News

The Top 10 Global Smartphone Brands of 2017

And the winners are…

Published

February 5, 2018

Sascha

How well did your favorite smartphone brand grow in 2017?

Here are some interesting insights form IHS Markit, a renowned market research firm, that recently published its findings on the leading global smartphone brands of 2017.

Gold and Silver go to…

Samsung was the leading Smartphone brand of 2017 by shipped unit volume. Its dominance is unchallenged with a total market share of 22% or 316.2 million. Samsung shipments grew 2% last year.

Apple is a distant second at 15% or 215.8 million units — this despite an amazing fourth quarter, where the iPhone X was the bestselling smartphone. Apple, however, flatlined this year with zero growth rate.

A Chinese brand takes Bronze

Huawei in third is creeping up on Apple with an 11% market share or 153.1 million shipped units, a plus of 10% compared to the previous year, but ran into speed bumps breaking into the US market. The company only sold around 200,000 units in the fourth quarter of 2017, despite the promising showing of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro in other parts of the globe.

In January, AT&T pulled out from negotiations, days before a partnership was scheduled to be announced at CES 2018. In addition, a proposed bill seeking to ban Huawei from doing business in the US might further hurt the company’s chances of securing all important carrier partnerships for its flagship devices.

Better together

Sister companies OPPO and Vivo took fourth and fifth, respectively. Both companies posted double-digit year-on-year growth rates, 23% and 18%, respectively. Together, both brands shipped 212.8 million units, enough to get dangerously close to Apple and well ahead of Huawei. Both brands opened flagship stores in China allowing them to boost brand recognition and drive home an image of value for money.

The growth winners are

But when it comes to growth numbers, the clear winners are Xiaomi at sixth and Motorola at ninth. The two brands saw growth rates well beyond any other brand, both enjoying a 58% year-over-year growth.

Motorola now controls 3% of the market while Lenovo, as the owner of the Motorola Mobility name, reached only a 1% market share. This is a clear validation of Lenovo’s go-to-market strategy to focus on the beloved Motorola brand. In 2018, expect Lenovo to continue to shift away from Lenovo-branded smartphones in favor of Motorola-branded handsets.

What about the other South Korean player?

While LG maintained almost the same unit volume as in 2016 with a growth of just 1%, they climbed up one spot to number seven due to the weak performance of ZTE. LG is struggling to get market recognition for its high-end devices, and with a limited marketing budget compared to other brands, this might not change in the foreseeable future.

And the losers

ZTE and Gionee are the biggest losers of 2017. ZTE declined by 20%, dropping to the eighth spot. Ginoee also declined by 14%.

The overall market

The global smartphone market grew only slightly by 3% equaling a total unit volume of 1.44 billion shipped phones compared to 1.4 billion in 2016. The fourth quarter of 2017 saw a decline of 4.5%, ringing in trouble ahead and laying the foundation for more changes to come in 2018.

Related Topics:Apple Gionee Huawei LG OPPO Samsung Vivo ZTE

News

Apple reportedly gives up on the Vision Pro

But Apple will continue to sell the current model.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When they unveiled the Vision Pro in 2023, Apple touted the wearable as the next big thing after the iPhone. Now, almost three years removed from the launch, the Vision Pro hasn’t really taken over the coveted spot occupied by the iPhone. Apple, according to a report, is allegedly canning the short-lived wearable.

According to MacRumors, Apple has reportedly given up on making the Vision Pro a thing. The team handling the wearable has supposedly been subsumed by other teams within Apple.

If true, the wearable’s end is unfortunate but not surprising. Despite being out for years, the Vision Pro has sold only a little more than half a million units with numerous returns from customers. Most recently, Apple updated the wearable with the M5 chip, but the move hasn’t revitalized the device’s status in Apple’s lineup.

Most of the complaints about the device stem from its exorbitant price or its cumbersome battery pack. Besides costing a whopping US$ 3,499, the Vision Pro is also difficult to move around with, especially because of its total weight and a battery pack that can get in the way.

To be clear, Apple has not officially discontinued the Vision Pro yet. The company continues to sell the version with the M5 chip. Apple can also restart development in the future.

However, the meantime retirement on future development does coincide with the recent restructuring inside the company. Tim Cook recently decided to step down as CEO with John Ternus as his replacement. Canning the Vision Pro might be Ternus’ first step in redefining Apple according to his plans.

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Enterprise

OnePlus has reportedly merged with realme

Both brands were previously rumored for restructuring early this year.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

OnePlus has a problem. For a while now, rumors have swirled about the company’s dissolution. For their part, the company has continued to deny the reports, citing business as usual. Likely to their dismay, the reports just keep coming. Today, sources have hinted that OnePlus has merged with realme.

Back in January, it was rumored that OnePlus would be closing up shop this year. Since the company very quickly denied the rumors, the report hardly made waves. However, a suspected merger with realme is more difficult to debunk.

For one, realme is itself in a very interesting position. Also back in January, realme was reportedly moving back into being a sub-brand of OPPO. Coupled together with the OnePlus debacle, all this internal restructuring seems par for the course.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, OnePlus and realme have already concluded the merger. The two brands have reportedly united their Chinese and international operations under one roof. Likewise, their marketing will be the same. Pete Lau will still be the main head for this new division.

As with anything of this nature, take this with a grain of salt. OPPO, OnePlus, and realme have not issued any official statements concerning a merger or a shutdown for any brand.