News

Chinese brands dominate Q2 2020 smartphone sales in Southeast Asia

vivo, realme, OPPO, Huawei, and Xiaomi takes the top spots

Published

August 8, 2020

Kenrick Buduan

According to the latest data by Canalys, Chinese brands dominated the Q2 2020 smartphone sales in Southeast Asia. Both vivo and realme also demonstrated positive year-on-year growth for the quarter.

Chinese brands that dominated smartphone sales include OPPO, vivo, realme and Xiaomi. All in all, these brands captured the top 5 spots in the overall smartphone sales for the whole quarter.

The only non-Chinese smartphone brand that made it to the top 5 is Samsung, capturing 21% of the total sales. The latest figures also affirm that Samsung is still the leader of the pack when it comes to smartphone sales.

OPPO came close to Samsung on overall smartphone sales. It captured 20% of the overall sales shares. vivo, realme, and Xiaomi follow next with 18%, 12%, and 11% shares, respectively.

Year-on-year growth is also down for most brands during the second quarter when most countries started implementing quarantine measures. However, the pandemic didn’t stop vivo and realme from registering a positive growth — they garnered 20% and 102 growth, respectively.

Canalys also saw a 13% quarter-on-quarter increase on smartphone sales, which is good news for these brands. It’s also a sign of recovery for the smartphone market in the region as most countries start to ease their stringent quarantine measures.

The Philippines’ top five smartphone vendors

The situation is more or less the same in the Philippines. Chinese brands dominate the smartphone market in the country. Samsung, however, managed only to snag the second place as vivo takes the crown with a 21% unit share for Q2 2020. It also registered a positive 18% growth during the quarter, which is impressive given the situation the country faced at that time.

realme managed the third spot, registering 18% of the total smartphone shipment. What’s more impressive about the brand is its 254% year-on-year growth, which is a hundred percent more than the regional growth numbers. The aggressive marketing and pricing of its products really helped realme register a healthy growth despite the challenges posed by Q2 2020.

Coming in at the fourth and fifth spots is OPPO and Huawei. However, both brands took a toll this quarter, with year-on-year growth on the decline. Xiaomi, which is fifth on the regional top smartphone vendors, is nowhere to be seen this time around.

The recent smartphone sales figure just shows how Chinese brands have overtaken the smartphone market in Southeast Asia. It also showed another thing: most brands are having a hard time during these uncertain times. Perhaps, there could be improvements in smartphone sales as the world enters into the third quarter of 2020.

Related Topics:Canalys Huawei OPPO Realme Samsung Vivo Xiaomi

Accessories

Apple is reportedly working on its own gaming controllers

It might launch under the Beats brand.

Published

September 14, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

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

Gaming

Xbox saves Kojima’s PHYSINT after PlayStation drops support

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

Published

September 11, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

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.

Entertainment

PH to celebrate 1st ever National Cinema Day; movies start at less than $2

Watch a movie on September 12 for a fraction of the cost

Published

September 10, 2026

GadgetMatch

The Philippines will be celebrating its first ever National Cinema Day on September 12. On this day, movie tickets will go for as low as PhP 100 (US$ 1.60) at regular 2D cinemas.

The campaign aims to make moviegoing more accessible to audiences. This includes families, friends, students, and cinephiles in general.

Such initiative has been a staple in other countries, like the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and more. The same concept applies, with movie tickets going on sale for a lot less.

What’s great about the celebration is that all movies scheduled for exhibition on September 12, whether local or international, shall get the special admission price.

Advanced tickets sales have already begun. Customers can purchase through participating box offices, official websites, mobile apps, and authorized platforms.

Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and remain subject to theater capacity. Prices vary for other viewing formats like Director’s Club or IMAX, for instance.

The campaign is organized by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), along with industry and government partners.

The initiative is supported by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), and the Metro Manila Film Festival through the MMDA.

Participating cinemas include Ayala Malls Cinemas, SM Cinemas, Robinsons Movieworld, CityMall Cinema, Megaworld Cinemas, and more.