 620. It is said to be based on Qualcomm's own architecture, dubbed "Taipan" and is listed as having four cores. It should also have an Adreno 418 GPU, DDR3 RAM and Cat.10 LTE support. The Snapdragon 625 and 629 will be octa-core chips, with the same modem and GPU. They will, however use upgraded LPDDR4 1600 RAM with dual-channel memory support and will be based on 20nm HKMG technology. Going further down the list we reach the most interesting of the bunch. The Snapdragon 815 is listed as an octa-core beast with eight processor cores in a Big.Little setup. It will also feature an improved Cat.10 MDM9X55 LTE modem and an Adreno 450 GPU. LPDDR4 is also present and the chip will again be based on a 20nm technology. Last, but not least we have the all-mighty Snapdragon 820. It is a powerhouse, like nothing we have seen in a mobile device. Specifications list it as being powered by eight TS2 cores. Interestingly enough there is no mention of Big.Little architecture here, which might just mean that all eight cores will function simultaneously. RAM support and LTE are the same as the 815 model, but the GPU is a whopping Adreno 830. Perhaps most exciting though is that the top of the line chip will be based on the new 14nm FinFET manufacturing process, which has already been licensed to GlobalFoundries. We really hope that all of the above chipsets become a reality during 2015, even though GlobalFoundries and Samsung's facilities, who should be producing the Snapdragon chips will most definitely be busy manufacturing Apple's A9 for the new iPhone line around the end of 2015, so Qualcomm's 820 SoC might just be pushed to 2016. Again the credibility of the leak is unknown and the information should be taken with a grain of salt, but the future seems more than exciting for Qualcomm. What are your thoughts on the matter and the expected additions to the Snapdragon lineup? Source (in Chinese) |...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/beastly_snapdragon_820_and_815_specifications_leak-news-10846.php

Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge won't be water resistant

In an apparent attempt to increase its profit margins, Samsung is reportedly doing away with the IP certification from the non-Active models of its upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S6. This, in layman's terms, means that the device, as well as its all but officially confirmed cousin, the Galaxy S6 Edge, will not be water resistant. It is worth noting that the South Korean company's previous flagship, the Galaxy S5, which the company launched last year, came with IP67 certification, which officially means "dust tight" and surviving up to 30 minutes at 1m underwater. The alleged move, though disappointing, isn't exactly surprising given that Samsung had a rough last year with S5 sales falling short of expectations, and the company reporting its lowest profits in more than two...

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxys6ands6edgereportedlywontbewaterresistant-news-10845.php