News

Huawei shipped 140 million smartphones in 2016

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Although Huawei didn’t get the green light from Google to make a Nexus 6P successor (the big G instead gave HTC a shot at redemption with the Pixel phones), 2016 has been a good year for the Chinese phone maker. Exceptionally good, actually.

It is currently the third-biggest OEM behind Samsung and Apple, though this may not be the case a year or two from now. It actually aims to sell more handsets than Apple by 2018. Oh, and it made some $200 million from Android devices, becoming the world’s most profitable Android maker, albeit in part due to the Galaxy Note 7 recall and discontinuation.

[irp posts=”2258″ name=”Huawei P9 and P9 Plus gear up for Southeast Asia release”]

And 2016 keeps getting better for Huawei. The company today said it hit its sales target for the year, and has shipped 140 million smartphones globally thus far, including over 10 million P9 and P9 Plus units since April and 7 million Mate 8s. In the third quarter alone, it shipped over 33 million units, a 23 percent improvement over the same period last year.

Not only that, Huawei has set a new sales record after posting its best-ever year in 2015. Notably, Huawei managed to sell 108 million handsets throughout the previous year. What’s even more impressive is that Huawei’s latest premium models, the Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro, and Porsche Design Mate 9, haven’t made it to stores in the U.S. and Europe yet. And that it has sold more units than ever without Google’s Nexus/Pixel branding, and despite growing competition from other Chinese OEMs.

Huawei has yet to announce its goals for 2017, but there’s clearly a lot of work to be done to make next year even more memorable for the company. It will be interesting to see if it has more upside to offer after back-to-back years of incredible growth.

[irp posts=”8065″ name=”Apple rules smartphone profits, Chinese brands distant second”]

Source: Android Headlines

Gaming

Valve unveils price of the Steam Frame

The VR headset starts at US$ 1,059.

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The trifecta is complete. Almost a year after announcing their new hardware, Valve has finally unveiled the price tag of the Steam Frame, complementing the Steam Machine and Steam Controller revealed a few months ago.

Whereas the Steam Machine is a console of its own, the Steam Frame is a traditional VR headset with a pair of controllers for both hands. Unfortunately, despite being in a different segment, the headset is not immune to the rising prices of technology. The Steam Frame will start at US$ 1,059 for a 256GB model and can go up to US$ 1,299 for the 1TB model. On the plus side, each box will come Half-Life: Alyx packaged along with the headset.

Here’s a more detailed rundown of what you’re getting. The Steam Frame will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM. Each eye comes with a 2160 x 2160 LCD screen, putting out images at up t0 a 144Hz experimental refresh rate. As mentioned above, the headset will start with 256GB of storage but can go up to 2TB. It will come packaged with SteamOS 3 and a rechargeable 21.6Wh battery.

This might be a hard buy for some. The industry currently has more affordable options, for one. Also, virtual reality isn’t the most thriving segment of gaming today.

If you’re still decided on buying one, however, Valve is using its lottery system. Interested customers can sign up from now until September 17. The company will then randomize the purchasing order. Those who draw the first ones in the lottery can get a purchase email as soon as September 18. Meanwhile, anyone who registers after September 17 will automatically be put at the back of the queue.

SEE ALSO: Valve announces its own console called the Steam Machine

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Accessories

Apple is reportedly working on its own gaming controllers

It might launch under the Beats brand.

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Last week, the iPhone Duo changed how you look at the ubiquitous smartphone. Foldables are in, and Apple is right there with it. But the company isn’t stopping with the foldable segment. Apple is reportedly working on its own branded game controllers.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has been working on a controller since last year. Further, a piece of code linked to macOS 27.4, spotted by MacRumors, includes references to two unknown gaming controllers.

Because Apple just concluded its huge event this month, it will likely be a while before we see confirmation of this controller. And it could be anything. Of course, because the Duo is fresh on our minds, the easiest answer is a mobile controller than can maximize the foldable’s ability to stand by itself. It could also use Apple’s larger screens like the iPad, the MacBook, or the Mac. Some even speculate that this could be Apple’s stronger push into the gaming market.

Outside of the actual hardware, the reports are also claiming that the controller will arrive by way of Beats, rather than from Apple itself. At first, the branding comes off as a surprise, but then again, Beats hasn’t really evolved past an audio brand in a long, long time. Is it time to revitalize Beats as something more than just a peddler of headphones?

SEE ALSO: First Look: Apple iPhone Duo

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Gaming

Xbox saves Kojima’s PHYSINT after PlayStation drops support

PlayStation says the separation was mutual, but Kojima hints otherwise.

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Things aren’t going well in the PlayStation camp. After two months of frankly questionable decisions, the company adds another to the pile by dropping support for Hideo Kojima’s PHYSINT.

For a while now, Kojima and PlayStation were in a very productive relationship with the Death Stranding duology, a critically acclaimed collection of titles for the platform. When things looked like they were going well, Kojima announced PHYSINT, an espionage-themed game which reminded fans way too much of Metal Gear Solid.

If you were investing in a PlayStation 5 to play Kojima’s latest thriller, you might want to move your chips elsewhere now. PlayStation has just dropped support for the espionage game, meaning PHYSINT will no longer be a first-party title for the platform.

Though PlayStation claims that the decision came after “careful consideration,” Kojima himself has said that the move was “unexpected,” going against PlayStation’s assurance of a mutual separation.

Very quickly, Xbox has announced that their platform will support PHYSINT instead. It’s a big get for the competing brand because Xbox Game Studios is already supporting OD, Kojima’s other upcoming horror project starring Sophia Lillis.

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to say more. As is tradition, Kojima will not explain much more about his upcoming titles. In fact, OD’s trailer barely says anything. One thing’s for sure, though: we’re all in for quite a ride.

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