How Chinese manufacturers dominate price conscious Indian smartphone market

While different reports are stating different companies as India’s leading smartphone manufacturer, there is one common underlying element that these reports highlight i.e. the Chinese brands continue to dominate the country’s smartphone market. According to market analysis reports by IDC and Counterpoint for second quarter of this year, brands like Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo continues to be in the list of top five smartphone brands in the country. Not just that, other brands such as Huawei’s Honor and OnePlus have also shown staggering growth in a price conscious India’s smartphone market.

According to IDC report, Xiaomi continues to lead the India’s smartphone market, beating the South Korean electronics giant Samsung in second quarter this year. However, a recent report by Counterpoint shows a contradicting view. According to Counterpoint, Samsung regained the smartphone leadership title in the second quarter of this year. Though it is complex to comprehend which brand rules the country’s smartphone market, it is note that both reports highlight that Xiaomi shipments grew around 100 per cent year-over-year.

Here's how China's Huawei, Oppo are challenging Apple, Samsung's dominance

Apple and Samsung’s domination of the smartphone world is being challenged like never before, with Chinese companies muscling in with cheaper and just as innovative devices.
In an ominous sign for the tech titans - whose iPhone and Galaxy handsets have had a stranglehold on the almost $500 billion market for years -- China’s Huawei Technologies Co. has unseated Apple to become the world’s second-largest smartphone maker. Now, it’s setting its sights on No. 1 Samsung, which has seen disappointing profits as Chinese phones gain share of a market that looks increasingly like it has peaked.

And others are not far behind. Here are the players -- and phones -- to watch:

Huawei: The Big Threat

Based in the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, Huawei is ploughing cash into bolstering its phones’ camera capabilities in a quest to dominate. Its flagship P20 Pro boasts a three-lens camera that was co-engineered with the 104-year-old German camera maker Leica. Huawei also offers a shiny, rainbow-effect handset finish known as Twilight, differentiating their product from the many monotone smartphones on the market.

Honor Play with GPU Turbo technology launched; sale starts on Amazon at 4PM

Honor, an online sub-brand of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei, on August 6 launched the Honor Play. The Amazon-exclusive device is the first Honor-branded smartphone to feature GPU Turbo technology in India. The phone also features top-tier specifications and features, including the Kirin 970 system-on-chip (SoC) paired with neural processing unit (NPU), up to 6GB of RAM and artificial intelligence-based camera enhancements.

Honor Play
The Honor Play is primarily a casual gaming phone. It features graphic and audio enhancements for immersive gaming experience. Some of these enhancements are part of the GPU Turbo technology that the phone boasts, and other are stimulated from phone’s AI-engine. The phone supports 3D audio effects via headphones, and customised vibration feedback based on in-game scenarios. According to company’s claim, the Honor Play supports real-time image and audio recognition for up to 30 different scenario, and offer 10 different vibrations setting based on in-game scene.
Honor Play Apart from gaming enhancements, the phone also features AI-based dual camera module on the back. The camera module features a 16-megapixel primary 

Huawei pips Apple to take 2nd spot in smartphone sales, Samsung tops: Rpt

Chinese tech major Huawei has surpassed Apple to become the second largest smartphone player globally during the June 2018 quarter as the Cupertino giant registered slow sales in India and flat shipment in China, according to multiple industry reports.

Samsung continued to enjoy its leadership position in the global smartphone market, even though its shipments declined in the April-June 2018 quarter over last year. According to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors shipped a total of 342.0 million units during the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18), resulting in a 1.8% decline when compared to the 348.2 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2017.
The drop marks the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines for the global smartphone market and only the fourth quarter of decline in history. IDC believes this is the result of churn in some highly penetrated markets, although many high growth markets still exist and should return smartphone shipments to overall growth.

Honor 10 India launch by May-end; sale exclusively on Flipkart: Know more

Honor, the online subsidiary brand of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei, is set to unveil the Honor 10 on May 15 in London. In India, the smartphone will launch by the end of May, exclusively on home-grown e-commerce platform Flipkart, according to an official statement issued by the company.

The midrange smartphone is believed to take inspiration from the Huawei P20, unveiled last month along with the P20 Pro and P20 Lite but not yet launched in India. In terms of pricing, according to an industry source, the Honor 10 would be launched at Rs 35,000 and would rival the OnePlus 6, which is also due for a launch on May 16.

"We are delighted to announce that Flipkart will be our exclusive online sale partner for Honor 10. At Honor, we have always believed in making our products easily accessible for our consumers by opting for strategic partnerships. We are confident that this association with Flipkart, who shares our vision to deliver superb value to consumers will help strengthen our position in the Indian smartphone market." said P Sanjeev, Vice-President Sales, Huawei India-Consumer Business Group.

Huawei P20 Pro review: Worthy challenger to Samsung Galaxy S9, iPhone X

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has had a sketchy presence in India: The previous Huawei-branded smartphone to come to India was the Huawei P9, launched in August 2016. Now, after more than a year and a half, the world’s third-largest smartphone brand has launched in the country its flagship Huawei P20 Pro at Rs 64,999, soon after the smartphone’s international unveiling in Paris on March 27.

The Huawei P20 Pro boasts a tri-camera set-up on the rear, a modern notch-based screen on the front, premium glass and metal build, and system-wide artificial intelligence capabilities. The flagship smartphone has a lot in store for everyone, but the phone is primarily directed to the niche audience of shutterbugs.

On paper, the P20 Pro competes, even surpasses, the flagship Samsung Galaxy S9-series and Apple iPhone X. However, is this the device that can bring some fresh air to the premium flagship segment, dominated at present by Samsung and Apple? Let’s take a look: