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Apple regains top spot in sales while Huawei captures midrange market

The smartphone market sales are shuffling again

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Apple iPhone 8 and Huawei P20 Lite | GadgetMatch

The numbers are out, again. We’ve been closely monitoring smartphone sales and the April 2018 report positioned Samsung on top with their two new flagships. A month has passed and the Galaxy S9 phones sales are not at their peak anymore.

According to the latest research from Counterpoint for the month of May, Apple regained the top spot in the global best-selling smartphone list with, not the high-end iPhone X nor dual camera-touting iPhone 8 Plus, but the iPhone 8.

The iPhone 8 accounts for 2.4 percent of global smartphone sales. Counterpoint attributes the increased sales with strong promotions during the World Cup in Europe and other markets, while the sales in the US were steady. The iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus are still on the list with 2.3 and 2.1 percent of global sales, respectively.

Image credit: Counterpoint

Samsung lost their momentum in May with the Galaxy S9+ and Galaxy S9 slipping to the second and sixth spot. Just last April, the two were the best-selling phones in the world.

While Samsung’s premium phones decline, Xiaomi‘s budget offering — the Redmi 5A — continues to mingle between the best smartphones in the market with 2.2 percent of sales, earning it the fourth spot. The Redmi 5 Plus (or Redmi Note 5 in some markets) is also on the list with a 1.3 percent share.

The research firm credits Xiaomi’s good performance in China and India. As Xiaomi expands their offline presence in key markets, expect the numbers to rise in the coming months, as well.

Moving further, Huawei managed to claim a spot with the P20 Lite at 1.4 percent. The Chinese company beats other smartphone manufacturers in its home market and India with the new P20 series combined, but only the P20 Lite broke into the list. This makes the P20 Lite the best-selling midrange phone in the world.

The new Vivo X21 is making the company money thanks to its in-display fingerprint feature. Heavy advertisements and endorsements are also making strong impacts on the sales of Vivo’s phone.

Lastly, the OPPO A83 trails behind at the tenth spot. The continuous promotion and price cuts helped the budget offering maintain its sales momentum.

You may read the whole report here.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s cheaper 2018 iPhone X will come in a variety of colors

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Smart showcases cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut

Play over 1,000 titles straight on your smartphones

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Philippines mobile service provider Smart showcased the country’s first cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut at the recent Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) 2026.

As the event’s main presenter, Smart highlighted its collaboration with the cloud gaming subscription service. Together with its value-packed Power All offers, the network provider is highlighting what the future of gaming can look like.

Smart and TNT subscribers can conveniently access Blacknut Cloud Gaming through a dedicated site. Here, they can play more than 1,000 premium console and PC-quality games on their smartphones.

That’s without the need for expensive gaming hardware or lengthy downloads. Weekly subscriptions start at just PhP 145 and can be conveniently charged to prepaid load following a simple OTP verification process.

To make the experience better, Smart also has Power All offers, which provide generous open-access data for today’s digital lifestyles. There’s a package for cloud and mobile gaming, streaming, content sharing, and productivity.

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Ghost of Yotei gets a story expansion in October

The Complete Edition comes with the expansion and a roguelike mode.

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Ghost of Yotei is a classic RPG experience set in the same universe as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. In my opinion, Atsu’s journey of revenge feels a lot more fun than Jin’s battle to save his homeland. If you’re in the same boat, Ghost of Yotei is coming back on October 1 with brand-new content.

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, Ghost of Yotei has a conclusive ending. Rather than shoehorning a forced epilogue, Echoes of Sekigahara, the title of the upcoming story expansion, explores Atsu’s past.

As with Tsushima’s expansion, Echoes of Sekigahara features a new map with new enemies, weapons, and collectibles. It will be set in two different time periods.

Besides the story expansion, the upcoming update also has a new mode called Most Wanted, which Sucker Punch Production describes as their “spin on a roguelike.” The mode explores Atsu’s experience as a headhunter, feeding her with bounties and earnable perks.

The two new content expansions will come with in the upcoming Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition. The new edition, coming on October 1, will also come with the co-op Legends mode. It also has a few perks and customization options. The edition will sell for US$ 70.

If you already have the base edition, you can grab an upgrade for only US$ 15. If you don’t want to pay for the upgrade, the game is still getting a few minor tweaks.

SEE ALSO: Ghost of Yotei review: A tale sharpened by vengeance

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HONOR isn’t taking the Robot Phone global — yet

The hardware is ready. The AI isn’t.

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The HONOR Robot Phone may have officially launched, but don’t expect this version to immediately make its way to global markets.

HONOR told media in Shenzhen that it currently has no plans to bring the current Robot Phone outside China. The main hurdle isn’t the hardware. It’s the phone’s AI experience, which is currently optimized for the Chinese market.

HONOR believes a future generation of the Robot Phone would be better positioned for a true global rollout once its AI experience is ready for markets outside China.

That doesn’t mean HONOR is abandoning the idea. Quite the opposite.

More than a phone with a moving camera

The Robot Phone is HONOR’s attempt to introduce a new idea to the smartphone market. It combines a smartphone with a 4DoF mechanical gimbal, allowing its camera to physically move. 

Its AI features take that concept further. YOYO Robot Mode can use voice commands, gestures, and AI tracking to control the camera. It can also automatically pan and tilt to keep a person in frame during vlogs, livestreams, and video calls. 

The phone also brings selected elements of ARRI Image Science and professional cinema workflows to its camera system. Its 200MP gimbal main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording, while ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks give creators more control over their footage. 

But HONOR isn’t treating the Robot Phone primarily as a volume-driving product.

The company says its bigger goal is to introduce a new concept to the smartphone market and see what kind of effect it can have.

That makes the Robot Phone an interesting experiment for HONOR. The hardware is already here. The company now wants to learn what happens when a smartphone can physically move, respond to its surroundings, and use AI to help operate itself.

For now, though, China is where that experiment begins.

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