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Huawei Declares Ambition to Be No.1 After Dethroning Apple
Huawei Technologies Co., which just edged past Apple Inc. to become the world's second-largest smartphone maker, wants to be top of the heap before the end of 2019.
The Chinese giant shipped more than 95 million phones in the first six months, up about 30 percent from a year earlier. Consumer division chief Richard Yu on Friday said he wants Huawei to be No. 1 in smartphones by the fourth quarter of next year, with a market share of more than 20 percent -- despite acknowledging its virtual absence in a pivotal U.S. market.
Huawei this year overcame a global slump by grabbing sales from Apple and current leader Samsung Electronics Co. The fast-growing consumer division has helped Huawei, the leader in global telecommunications equipment, get past lackluster demand from carriers globally. Despite barely making a dent in the U.S., it's managed to build a strong presence in $600-plus phones in markets from Europe to Africa, which in turn allowed it to break Apple's and Samsung's years-long stranglehold on the global market.
Also at WSJ, Business Insider, and CNBC.
See also: Global tablet sales decline, with only Apple and Huawei showing growth
Related: Huawei CEO Still Committed to the U.S. Market
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Huawei Has Ended Support for Unlocking Bootloaders on Its Devices
Apple Becomes First US Company to Exceed $1 Trillion Market Capitalization
(Score: 5, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday August 05 2018, @09:41PM (7 children)
Different markets. Yes, there is some overlap in the U.S., but generally there is a certain group of people who like the cache of the iPhone and are willing to pay $500 -- or $1000 -- for a phone (or a similarly ridiculous monthly plan with a "free" phone), and there is another segment of the population which either doesn't have enough disposable income for that or simply is happier to spend $100-200 or whatever for a phone. And then there's the majority of the world's population in other countries, for whom the cost of an iPhone is often patently absurd relative to their standard of living in their country.
Apple doesn't give a crap about the latter two groups. They really don't. They want the "luxury market" and aren't interested in making cheaper options.
Lots of markets for goods are segmented this way. What's somewhat amazing is that Apple has managed to take something that really is a "luxury good" considering the average budget and convinced a large number of middle class and even poorer people that it's necessary to keep buying their new products... Mostly through the power of monthly fees for phone service that hide the cost of the phone.
Anyhow, that's all great, and they (like other luxury goods brands) have a business strategy that focuses on name rather than price relative to competitors. That's their choice, but there's something to be said for volume and market saturation too. There might be more limited growth potential long-term for a company that refuses to market to the "average" consumer. But only time will tell. Apple certainly has cultivated a much larger vocal fanbase than many would have expected a couple decades ago. But that depends on continuing to convince consumers that their products are worth the cost (along with planned obsolescence/replacement expectation on a regular basis).
Personally, I wouldn't buy an iPhone because of how it's locked down. I might actually buy a Mac if they offered a more reasonably priced option (I am not a strong critic of their computers or OS, only their prices), but no way I'm paying the premium. So I'm simply not part of their market and never will be unless they grossly change their business strategy. Whereas a company like Huawei offers products that might interest both the premium market and those who want cheaper models.
(Score: 2) by Apparition on Sunday August 05 2018, @11:31PM (2 children)
The only Apple product that is sensibly priced is the iPad. I bought two two months ago for $360 each, (after taxes). I have a feeling it's because Apple is trying to keep the iPads competitive in the school market. I don't like the lockdown, but iPads are the sole viable tablets these days.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Acabatag on Monday August 06 2018, @02:21AM
I hear so many people saying 'the iPad is the only viable option' but I really like my Galaxy Tab A. And it was under $200.
I guess I just don't get what's so special about an iPad.
(Score: 2) by stormreaver on Monday August 06 2018, @03:23AM
I have two Lenovo tablets that are great for gaming, Netflix, Web, etc. I have found that most tablets beat Samsung nowadays.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @12:13AM (1 child)
There is a premium built into the price of a Mac, but the quality and longevity is certainly worth something. I have 2 identical 2011 27" iMacs that have been running non-stop since Oct 2011. The only issue I've had is a hard drive needing to be replaced last year. Both use i5 CPUs & 32GB, and have plenty of horsepower. I can't complain about the value and reliability.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday August 06 2018, @12:39AM
I have a ~$400 laptop with an AMD A6-3400M APU and 8 GB of RAM. The screen has some deterioration at the edges and the left hinge of the laptop is about to come off. It has been used since mid-2011 and much more heavily in the last 5 years. The HDD still works.
I'm hoping to make it to around 2020 so I can get a 7nm or 5nm Ryzen laptop with 6-8 cores. If I want quality, I'd spend maybe $800 instead of $400. But I definitely got my $400 worth and much, much more.
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(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday August 06 2018, @01:57AM
https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/04/the-greedy-ways-apple-got-to-1-trillion/ [techcrunch.com]
Check out the comments lol.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 06 2018, @04:16AM
Yep, here in the USofA, I see a lot of the homeless using iPhones.