Enterprise
iPhone sales surge like never before despite raging pandemic
Apple’s daily revenue was $1 billion in Q2
Apple reported record revenues of US$ 89.6 billion for Q2 2021, an increase of 54 percent year over year. The company’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineups are producing strong growth.
The iPhone range, headlined by the iPhone 12 quartet, brought in US$ 48 billion in revenue alone between January and the end of March. iPhone revenue in the previous quarter was roughly US$ 29 billion, marking a rise of 66 percent. iPad sales came in at US$ 7.8 billion while Mac sales were US$ 9.1 billion.
Apple said it would increase its dividend by 7 percent to US$ 0.22 per share and authorized $90 billion in share buyback, which is significantly higher than last year’s US$ 50 billion.
The subscription services, which include the Apple One bundles, also hit an all-time high with US$ 16.9 billion in sales. These services include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and more. Wearables like AirPods and the Apple Watch had a record-setting quarter, too, drawing in US$ 7.8bn.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, said on a conference call with analysts that all five of the best-selling smartphones in the U.S. during the quarter were iPhones. Though, Apple did not disclose official guidance for what it presumes in the quarter ending in June.
Apple sales grew at least 35 percent in every region, and while the majority was still in the Americas, China played a pivotal role too. The company did say that future growth could be hampered due to the acute shortage of semiconductors. Its new M1 chipset is class-leading and designed on the latest ARM-based architecture. This adds a layer of complexity that could slow down shipments.
Apple said it didn’t know how long the chip shortage would keep supply from meeting demand, but it’s sure that the demand far outweighs the supply.
Apps
foodpanda relaunches cult-favorite roast chicken brand after 8 years of persistent search queries
Heritage chain Andok’s returns to the platform, driven entirely by long-term user analytics.
In the world of e-commerce and food delivery, platform algorithms usually dictate what consumers see. But occasionally, consumer behavior is so relentless that it shapes the platform’s strategy.
In a move driven entirely by long-term user analytics, foodpanda has officially relaunched Andok’s, one of the Philippines’ most iconic heritage rotisserie chains, back onto its platform after an eight-year absence.
The search bar as a digital wishlist
The decision to ink the partnership wasn’t just a marketing play. It was a response to an ongoing data anomaly. Despite being offline from the foodpanda platform for eight years, Andok’s consistently ranked as one of the most-searched merchants on the app.
Year after year, users treated the empty search results page as an unofficial wishlist. This persistent search intent gave foodpanda a clear, data-backed signal of pent-up demand.
Prior to the official digital rollout, teaser campaigns on social media validated this demand, generating thousands of organic interactions from users anticipating the return.
Bridging heritage flavor with digital infrastructure
For foodpanda, onboarding a merchant with this level of built-in demand fits its broader strategy of marketplace optimization and hyper-local network expansion, turning a heritage brand into another data point for how legacy retail plugs into delivery infrastructure.
For Andok’s, the integration works as a fast track to digital scale. A legacy quick-service chain skips years of independent app development and reaches customers already using foodpanda’s existing logistics network, on a platform they already check daily.
Andok’s built its following on charcoal spit-roasted chicken, a slow-cooked technique that’s stayed largely unchanged since the brand’s early days, alongside seasoned grilled pork belly.
More recently, the Dokito line extended that following into crispy fried chicken and chicken burgers, broadening the brand’s appeal beyond its original rotisserie format and giving foodpanda a menu with both heritage pull and everyday fast-food convenience.
Enterprise
Global Connect Show Shenzhen empowers Chinese enterprises
Opportune time for new Chinese enterprises to go global
The Global Connect Show Shenzhen 2026 (GCS SZ 2026) was successfully held on June 1 at China’s innovation hub.
More than 100 Chinese enterprises joined the event, encouraged to expand into international markets.
The program focused on three core pillars:
- Chinese brand going global
- Global channel connection
- Dedicated “Into the Enterprise” series
China has developed a new generation of internationally competitive companies across various sectors, including:
- consumer electronics
- smart hardware
- artificial intelligence
- robotics
As these companies enter a new phase of going global, demand is growing for global communications, brand building, market trust, and localized business networks.
As such, the Global Connect Show is one of the platforms to be able to strengthen the relationship across enterprises, partners, business associations, and even media and influencers.
It is a significant window for innovative brands to enter global retail channels by building compelling brand narratives and developing strong localized operations.
This year’s GCS is the third staging of the show, which consistently aims to match Chinese brands with partners through a results-first approach. Such an approach includes hands-on product experiences, presentations, and one-on-one meetings.
Enterprise
New US-China ban might affect 75% of phones, laptops
Companies can no longer use Chinese labs to test their products.
The United States is continuing its crusade against Chinese technology today. However, the target now isn’t a company from China but a method important to a lot of non-Chinese brands.
Today, via Reuters, the Federal Communications Commission (or FCC) has unanimously voted to prohibit companies from using Chinese labs to test their electronic devices if they are to be sold for use in the United States. Naturally, this includes smartphones and computers.
Notably, the prohibition doesn’t directly target Chinese brands. However, it will still affect a huge swath of the industry. The FCC estimates that around 75 percent of the entire market are devices tested in labs based in China.
This means that companies who wish to sell future products in the country must move their testing to labs in the United States or other countries that it deems secure. At its current iteration, the prohibition will not affect devices that already earned their certification prior. However, it might prevent them from getting recertified once their current one expires.
Now, the prohibition isn’t an absolute lock just yet. The FCC will allow the industry to submit comments about the proposal. But, with a unanimous vote from the FCC, companies might have to start looking for alternative testing sites if they want to stay operation in the United States.
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