News
Apple, OPPO most popular brands in Singapore, Philippines – study
Huawei hovers in the top 3 for both countries
A recent study by online shopping aggregator site iPrice reveals that OPPO is the most searched brand in the Philippines while Apple leads the way in Singapore making the two the most popular brands in the mentioned countries. The study used two factors that determine a brand’s popularity — the retail price of a smartphone and the annual household income.
OPPO leads the way in the Philippines
OPPO, which is currently launched the Find X2 Pro and has been marketing its Reno series, leads the way as the most popular brand in the Philippines. Its most expensive smartphone — OPPO Find X2 Pro — retails for PhP 65,990. Meanwhile, its cheapest is OPPO A5s which retails for PhP 6,990. The brand had been known to cater to the budget and midrange segment more but has recently been trying to make waves in the more premium pricing segment.
In a country with an annual income of PhP 460,000, brands that offer plenty of midrange smartphones appear to be really popular. This is the case for Vivo which ranks third in popularity.
Apple dominates Singapore
This one’s not so surprising. Singapore has a much higher annual household income than the Philippines. Thus, Singaporeans are much inclined to search for expensive brands like Apple and Samsung. Apple came out on top, followed closely by Samsung. These brands offer expensive flagships that anyone with a higher income can afford.
Interestingly, a Google Trends search on the terms Apple, iPhone, and OPPO both in Singapore and the Philippines over the last 12 months reveal that the iPhone dominates the search by a wide margin. This could mean that while people consider the price when it comes to actual purchase, they still religiously follow news about Apple’s iPhone.
Huawei ranks consistently among the top 3
Huawei fared consistently on both countries’ most popular smartphone brands. It ranked second in the Philippines, while it ranked third in Singapore. There are many factors to Huawei ranking among the top 3 for both countries. Huawei has offerings across all price ranges and has been a consistent force in the premium segment in recent years.
Huawei offers flagship with prices comparable to Apple and Samsung. However, it remains competitive in the budget segment by offering budget-friendly and reliable smartphones. The Huawei Y5 Lite sells for PhP 3,990 in the Philippines, while Y6s retails for SG$ 178 in Singapore.
Huawei also churns out many midrange smartphones that can compete with offerings from midrange brands too. Combined with an established presence in both countries, it’s no wonder the company is popular in both the Philippines and Singapore.
Xiaomi makes significant progress
Xiaomi’s push in the Southeast Asian market is paying off, and the study supports that. In Singapore, where Xiaomi has long established its presence, the company snagged the fourth place, edging out the likes of OPPO and Vivo. The company has been aggressive in pushing out smartphones at an affordable and competitive price, and it shows.
In the Philippines, however, Xiaomi lands at the fifth spot still behind Apple. The company continues to gain popularity as it expands its stores beyond major urban areas in the country.
The study shows how brands with compelling midrange phones have become successful by offering near flagship smartphones at an affordable price. However, flagship smartphones still occupy a place in society. People with deep pockets will sway towards buying a flagship. After all, they just want the best smartphone their money can buy.
Automotive
Tesla involved in recalling over 4 million electric cars
China is banning a feature found on most Teslas.
Electric vehicles have been simmering in some hot water for a while now, but it’s not because of a reason you might be thinking of. Instead of its performance or even its reliability, the world’s modern vehicle is fretting over its door handles. Over the feature’s potential risks in a life-or-death situations, carmakers in China, including Tesla, are recalling around 4.3 million vehicles in the country.
When it comes to door handles, electric vehicles today are known for creating hidden ones that sit flush on a car door. These handles appear only when needed and automatically retract into the door when not in use.
For a while now, governments have been worried about them, citing concerns that they don’t offer easy exits during threatening scenarios. There have been incidents when the handles don’t pop up while a car is on fire, preventing both the car’s occupants and rescuers from opening the door.
Today, via Reuters, nine carmakers, including Tesla, are recalling 4.3 million vehicles from the country over these same door handles. Moreso than domestic brands, Tesla finds itself leading this pack with almost 3 million units. The other eight brands include Xiaomi and Geely.
This recall is responding to China’s latest regulation to ban hidden door handles starting 2027. Other measures include installing mechanical releases. Some brands are also rolling out software updates which automatically lower the car’s windows in case of an emergency, offering another exit for trapped occupants.
SEE ALSO: BYD Atto 2 launches with EV, plug-in hybrid options
News
HUAWEI Pura X View is 2026’s first WIDE slab-type smartphone
2026’s first non-foldable WIDE smartphone makes its surprising debut
It seems like the WIDE smartphone craze is getting out of hand.
Surprise, surprise! Out of nowhere, HUAWEI reveals the Pura X View — 2026’s first WIDE smartphone that does not fold at all.
Tied to WIDE
With the massive success of HUAWEI’s Pura X Max as well as the newly-released Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, it’s hard to ignore the sudden trend behind WIDE smartphones. Let alone, Apple’s much-awaited iPhone foldable (dubbed the “iPhone Ultra”) will be announced in less than a month.
Opposed to the usual tall and narrow form factor, the Pura X View comes in a wider body with a 16:9.5 aspect ratio. Display bezels are extremely narrow too at just 1.09mm and StB (Screen-to-Body) ratio reaches a whopping 96.1%.
This wider than usual body means better ergonomics with better content consumption — from images, books, documents, all the way to movies and shows, as well as games.
While it has a smaller 6.39-inch display, the Chinese electronics giant says it has greater content area compared to 6.9-inch flagship smartphones.
Other display feats include a 2160Hz PWM Dimming, resolution of 2232 × 1320, and max brightness of up to 6500 nits.
Despite all these, HUAWEI still managed to put a monstrous 7000mAh battery capacity inside its super slender 6.68mm chassis — which also happens to be lightweight at only 201 grams.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, HUAWEI did not reveal every bit of spec on their website.
Pricing and Availability
The HUAWEI Pura X View comes in four colorways: Illusion Dark Night, Zero-degree White, Leap Shadow Red, and Linen Ash.
It’s currently open for pre-orders in China alongside three configurations:
- 12+256GB
- 12+512GB
- 12+1TB
Just like its unrevealed specifications, HUAWEI did not reveal the exact pricing of the Pura X View.
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News
Samsung might launch the Galaxy S26 FE next week
A new event is hinting at the smartphone’s debut.
It wasn’t too long ago when Samsung launched the new Galaxy Fold and Flip series. Historically, the brand is done for the year after two major Galaxy Unpacked events. However, if you’re still hankering for a few more morsels of Galaxy devices, Samsung is hosting another event next week, which might mean the debut of the Galaxy S26 FE.
This week, Samsung has just released an official invite for a Galaxy Event on August 27. The invite itself looks like a tray with two glasses of matcha and a coaster in between them. It’s visually similar to a modest camera setup, hinting at a new smartphone coming during the event.
Because Samsung has already filled its usual quota of flagships and foldables, it’s highly likely that the event is meant for the Galaxy S26 FE. The Galaxy FE series is Samsung’s way of extending the life cycle of the current generation of Galaxy phones, while also catering to another segment of the market.
As for what the Galaxy S26 FE might hold, it looks like AI might be a prime focus. Samsung confirms that the invite graphic has AI-generated images. The text accompanying the graphic also indicates that AI will be a part of the event.
It’s only a week left before the August 27 event, so we’ll get to know more about everything soon.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Review
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