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Category: Electronics

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Electronics news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • DJI Introduces A Smart Remote Controller With Built-In Display at CES 2019

    DJI Introduces A Smart Remote Controller With Built-In Display at CES 2019

    DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, continues its tradition of making aerial technology accessible to everyone by introducing a powerful new remote controller for its drones at CES 2019. The Smart Controller features an ultra-bright display screen and controls optimized for DJI drones, allowing pilots to fly the newest drones without using a smartphone or tablet. DJI will also be exhibiting its full lineup of consumer drones and handheld imaging products at its booth at CES 2019, including the new Osmo Pocket stabilized camera, and will host exciting workshops, hands-on product demonstrations and more. Attendees can find DJI in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.


    Smart Controller Expands Pilot Options The DJI Smart Controller expands the ecosystem of accessories built around DJI’s industry leading drone technology. Using a crisp 5.5” screen built into the controller itself, the Smart Controller allows pilots to quickly get their drone in the air without the need to connect a mobile device. It can be paired with DJI’s newest drones including Mavic 2 Zoom and Mavic 2 Pro1 which use DJI’s OcuSync 2.0 video transmission system, displaying vivid images in Full HD resolution. Drone pilots can take advantage of its compact, highly portable design that has been optimized for use in direct sunlight. It features an ultra-bright display with an output of 1000 cd/m2, twice the brightness of standard smart phones. A customizable Android dashboard supports DJI GO 4, DJI Pilot2, along with various third-party apps such as editing programs. The DJI GO 4 app also touts several new features including SkyTalk, that allows pilots to livestream the drone’s camera feed to social channels including Facebook, Instagram and WeChat so that anyone can experience the thrill of flying a drone. Another new feature is DJI GO-Share which easily transfers imagery from the Controller to your mobile device. The DJI Smart Controller brings a new level of reliability when flying, with 2.5 hours of battery life and the ability to operate in adverse temperatures as cold as -4° Fahrenheit and as hot as 104° Fahrenheit.

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  • Samsung to introduce S10 on Feb. 20

    Samsung to introduce S10 on Feb. 20

    Samsung Electronics on Friday sent out invitations to its next unpacking event, where it is widely expected to unveil the next model in its Galaxy S smartphone series, the S10. The event is taking place on Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Samsung noted that it will “unveil new devices that promise to usher in new Galaxy experiences based on 10 years of innovations” in a press release, without detailing what phones will be showcased.

    The major question is whether the phone maker will unveil details of the foldable phone that it has been developing for the last few years. According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, the tech company plans to show a “fully functional foldable-screen handset” during the unpacking event. Samsung declined to confirm the claim.

    There is a possibility that the model could be briefly shown, like at the Samsung Developer Conference in November last year. A proof-of-concept version of its foldable phone was briefly introduced on stage at the event. The phone is often referred to as the “Galaxy Fold” and “Galaxy F,” but the electronics giant has yet to confirm the actual name for the highly anticipated product.

    Some leaders of Samsung’s mobile carrier partners said they have already seen the company’s foldable phones in closed door meetings at the Consumer Electronics Show that ended Friday.

    SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho said during his press briefing at the electronics exhibition that “Samsung did not open up the foldable phone to general visitors, but showed the phone to me,” adding “the phone is in good shape.”

    Park said the phone will be able to offer an improved media consumption experience.

    LG U+ CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi also said he had seen two foldable phones during his visit to CES booths, though he did not say whether they were from Samsung. Ha said they come in “various shapes” and added that they seem to be “early stage phones that will enable customers to experience various video and gaming contents newly offered on the 5G network.”

    Some other media reports, however, suggest Samsung may only show off three variants of its Galaxy S10 and hold off on its foldable phones until the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, which kicks off five days after the unboxing event.

    The Galaxy S10 is expected to come in a basic 6.1-inch screen version, a plus model with a larger 6.44-inch screen and a budget model with a 5.8-inch screen. A fourth variant equipped with 5G connectivity is expected to hit the market later in the year. The 5G-connected model is rumored to come with four cameras on the back.

    The Korean electronics giant unveiled its latest Galaxy S series a day before the massive mobile trade show held in Spain, but this year’s event comes about a week earlier than usual.

    It may be a move to put the spotlight on its S10 models for a few days before they get drowned out by stories about the foldable model they may intend to show off at MWC.

    The unpacking event in San Francisco, where its rival Apple is based, is expected to attract 3,000 people from global companies and the media, according to Samsung. A localized unpacking event will also be held simultaneously in London.

    Attracting global attention by coming up with an innovative design and feature upgrades is crucial for Samsung, which reported a sharp decline in earnings in the fourth quarter last year.

    Its operating profit in the October-December quarter fell 28.71 percent on year to 10.8 trillion won ($9.6 billion), according to a tentative earnings report the company released earlier this month.

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  • LG teams up with Google to develop VR offerings

    LG teams up with Google to develop VR offerings

    LG U+ is partnering with Google to produce three-dimensional (3-D) virtual reality (VR) video, the company said Friday. Ha Hyun-hwoi, CEO of the mobile carrier, said augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality offerings demonstrate to customers the potential of next-generation 5G networks. He made the comments during a press briefing Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

    He added that LG U+ is determined to become the leading player in AR and VR, and the partnership with Google is a stepping stone in achieving that goal.

    According to LG U+, the smallest mobile carrier in the country, with 3-D VR video, viewers feel they are actually at a sports stadium or a performance hall. The technology requires 10 times the bandwidth when compared with two-dimensional high-definition videos, which is why the faster and higher-capacity 5G network is crucial to the mass production and distribution of VR video, LG said.

    The two companies will first establish an equally-invested fund and develop 3-D VR video in the first half of this year. LG U+ will take charge of design and production. The mobile carrier will also have rights to local market distribution. Google’s YouTube will own retail rights globally. The Korean company said its collaboration with Google will continue following the development of pilot material.

    The first offerings will be centered on videos of globally-popular K-pop stars. A tour around K-pop star homes, following the star for the whole day and backstage tours are some of the ideas suggested so far, LG said.

    The video will run exclusively on YouTube and LG U+’s over-the-top (OTT) VR content platform. OTT refers to streaming entertainment that is delivered directly to users over the internet without going through intermediaries, like television.

    The move by LG U+ comes after SK Telecom inked partnerships earlier this month with three local broadcasters – KBS, MBC, and SBS – to create an OTT media service that can counter Netflix.

    It also announced during CES a partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group to cooperate on media technologies.

    Ha said dependence on OTT will grow together with the commercialization of 5G and that SK Telecom has made a “good choice in partnering with local broadcasters.”

    LG U+ plans to fight competition with its partnership with Google as well as Netflix. Under an agreement reached in November last year, Netflix programing is aired exclusively through LG’s internet protocol TV platform.

  • LG claims to have wowed the industry at Vegas’ CES

    LG claims to have wowed the industry at Vegas’ CES

    LG Electronics, one of the leading home appliance manufacturers in the world, said Sunday it received a total of 132 awards at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It said its products received the coveted CES top innovation title announced by the Consumer Technology Association. LG, which has been a major player in big-screen TVs and is a global leader in the field of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens, unveiled the world’s first mass production-capable rollable TV at the gathering that ran from Tuesday through Friday.

    The LG Signature OLED TV R received considerable attention, with Engadget, a multilingual blog network and the official award partner at CES, naming it Best TV Product.

    The innovative TV that allows the big OLED screen to vanish into a long box with embedded speakers was also noted by some 50 media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal and Cnet.

    The company said its 8K resolution OLED TV and Super Ultra HD TV, as well as an artificial intelligence-equipped TV set, were praised by tech experts from around the world.

    Media outlets and online publications like USA Today and TechRadar, also gave LG HomeBrew, a craft beer making machine, their highest awards, while the waterfall OLED display at the entrance of the company’s booth – made up of 260 flexible panels – won recognition from numerous international IT outlets.

    Beside such products, the company’s LG SuitBot, an exoskeleton that can help physical laborers, and Styler, a clothing care system, received praise at this year’s CES.

    Song Dae-hyun, who heads LG’s home appliance business, said in a press conference over the weekend that the company is aiming expand its presence in the United States through the marketing of premium products.

    He said in the built-in appliance market in North America, LG is targeting high income earners.

    “If LG competes in mid-range consumer appliances, it will struggle and not turn a lot of profit so it makes sense to shift to premium products,” the senior executive said.

    He said that, in particular, the U.S. market is attractive because it has considerable growth potential.

    The executive said to better engage prospective clients, LG opened its first overseas Signature Kitchen Suite showroom in California’s Napa Valley.

    The Experience and Design Center is the second of its kind after one in southern Seoul, with another to be built in New Jersey.

    Unlike other countries, the United States has always been a so-called builder’s market with the customer having greater say in what kind of appliances go into a home, making it ideal for high-end products.

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  • Samsung in strategically key Vietnam for the long haul

    Samsung in strategically key Vietnam for the long haul

    South Korean conglomerate Samsung is committed to a long-term presence in Vietnam as a major base for its global operations. Won Hwan Shim, vice president of Samsung Electronics, reiterated the group’s commitment to Vietnam in a Friday meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Shim said that Samsung’s plants in Vietnam had the most impressive growth among the company’s global facilities.

    Samsung, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, has been investing more and more in Vietnam, especially in its research and development centers, Shim said, adding that the group is transferring technologies to these local facilities.

    The company invested $600 million to finish the Samsung Ho Chi Minh City Research & Development Center in November 2017, its second such facility in the country after Hanoi, he noted.

    PM Phuc said that he expects more impressive growth numbers from Samsung this year, and also asked that Samsung continues to make Vietnam its most important global base, further expanding its operations here.

    Samsung has invested $17.3 billion in eight factories and two research and development centers in Vietnam, creating jobs for more than 160,000 locals.

    It is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam. Last year, Samsung estimated its exports from Vietnam was $60 billion, up 12 percent from 2017, accounting for a quarter of Vietnam’s total exports.

    Samsung last month closed one of two phone factories in China to focus more on low-cost countries like Vietnam and India for production as reported.

    The group’s two phone factories in Vietnam together make 240 million units a year. The factories, located in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, produce half of all the cellphones that Samsung supplies to the global market.

  • LG and Naver are teaming up to make robots better

    LG and Naver are teaming up to make robots better

    LG Electronics and Naver are cooperating on the development of robotic capabilities.

    Their first project will use Naver’s mapping and navigation technology to improve the functionality of LG’s CLOi GuideBot.

    LG’s guiding robot is currently in operation at Incheon International Airport. It escorts travelers to certain destinations within the facility.

    Naver Labs, the research and development arm of the Korean internet portal company, said its eXtended Definition & Dimension Map (xDM) solution will enable LG robots to self-drive indoors even when equipped with low-end sensors.

    The solution integrates Naver’s mapping, navigation and positioning technology to support various location-based services, such as augmented-reality walking navigation and autonomous driving, according to the company. Naver hopes to improve this by using big data collected by LG robots.

    The two companies said they will gradually expand collaboration to other areas of robot development after the first project. The agreement was reached during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and announced Thursday. Both LG and Naver demonstrated their latest robot technologies at the exhibition.

    “One of our biggest achievements during CES was to reach an agreement with LG,” said Seok Sang-ok, head of the robotics team at Naver Labs. “With LG, we will find ways to develop technologies that improve lives.”

    LG has already announced other deals at CES, including a plan to work with Microsoft on autonomous car technology development and an agreement with Apple to source television programming.

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  • Samsung ranks second in 2018 U.S. patent grants

    Samsung ranks second in 2018 U.S. patent grants

    Samsung Electronics grabbed the No. 2 spot in U.S. patent grants among global corporate giants in 2018, industry data showed Thursday. Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone and memory chip maker, received 5,850 U.S. patent grants last year, up 13 from the previous year, according to the data from IFI Claims Patent Services, provider of a top global patent data platform.

    IBM topped the list with 9,100 grants, up 1 percent from a year earlier, maintaining the U.S. company’s position as top patent leader for a 26th consecutive year.

    Canon followed Samsung with 3,056. Intel came next with 2,735 then LG Electronics with 2,474. All registered declines from a year earlier.

    Other Korean firms included Samsung Display, which ranked 14th with 1,948 grants. Hyundai Motor placed 19th with 1,369.

    Last year, U.S. patent grants totaled 308,853, down 3.5 percent from the previous year.

    By country, the United States took up the largest share, at 46 percent, followed by Japan with 16 percent, Korea with 6.5 percent, Germany with 5 percent and China 4 percent.

    China was the only major patenting country to report an on-year increase in the 2018 patent grants.

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  • Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina has opened its second store in Kathmandu spanning across 500 sq.ft. Targeting middle and higher income group customers, the store offers complete kitchen solutions including entire range of big appliances and modular kitchen. Look and feel of the store is a mixture of Kutchina’s modern concept with a traditional touch of Nepal’s rich culture. The walls of the store are given a look of Brick Mounting which resembles traditional houses of Nepal and adds that wow factor to the store.

    Designed by in-house designers, the store highlights all the elements of the products with the use of LED and Track lights. At present, the brand has 20 stores in India and 2 in Nepal.

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  • Samsung plans to release robots this year

    Samsung plans to release robots this year

    Samsung robots are coming this year. Kim Hyun-suk, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ consumer electronics division, said the company has been conducting research on the robotics market and is now preparing to launch several robots this year during a press conference with reporters on Monday, a day prior to the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

    Until now, Samsung Electronics has stayed mum on whether it is making robots. “To develop robots, it’s important to have an artificial intelligence [AI] platform ready [to mount on the robots],” Kim said. “That AI platform is almost ready.”

    Samsung unveiled three variations of its AI-based robot, dubbed Samsung Bot, at the briefing, revealing its robotics technology for the first time.

    The three Samsung Bots, labeled Care, Air and Retail, are designed to aid people’s health, and improve air quality and retail shop management. Samsung Bot Care, for instance, monitors users’ vitals like blood pressure and heartbeat and helps people take medicine at the right time. The robot can also call 119 and contact family members when it senses an emergency such as a heart attack.

    The electronics giant also introduced its wearable robot, dubbed GEMS. It assists people with difficulty walking due to weak muscles or injuries and reduces physical pain in the knees and ankles.

    “I can’t say for sure when the products introduced today will be commercialized,” Kim said. “There are possibilities that robot products not introduced yet could be commercialized first.”

    Kim added that demand for robots is expected to increase, especially due to societal aging, pointing out that robots like Samsung Bot Care will be useful for the elderly.

    “By exploiting Samsung’s know-how in AI, Internet of Things and developing multiple devices, we are considering our options for various types of robots,” Kim said.

    On concerns of whether Samsung’s own AI engine Bixby is losing ground due to the company’s AI partnerships with tech giants like Google and Amazon, Kim said that is a “misunderstanding.”

    Though Amazon’s Alexa AI assistant and Google Assistant may be a step ahead of Bixby in terms of technology and presence in the global market, Kim said partnerships make Bixby stronger, not weaker.
    The important thing, according to Kim, is that when people ask Bixby a question, the AI will be able to give out answers based on its own knowledge or by utilizing data from Google or Amazon.

    “No company has strengths in every aspect of business,” Kim said. “Though Bixby is a latecomer [to the AI assistant market], Samsung has relative strength in making devices compared to other tech companies, and Google and Amazon will focus on what they are good at.”

    Kim also commented on LG Electronics’ rollable TV that made headlines globally. LG’s rollable TV prototype can roll itself into a storage box that becomes a table with speakers.

    According to the Samsung president, there needs to be considerations on whether the product can be “economical.” He added that without the economic feasibility to commercialize the product, the prototype is a lot less meaningful.

    Brian Kwon, head of LG’s home entertainment division, said in a separate press briefing Tuesday in Las Vegas that the company will make rollable TVs its future growth engine.

    On concerns about the product’s cost, Kwon said while the price may be a barrier in widely expanding sales of the product right after launch, the company will strive to quickly improve the TV’s cost competitiveness.

  • Chinese Smartphone Realme Eyes to Expand Southeast Asia

    Chinese Smartphone Realme Eyes to Expand Southeast Asia

    BBK Electronics’ budget smartphone brand Realme is eyeing expansion into Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe. The company’s online distribution strategy has brought it success in the Indian market and makes broader expansion possible, according to Realme global CEO Sky Li Bingzhong. “The company’s asset-light operations and focus on online sales allow it to keep costs low. That way, more young consumers can afford its products, which makes the brand more competitive in the market,” said Li.

    Realme launched in India in May last year with handsets priced at INR8,990 (US$129) – becoming the second top-selling smartphone brand during the Diwali festival season from October to November. The brand has joined a number of Chinese phone manufacturers seeking to build strength in the Indian market as they challenge more established international competitors in more saturated markets.

    BBK also owns the Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus brands, selling mid- to high-end models. Independent Realme runs its own R&D operations, but partners with Oppo in smartphone production. Its expansion moves are indicative of Chinese phone manufacturers’ larger strategy to deploy varying brands that each target specific markets globally.

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  • LG H&H buys Avon factory in China

    LG H&H buys Avon factory in China

    LG Household & Health Care announced Wednesday it is buying Avon’s Chinese factory in an effort to expand production facilities. According to LG Household, subsidiary The Face Shop will purchase the London-based cosmetics firm’s factory in Guangzhou, China, for around 79.3 billion won ($70.8 million). Avon’s 49,500-square-meter (12.25-acre) factory in Guangzhou, China is capable of producing 13,000 tons of cosmetics and hair care and body products every year. Its facilities meet cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) regulations, which are enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    LG Household will use the Guangzhou factory to manufacture LG products like The Face Shop branded goods for its Chinese and other Asian businesses while continuing to produce Avon products as well. Avon employees will remain at the factory.

    The buyout deal is expected to be finalized in February after Chinese authorities approve the transaction.

    The move comes less than a year after LG Household purchased Avon’s Japanese operation for around $96 million last April. Avon said it hopes the Guangzhou factory sale will help increase its operational flexibility.

    “This transaction is a significant step forward in our effort to ‘Open Up Avon’ by operating more efficiently, with a leaner, more agile global infrastructure,” said Jan Zijderveld, CEO of Avon. “We know [LG Household] well and believe that they will continue to be a strong partner for Avon.”

    “We are pleased to … add a state-of-the-art facility with powerful capabilities to deliver quality products for the fast-growing local market,” added Suk Cha, CEO of LG Household.

  • LG profit plunges, missing forecasts by a mile

    LG profit plunges, missing forecasts by a mile

    LG Electronics’ operating profit fell nearly 80 percent in the fourth-quarter of 2018 year-on-year, according to preliminary figures disclosed in a Financial Supervisory Service regulatory filing Tuesday.  The smartphone and household appliances manufacturer estimated 75.3 billion won ($67.0 million) in operating profit for the final quarter of last year compared to 366.8 billion won in the same quarter in 2017.

    The estimate is far below the 398.1 billion won forecast by analysts surveyed by FnGuide, a data provider. The company anticipated 15.8 trillion won in revenue from October to December last year, a 7-percent decline from the same period a year earlier.

    Analysts pointed to the slowing global smartphone market as a factor weighing on the company.

    “With the smartphone market currently in a slump, [the company] is unable to find an opportunity to recover,” said Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities in a report Tuesday that predicted disappointing earnings prior to LG’s announcement. “Demand has slowed as smartphone replacement cycles have become longer in high-value markets such as Korea and the United States,” Kim added.

    Meanwhile, the company estimated annual operating profit for 2018 at 2.7 trillion won, a 9.5 percent rise from the previous year.

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  • LG unveils TV that rolls up for storage

    LG unveils TV that rolls up for storage

    LG Electronics unveiled the world’s first “rollable” television at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 that launched in Las Vegas, United States, on Tuesday. Last year, its affiliate LG Display unveiled a prototype of a 65-inch rollable OLED display panel at the same event. Dubbed the LG Signature OLED TV R9, it uses the same technology, only it comes with an aluminium case at the screen’s bottom that looks like a long tissue box.

    A rolling OLED display was possible because unlike TV panels of the past, OLED screens don’t need backlight to show color, but have molecules that let out light on their own.

    The panel can roll itself up and down from the case so that the television set looks more like a long, rectangular table once the screen is completely inserted. LG boasts that the screen can maintain its color definition even as it rolls itself. R9 won the CES 2019 Innovation Awards in the video display sector.

    LG plans to launch global sales of R9 this year, starting from Korea. Its price was not disclosed, but it will be among LG’s premium television lineups. The advantage of the rollable TV set is that it can be placed in locations like the window side or in the middle of a room. For conventional TV screens, the popular choice was beside or on the walls as they take up space and block the view if installed elsewhere.

    The television set also comes with high-quality speakers and an artificial intelligence software that enhances the set’s performance to adjust definition and sound according to the film or video played. It also recognizes simple vocal commands.

    When the screens are rolled inside the case, R9 can work similarly to an audio set as it can play music via connection to smartphones or other portable devices. It also comes with various modes to use the screen apart from watching movies and TV shows.

    It can function like a huge electronic canvas that shows photos saved in your smartphone. For those who want to create a cozy atmosphere, it has a “Mood” mode that plays a video of a fireplace or displays mood-specific light on the screen.

    LG Display Vice Chairman Han Sang-beom expressed confidence in the panel in front of local reporters on Tuesday at the CES. According to Han, the rollable panel was rolled and unrolled more than 100,000 times during its development process.

    “We’re talking with other clients as well [apart from LG Electronics] for the rollable TV panels,” he said. “My plan is to target the premium market instead of aiming for sales volumes.”

  • Samsung cooperates with Apple

    Samsung cooperates with Apple

    Samsung Electronics is teaming with arch-rival Apple to enable its smart TVs to access video, audio and other programming from iTunes. It is the first time the two have cooperated on content. The partnership was announced Monday. Beginning this spring, Samsung smart TVs will have iTunes movies and TV as a default option, along with YouTube and Netflix. For customers with older versions of Samsung smart TVs, the service can be added with a software update.

    Apple’s new movie and TV streaming service is set for official introduction in March. Samsung Smart TVs will be the first non-Apple devices to have access to the service.

    Another feature to be made possible on Samsung TVs is AirPlay 2, a function that allows for wirelessly access to movies, photos, podcasts or music from Apple devices.

    Until recently, before Chinese manufacturers became smartphone leaders, Apple and Samsung competed intensely for domination in the market.

    The two were also embroiled in a seven-year patent battle that was only concluded last year.

    Despite the rivalry, they have continued to do business with each other. Samsung has supplied Apple with smartphone chips and displays.

    At an event held in Las Vegas Monday before the Consumer Electronics Show 2019, the president of the Samsung visual display business, Han Jong-hee said that the collaboration is a “win-win” for both companies while customers will benefit from a wider range of choices.

    “For now, the collaboration will be about content. But in the future, I expect there to be other fields in which we can work together as well,” said Han. According to another senior executive at the event, the project was initially suggested by Samsung.

    The company suggested that it is open to partnerships with other companies as well, saying in a press release that it aims to minimize the barriers between products and providers to offer a “rich selection of content.”

    For Samsung, Apple programming will give it an upper hand in attracting customers.

    The war in the TV market is now as much about what is available on devices as it is about brighter, more colorful and slimmer panels. How TVs seamlessly link to online resources is one of the major battlegrounds.

    The partnership also reflects how Apple is increasingly putting weight on services instead of hardware – the reason it came up with the iTunes video streaming service. Global iPhone sales are falling short of expectations as customers don’t change phones as frequently as before and many are being turned off by the high prices.

    Samsung brings with it the strength of being No. 1 in the global TV market, with more than a 40 percent share.

    “We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung smart TVs, so iPhone, iPad and Mac users have yet another way to enjoy all their favorite content on the biggest screen in their home,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple.

  • Samsung to release feature-rich phone to take on Huawei

    Samsung to release feature-rich phone to take on Huawei

    Samsung is releasing a phone with robust functions specifically designed to meet the challenge posed by Huawei. It has fast internet speeds — utilizing 5G wireless — is foldable and has an innovative screen design. Last year’s smartphone market can be summarized in one sentence: Apple’s defense, Huawei’s catch-up and the fall of Samsung Electronics.

    According Counterpoint Research, Apple’s share in the super high-end smartphone market, those priced over $900 (880,000 won), was 79 percent in the third quarter of 2018. In the $600-$900 market (660,000 to 880,000 won), Apple (61%) surpassed Samsung Electronics (21%) by a large margin, and in the $400-$600 range (440,000 to 660,000 won), Huawei (17%) was right behind Samsung (25%).

    At this critical moment, Samsung Electronics celebrates the 10th anniversary of the release of its “Galaxy” smartphone. The Galaxy Black came to market in April 2009. A new Galaxy S10, a commemorative issued for the anniversary, will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona, Spain this February. The name of the new S10 is “Beyond.”

    Samsung’s says it wants to outdo itself with the latest release.

    In the new S10, Samsung’s Infinity-O Display will be embedded. The display has a small hole in the screen for the selfie lens, so almost the entire face of the device is screen. The proportion that is screen is more than in Apple products, which utilize more real estate for the lens.

    The fingerprint-identifying sensor does not require separate hardware, but is found within the screen. The sensor itself utilizes Qualcomm ultrasonic-wave technology, which can identify prints that are less readable due to water or soil on the screen. Instead of scanning the user’s iris, the new model will utilize facial recognition, as is done with iPhones.

    It is expected that Samsung will maintain the 3.5mm-earphone jack, which has been scrapped on iPhones. It will also be 5G capable, allowing for a 1.5-gigabyte movie to be downloaded in less than a second. Samsung announced last month it will supply the world’s first 5G phones to Verizon and AT&T.

    Huawei is expected to release its own 5G phone in the first half of the year.

    Early versions of the new Galaxy S10, to be released in February, will not be 5G capable. It is possible that the S10 with a 5G communications chip will be released separately, as was done with the Galaxy S5 broadband LTE-A model, which was separately released in 2014.

    It was expected that LG Electronics will release its 5G smartphone this April or May, but it changed its goal for release to late March. Apple might not equip new iPhones, which will be released this year, with a 5G-communications chip.

    A telecommunications industry source said, “Apple originally did not really care about the speed of telecommunications that much. Apple might embed 5G in the iPhone in fall.”

    Smartphone competitors are seen pushing foldable phones in 2019. According to market research firm Strategic Analysis (SA), shipments of foldable smartphones globally will increase gradually from 3 million in 2019 to 14 million in 2020, and ultimately to 30 million in 2022.

    Chinese phone market Royole released a foldable first, in October last year, ahead of Samsung Electronics and Huawei. Royole will release its 7.8-inch Flex Pie foldable phone at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to be held in Las Vegas from Jan. 8-Jan. 11. Royole led the market but has received criticism about the quality of its device.

    The Galaxy foldable phone will be released in February. It will have a 7.3-inch screen as well as a 4.58-inch screen. The initial run will be about 1 million units.

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