The Smartphone Era

Everywhere you look, you’d likely see a person glued to the screen of their smartphone. Almost everyone owns a phone or two and they spend a great deal of their time using it for various reasons. Smartphones have evolved to become like mini computers. Almost everything you do on a computer can now be done using your smartphone. It’s a major plus that it is extremely handy and convenient to use. You can use your smartphone for communication, which is essentially its main purpose back in the days. Then, you also use it for different purposes like a camera, calculator, calendar, saving notes, storing songs, clock and alarms, navigation, etc. but since it readily connects to WiFi, you can access the web anytime you want.

Our current addiction to social media and various apps are undeniable. People do not hesitate to spend hundreds to thousands in cash to keep up with all the latest smartphone advancements. In India alone, Indians are big spenders when it comes to smartphone purchases and it is just one part of the world. Other countries have similar statistics regardless of the demographics. From high-end brands like Apple and Samsung to lower-end brands that are mostly from China, the demand is so high and it keeps pushing the smartphone industry forward and upward.

The Chinese dominance of the Rs 1.5 lakh crore Indian smartphone market, growing at about 10-11% as per research reports, has never been questioned. But it's still surprising that Indian consumers doubled their spending (year-on-year) on the top four Chinese brands - Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Honor - to over Rs 50,000 crore in FY18. These four brands along with a few other Chinese brands like Lenovo-Motorola, One-Plus and Infinix, make up more than 50% of the total Indian smartphone market by sales, The Economic Times reported, adding that data available thus far suggests their sales are growing rapidly this year too.

According to tracker Counterpoint Research associate director Tarun Pathak the top Chinese brands have easy access to the Shenzhen hardware and R&D hub and the supply chain ecosystem. "This has helped them to be innovators and to be always on top of trends," he told the daily. Their pricing strategy is the icing on the cake. The Chinese brands have been able to tap the Indian consumer's preference for products made by multinationals by selling high-specification models at lower prices than South Korean, Japanese and even Indian counterparts.

(Via: https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/indians-spent-over-rs-50000-crore-on-chinese-smartphones-in-a-year/story/286899.html)

There are downsides to excessive smartphone use but if there is one thing that we can be thankful for is that this growing industry has created millions of new jobs that likewise help propel the economy upward. It is essentially a “Smartphone Era” that powers the world today. Some of the lesser known Chinese smartphone brands have ambitious goals in terms of sales and it is not unlikely that they would be able to achieve it given the current skyrocketing demand in different parts of the globe.

As of 26 October 2018, Xiaomi has reached a total of 100 million smartphones shipped, completing its annual target ahead of schedule, ZDNet reported.

Xiaomi currently trails behind Huawei and Oppo in China, but it is taking on major competitors outside of its home country.

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has pulled away from Samsung in the Indian smartphone market, with 27% market share compared to Samsung’s 23%.

Xiaomi has also begun expanding its reach to European countries, and has reportedly seen significant growth in these markets.

CEO Lei Jun recently announced the manufacturer’s new Mi Mix 3 flagship smartphone, which boasts a 93.4% screen-to-body ratio and a mechanical sliding camera design.

(Via: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/smartphones/282149-xiaomi-smartphones-are-taking-on-samsung.html)

Some of the newer Chinese brands can’t be stopped too because their features are gradually catching up with the industry leaders such as Samsung. In aesthetics and functionality, there is little distinction now apart from the brand, which is why the poorer population especially those living in impoverished countries can now enjoy the benefits of having a smartphone at a fraction of the price.

As handy and multifunctional smartphones are, heavy computer users still require computers or laptops to do their jobs right and efficiently too. If you use a computer in your daily life, be wary of common PC issues you may face in your lifetime such as https://www.harddriverecovery.org/errors/disk_read_error.html and https://www.harddriverecovery.org/repair-hard-drive.html so you can better react to these situations when they arise. Better yet prevent them if possible for a seamless computing experience without all the hassles.

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