The Flagship America Can't Have

It’s been quite a while since Huawei were driven out of most global markets by losing out on Google’s services and apps, with market share plummeting in numerous regions as a result. 

However, as the company continue to innovate and dominate sales back home in China, it turns out that Americans wish they could still purchase and use Huawei phones as well. 

Despite a strict US government ban preventing their devices from being sold through official channels, Huawei recently emerged as the top choice for American tech enthusiasts. In a major industry poll conducted by the mobile technology publication ⁠PhoneArena, asking which Chinese smartphone brand consumers would most like to see properly enter the United States with full carrier support, Huawei led the vote with nearly 31 percent of the total selection. 

This strong showing highlights a deep, ongoing demand among premium Android users for the brand's hardware innovation, even as the broader landscape of international smartphone options shrinks. 

This suggests that Americans not only still miss the company but would be willing to give up Google’s services and accept Huawei’s HarmonyOS as well. Huawei have been pushing out some crazy powerful devices with very unique designs and gimmicks, and you want to get your hands on them. 

Getting a Chinese smartphone in the US is a gargantuan hassle, and no channels exist to purchase one like you would a Samsung, Google Pixel, or Apple phone. Most people who do use Chinese phones in the US get an unlocked model and have to use workarounds to have an almost normal experience. 

But from the said reader poll, we now know how much Americans want access to other Chinese brands after Huawei. In second place is Oppo, with a little over 23 percent of respondents wishing that it would be sold stateside. 

Xiaomi followed with 22 percent of the votes, as the company have been pumping out some excellent smartphones in the last few years with spectacular specs and great ideas like a second display on the rear. 

Meanwhile, a little under 12 percent want Vivo to take on Samsung, Google, and Apple in the US. iQOO got over seven percent of the votes and Realme came last with a little under five percent of you wanting it to operate normally in the States. 

Malaysian women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan secured their first semi-final appearance since the All England in March with a hard-earned victory at the Taipei Open yesterday. 

The world No. 5 had to work hard for their 21-14, 21-17 win over Taiwan's world No. 39 Lin Chih Chun-Yang Chu Yun in the quarter-finals.

The important thing is they won! 💪💪💪

But young women's doubles pair Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan's brave run came to an end. The world No. 67 suffered a 21-11, 20-22, 22-24 heartbreak to Thailand's world No. 36 Hathaithip Mijad-Napapakorn Tungkasatan after a titanic battle. 😞😞😞

Xiaomi Launch Home-grown Cross-device System with HyperOS

Smartphone and gadget giant Xiaomi Corp have become the latest Chinese industry player to unveil a unified operating system for their mobile devices, cars and Internet-connected home products, as US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies work towards liberating their own integrated OS completely from Google’s Android. 

 

Xiaomi described HyperOS, their recently introduced OS, as a combination of a highly customised Android system and the company’s proprietary Internet of Things (IoT) platform Vela, launched three years ago to support a range of smart devices from wristbands and smartwatches to speakers, home appliances and sensors. The Beijing-based firm touted HyperOS as a “human-centric” OS that is a culmination of efforts to bring their vast and expanding product portfolio under the roof of one single OS for centralised and easier management. 

 

HyperOS will come pre-installed on the latest Xiaomi 14 smartphone series, as well as devices launched in the mainland Chinese market, such as smartwatches and televisions, the company said.

 

Xiaomi are not the only Chinese company that have taken a shot at developing a home-grown OS. Huawei Technologies, one of the first domestic handset makers to make such an attempt, are now preparing a bolder move to launch HarmonyOS Next. 

 

Huawei have confirmed that HarmonyOS NEXT will commence official developer beta activities in early 2024, followed by closed and public beta tests before the full public release. 

 

The Next system is Huawei’s attempt to sever their ties with the Android ecosystem by removing support for Android apps on Huawei devices equipped with their new OS. HarmonyOS was launched in August 2019, several months after the US Department of Commerce added Huawei to their Entity List that barred the Shenzhen-based telecoms titan from buying technologies from American companies – including Google apps and services – without Washington’s approval.

 

While the Android Open Source Project is still free for anyone to use, Huawei have been pushing through with efforts to expand the use of HarmonyOS, which was first released on a smart television, to all their IoT and personal devices. But to soften the blow to users, Huawei – which were briefly the world’s top-selling smartphone brand before US trade sanctions decimated their international handset business – have so far allowed Android apps to run on HarmonyOS devices.

 

Android held a roughly 70 percent share of the global mobile OS market in September, according to data service StatCounter, while HarmonyOS had a negligible share.

 

Still, Huawei appear ready to move forward. 

 

“HarmonyOS had four rough years. Looking back now, the light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains”, Richard Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business, said at a launch event for HarmonyOS 4 in September, citing a famous line written by ancient Chinese poet Li Bai. 

 

Today, more than 700 million devices run on HarmonyOS, with more than 2.2 million third-party developers creating apps for the system, according to Yu. 

 

Meanwhile, other Chinese smartphone manufacturers continue to build their customised OS on the open-source Android. They include Oppo’s ColorOS and Vivo’s OriginOS.

Apple's iPhone Sales Are Said To Be Under Threat

Huawei's new 5G smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro is potentially posing a serious threat to new iPhone sales in China, it has been reported.

 

That is, according to analysts at Jefferies, who said in a note this week that "Chinese consumers see it as a big win over US sanctions". They estimate the Mate 60 could eat into as much as 38% of iPhone sales in China. 

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook (above) who was in the country in March reportedly said at the time: "Innovation is developing rapidly in China, and I believe it will further accelerate". He was right, but probably didn't foresee what it might cost his company. 

 

After all, the country has been a hugely important market for Apple, which generated almost a fifth of their $394.3 billion net sales in their most recent fiscal year.

 

And with less than a week to go before the release of the iPhone 15, there should be a huge buzz around Apple as they prepare for the biggest event in their calendar year. Instead, they're having to nurse a sudden $200 billion drop in market value, amid investor concerns about China as well as fears of a government crackdown on iPhone use among government employees.

 

This "news" and Huawei's new launch are signalling that the new iPhone may not fly off the shelves. Already, the Mate 60 Pro is expected to help Huawei recapture lost ground in China. 

 

Linda Sui, a senior smartphone analyst with TechInsights pronounced that “Huawei’s strong return will have a huge impact on China’s smartphone market in the second half and in 2024, with more impact on other Android-based phone brands vying for the high-end Chinese smartphone market”. 

 

But she added that although Huawei may reshuffle the top five smartphone brand rankings in China, they pose less of a threat to Apple because the brands have different target client bases. 

 

According to data from consultancy firms IDC and Counterpoint, Chinese smartphone shipments dropped to 286 million units in 2022, with Huawei ranking sixth with a market share of only 7.9 percent, after Vivo, Apple, Oppo, Honor and Xiaomi. This is a big change from Huawei's heyday, when they led the China market for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020.

 

Still, the Mate 60 Pro model is being seen by some analysts as a potential savior for Huawei, with sales surging on both online and offline channels. 

 

Anyway, we will know how Apple's iPhone 15 is going to fare soon enough!

This Christmas, Choose Joy

Merry Christmas, everybody and a Happy New Year! 

I'm sharing this video from OPPO Philippines and choose joy for this year's Christmas! See how the Christmas tree is lighted up by OPPO – and more importantly, learn that happiness is a choice:

 

Maligayang Pasko, sa lahat at Manigong Bagong Taon! 

Celtic produced a Christmas cracker of a performance yesterday afternoon to comfortably crush St Johnstone 4-1 in the Scottish Premiership. 

The Glaswegian side were close to their free-flowing best. Both Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi bagged a brace, before Celtic stepped off the pedal as the Perth side scored a consolation on a rare venture forward in the sixty-seventh minute. 

 

 

 

 

The first Celtic goal came from Hatate – playing as a makeshift right-back – when he arrowed a powerful strike from the edge of the box into the back of the net, via a slight deflection, on 14 minutes. 

And just four minutes later, Kyogo produced the second goal as he showed great movement to burst into the front area to flick Matt O'Riley's cross beyond the Saints goalie. 

On 40 minutes, Kyogo netted the Bhoys’ third when the Japanese star darted across the St Johnstone to tap home James Forrest's cross from close range. 

Hatate made it four when he latched on to a threaded through pass before sneaking the ball by the goalkeeper. The wait for confirmation, though, was lengthy before an incorrect offside flag was overturned. 

Everything is in the Bhoys’ hands this season and if they can keep the intensity up, it’s hard to see who can stop them.