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Samsung, OPPO dominate Southeast Asia smartphone market

Smartphones sales are slowing down

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Do you buy a new smartphone whenever the latest model comes out? In Southeast Asia, consumers appear to be holding back. Also, each major market in the region has different favorites.

Market analyst firm Canalys reported that smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia (excluding Laos, Brunei, and Timor-Leste) fell by three percent YoY in Q3 2018. The firm finds this quite surprising as the region is one of the most important markets in Asia after India and China.

If analyzed by country, three of the five largest SEA markets suffered falls this quarter. Vietnam and Thailand dropped by 17 and 20 percent respectively, while the Philippines plunged by 3.1 percent. On the other hand, Malaysia and Indonesia experienced growth by 5.3 and 13.2 percent.

Overall, Samsung is the top smartphone vendor with 5.8 million units shipped followed by OPPO with 4.8 million.

Interestingly enough, four out of the five major SEA markets are dominated by Samsung, but OPPO got hold of the Philippines. The Chinese company was able to the overtake long-time local king Cherry Mobile. Additionally, OPPO is part of the top three in all five major SEA markets.

Other major phone brands Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi were also able to capture a good chunk of the major markets, but none of them were able to reach the top spot.

Source: Canalys

Gaming

Elden Ring Nightreign is getting a DLC update this December

The update introduces two new Nightfarers and bosses.

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After Shadow of the Erdtree concluded the Elden Ring saga, FromSoftware kept the fire going with Elden Ring Nightreign, a multiplayer-focused standalone roguelike set in the same universe. It was a unique experience that breathed new life into the studio’s tough-as-nails dynamic. Now, before the year ends, FromSoftware has announced The Forsaken Hollows, a new DLC coming for Nightreign.

Even from launch, it was apparent that FromSoftware had content updates in store for Nightreign. The studio promised new maps and Nightfarers for the multiplayer game.

Yesterday, an earnings report hinted that the DLC was shipping out potentially early next year. Today, the studio dispelled all speculation and said that the DLC is definitely coming before the year ends.

The announcement expands the already-meaty game with two new playable Nightfarers: the arcane-wielding Scholar and the strength-slash-faith-focused Undertaker. Both characters, featured in the trailer, will introduce their special set of skills in the continuous battle against the Nightlord.

Besides the two new characters, two new bosses are coming to Limveld. We don’t know much about the two bosses. However, knowing FromSoftware, the studio is likely keeping them under wraps, so they can stomp on us harder.

Finally, the update introduces a new Shifting Earth area called The Great Hollow. The area is filled with “exotic ruins and temples; sacred towers denoting the remains of an ancient people; and crystals that exude a cursed, life-draining miasma.”

The Forsaken Hollows is a paid DLC coming to Elden Ring Nightreign on December 3. Though the DLC can be purchased separately, it’s already included in the Deluxe Edition and the Collectors Edition. It’s also available for those who purchased the Deluxe Edition Upgrade.

SEE ALSO: New Elden Ring Nightreign patch will make it easier for solo players

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Apple reportedly shelved the iPhone Air series indefinitely

The delay is because of low sales.

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On its own, the iPhone 17 Air is a mighty device. However, if you consider that the vastly superior iPhone 17 Pro series is only a hundred bucks away from the Air series, the thinner iPhone model becomes less attractive. Based on actual sales, it looks like Apple users think the same way. In response to low demand, Apple has reportedly shelved the next iPhone Air indefinitely.

Since the series launched a few months ago, numerous reports have speculated that the iPhone 17 Air isn’t performing as Apple expected. Given how Apple held out a lot of hope for the iPhone 17’s new designs, the Air’s failure to meet expectations is a big blow. Soon after the first reports trickled in, Apple reportedly dialed back on production to balance out the lower demand.

Now, as reported by The Information, Apple has reportedly delayed the next iPhone Air model indefinitely. Previously, the company was scheduled to release a new model next year alongside the iPhone 18 series. That’s not happening now.

Right now, there is no timeline for the next Air, if it is coming. That said, it’s still likely that Apple is still working on a new Air. It just might take some time while the company figures out how to make the next model pop.

SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone Air Review

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Gaming

PlayStation might soon let you buy PC games

Cross-Buy might bundle your PS5 games with a PC version.

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Maintaining a gaming library between different platforms is a chore, especially for multiplayer games. It’s way too common to buy a new game on one platform, only to find out that your friends bought it on another. This could lead to double buying or forever missing out on playing with friends. Now, PlayStation, if a new leak is to be believed, will finally help cure the curse of platform mismatches.

Last week, @yAmethxst, an X user, posted leaked screenshots of new icons coming to PlayStation. The leak was also confirmed legit by Dealabs. Though some are less interesting (like a touchpad button), a couple of the new icons are hinting at a Cross-Buy function coming to the platform.

Based solely on the name, Cross-Buy doesn’t offer much. However, a complementary icon, which shows the PS5 logo and a PC logo side by side, confirms how Sony wants this to work. Cross-Buy will likely allow players to purchase two copies of the same game: one for the PlayStation and another for their PC.

There are a few gaps and questions to be answered, though. For one, which games are compatible with this feature? Is it exclusive to PlayStation’s first-party games, or are third-party games included?

Secondly, which platform on PC will the feature support? The likeliest suspect is Steam, but how about users who prefer the Epic Games Store or GOG?

There are so many mysteries about this feature. Heck, we don’t even know if this will actually work as we described. If anything, this is a welcome feature in the world of cross-platform gaming.

SEE ALSO: PlayStation announces a new duotone DualSense color

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