The global smartphone market is heading for its steepest annual contraction on record, with shipments projected to slump by 13.9% this year to 1.08 billion units, Counterpoint Research said on Monday, citing a worsening shortage of memory chips. The forecast is a downgrade from the 12.4% decline projected in February, with the squeeze in global…
Zhou Qunfei’s rise from poverty to woman behind smartphone screens around the world Zhou Qunfei, the founder of Lens Technology in China with Apple Inc.’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams in her touchscreen factory.PHOTO/Weibo / @Derrick_Zhang. By PATRICK MAYOYO [email protected] In the glittering halls of power where billionaires, presidents and technology titans gather, few stories…
The Clicks Communicater smartphone on display. Startup Clicks Technology makes a Blackberry phone. Clicks When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, physical keyboards quickly lost ground to touchscreens and faded from mainstream smartphones. Now, a new wave of startups, including U.K.-based Clicks Technology and Chinese firm Unihertz, is bringing them back and carving out a…
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Remo Casilli/Reuters In 2014, Amazon introduced its first smartphone, hoping to take on Apple and Samsung. Instead, the Fire Phone, overseen directly by founder Jeff Bezos, was scrapped in barely over a year, one of Amazon’s highest-profile flops. Now, Amazon is dialling up a new phone. The latest effort, known internally…
The GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition — comprising six of the largest mobile operators in Africa — on Tuesday announced that six countries on the continent have been earmarked for the launch of its low-cost device priced at just US$40 (R660). The announcement was made during a press conference at the African Pavilion stand at Mobile…
The GSMA has secured commitments from 18 smartphone manufacturers to support the rollout of a $40 4G smartphone aimed at reducing Africa’s mobile internet usage gap. The initiative was launched at MWC Kigali in October 2024 and sets minimum technical standards for an affordable 4G device designed for African users. At least 8 vendors have…
Memory shortages will constrain sales of smartphones for some time, hurting demand for chip industry companies like supplier Qualcomm and chip architecture designer ARM Holdings, executives and analysts said on Wednesday as both companies reported results that disappointed investors. Among the world’s largest smartphone chip designers, Qualcomm is dealing with relatively tepid orders as customers…
Global smartphone shipments rose 2% year on year in 2025, lifted by stronger demand and economic momentum in emerging markets, Counterpoint Research said on Monday. Apple led the market with a 20% share, the largest among the top five brands, supported by solid demand in emerging and mid-sized markets and strong sales of the iPhone…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi India has proposed requiring smartphone makers to share source code with the government and make several software changes as part of a raft of security measures, prompting behind-the-scenes opposition from giants like Apple and Samsung. The tech companies have countered that the package of 83 security standards, which would also…
Oppo’s new Find X9 Pro has a 7 500mAh silicon-carbon battery Silicon is the second most abundant element in Earth’s crust after oxygen and its uses in the technology sector are expanding. In 2026, its use in battery and charging technology is set to go mainstream, especially in mobile devices. In 2025, several Chinese smartphone…
