News
Apple leads global smartphone profits for Q2 2018
More money for the company
Apple didn’t manage to sell the most number of smartphones, but they still earned a lot more than their competitors. According to the latest data from Counterpoint Research, Apple had the biggest share of industry profits during the second quarter of the year.
The report states that Apple earned 62 percent of the second-quarter profits related to smartphone sales. Samsung, which is the top-selling smartphone vendor, is responsible for just 17 percent of smartphone profits in the quarter. Basically, Apple’s profits amounted to more than 3.6 times than Samsung’s.

Samsung’s profits continue to decline over the last three years, but Chinese tech giants enjoy the opposite. Huawei placed third accounting for eight percent of the smartphone profits, OPPO has five percent, Vivo gets four percent, and Xiaomi with three percent. The report noted that the Chinese manufacturers produced more premium handsets during the second quarter which allowed them to score US$ 2 billion in profits for the first time.
As for deeper insights, the iPhone brought Apple US$ 6 billion in profits on US$ 30 billion in sales during the second quarter. Samsung’s smartphone profits, on the other hand, declined 21 percent. Shipments of the Galaxy S9 series is down by 24 percent compared to shipments of the Galaxy S8 series during the same quarter last year.

Counterpoint also showed Apple’s dominance in the high-end market. During the second quarter, the iPhone was responsible for 88 percent of the revenue generated by sales of smartphones above US$ 800. Apple, with 41 percent, and Samsung, with 44 percent, battled for phones priced between US$ 600 to 800.
The midrange US$ 400 to 600 price of smartphones was led by Apple and OPPO, each with 22 percent of the revenue generated by sales in that segment. Samsung and Huawei were next with 16 and 14 percent, respectively. Xiaomi follows behind with six percent and OnePlus with five percent.
Via: AppleInsider
SEE ALSO: New report confirms Huawei’s dominance over Apple in smartphones
Apps
Honor, Xiaomi are working on their own Privacy Displays
Samsung’s Privacy Display is apparently very popular.
Normally, a smartphone brand’s blatant copying of another brand’s feature is not a good practice. Today, however, there is a new feature that we wish other brands would copy: Samsung’s Privacy Display. Thankfully, some brands, like Honor, have finally gotten the message and are working on version of the feature.
As reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, Honor is reportedly working on a privacy screen for its smartphones. Likewise, Xiaomi is working on the same thing, potentially launching the feature for the Xiaomi 18 Pro.
For the uninitiated, the Samsung Privacy Display is a built-in feature that blocks visibility of the screen at certain angles. If you’re not looking at the screen from the front, all you’ll see is a black void. It’s a built-in version of those protective screens that you can buy separately. Besides adding a nice layer of protection against scratches, it’s also meant to prevent snooping from your shoulder.
Samsung’s take was widely acclaimed for being insanely useful. When it arrives, this feature will be a godsend to more brands. Even better, users will no longer need to rely on third-party screen just to enjoy the privacy.
That said, there’s still no indication as to when these features will arrive on either Honor or Xiaomi.
SEE ALSO: LE SSERAFIM Chaewon flexes Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display
Earlier this week, Nothing confirmed that CMF will no longer get a new smartphone later this year. However, the company also teased that a new model is still coming to Nothing itself. The initial tease did not include a model name or an image, thereby shrouding the new phone in mystery. Now, the mystery is gone as Nothing has definitively confirmed what’s coming: the Nothing (4b).
Nope, that’s not a typo. Nothing is following up the Phone (4a) series with the Phone (4b).
On X, Nothing teased the upcoming smartphone with a rough sketch of the model. Surrounded by designs from the Phone (4a) series, the Phone (4b)’s design shakes things up by introducing the usual wide camera island but affixing only a small vertical camera setup on the left side.
Meanwhile, a smaller pill-shaped cutout likely houses the phone’s LED flashes. Finally, a light strip on the lower right of the island will probably feature the model’s lighting element.
The Nothing (4b)’s launch is just over the horizon. The company has confirmed that the model will launch on July 7.
This is likely Nothing’s last ace up its sleeve this year. Earlier this year, Carl Pei already confirmed that the flagship-level Phone (4) will not arrive until next year.
Meta does not have the most stellar of reputations. Despite offering the world’s most popular social media platforms, the company, through its various experiments throughout the years, continuously proves that it has other priorities than just providing the best for its users. Today, another reported experiment wants to take Meta to a new market that its users might fall into: the prediction market.
If you haven’t heard of the prediction market, consider yourself lucky. These apps, such as Kalshi, are basically just gambling platforms without the glitz of playing cards or the rigor of the stock market. Users gamble on mundane circumstances like the weather and more serious ones like war.
Today, as reported by The New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly asking Meta to develop a prediction app of its own. Interestingly, the experimental app, supposedly called Arena, will use virtual points, rather than real money. However, Meta has not ruled out real money — and hence, real gambling — in the future.
Meta is entering the industry at an extremely volatile time. The world is starting to crack down on prediction markets. Some users, for example, have been accused of using insider information to get easy wins on these platforms. Some markets have also accused these platforms of subverting anti-gambling laws.
SEE ALSO: Meta adds subscriptions for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
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