Vivo invests Rs 2 billion to expand Greater Noida's manufacturing facility

Chinese handset maker Vivo on Thursday said it has ramped up the manufacturing capacity of its Greater Noida facility and has invested about Rs 2 billion.

The company, which has already invested about Rs 3 billion in the plant, has also added surface-mount technology (SMT) lines to the unit.

"The facility has increased production to more than 2 million units per month, reiterating Vivo's commitment to 'Make in India'. The newly added SMT lines are catering to the growing demand for Vivo smartphones in the country, including flagship devices like NEX and X21," Vivo said in a statement.

With more than 5,000 employees, the plant has an annual capacity of manufacturing 25 million products. Besides manufacturing, the facility houses a 'Test Lab' where the products undergo more than 1,000 stringent levels of quality and durability tests

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.

Vivo announces X21 with in-display fingerprint scanner, notch display

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo has announced the X21 smartphone, a successor to X20 Plus UD, in China. The smartphone sports an iPhone X-like notch display and an in-display fingerprint scanner – in special edition only -- which was first featured in its predecessor.

The Vivo X21 sports a 6.28-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display in 19:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, coupled with a dedicated artificial intelligence chip. The phone comes in 64GB and 128GB storage options with 6GB RAM. The 128GB storage variant comes with in-display fingerprint scanner, whereas the 64GB variant sports a fingerprint scanner on the back.

The smartphone houses a 12-megapixel selfie camera, which doubles as face recognition sensor powered by infrared technology. On the back, there is a dual-camera module, which utilises a 12MP sensor of f/1.8 aperture and a 5MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture.