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Apple leads global smartphone profits for Q2 2018

More money for the company

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iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X | GadgetMatch

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

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Smart showcases cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut

Play over 1,000 titles straight on your smartphones

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Philippines mobile service provider Smart showcased the country’s first cloud gaming platform in partnership with Blacknut at the recent Philippine GameDev Expo (PGDX) 2026.

As the event’s main presenter, Smart highlighted its collaboration with the cloud gaming subscription service. Together with its value-packed Power All offers, the network provider is highlighting what the future of gaming can look like.

Smart and TNT subscribers can conveniently access Blacknut Cloud Gaming through a dedicated site. Here, they can play more than 1,000 premium console and PC-quality games on their smartphones.

That’s without the need for expensive gaming hardware or lengthy downloads. Weekly subscriptions start at just PhP 145 and can be conveniently charged to prepaid load following a simple OTP verification process.

To make the experience better, Smart also has Power All offers, which provide generous open-access data for today’s digital lifestyles. There’s a package for cloud and mobile gaming, streaming, content sharing, and productivity.

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Ghost of Yotei gets a story expansion in October

The Complete Edition comes with the expansion and a roguelike mode.

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Ghost of Yotei is a classic RPG experience set in the same universe as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. In my opinion, Atsu’s journey of revenge feels a lot more fun than Jin’s battle to save his homeland. If you’re in the same boat, Ghost of Yotei is coming back on October 1 with brand-new content.

Without delving too much into spoiler territory, Ghost of Yotei has a conclusive ending. Rather than shoehorning a forced epilogue, Echoes of Sekigahara, the title of the upcoming story expansion, explores Atsu’s past.

As with Tsushima’s expansion, Echoes of Sekigahara features a new map with new enemies, weapons, and collectibles. It will be set in two different time periods.

Besides the story expansion, the upcoming update also has a new mode called Most Wanted, which Sucker Punch Production describes as their “spin on a roguelike.” The mode explores Atsu’s experience as a headhunter, feeding her with bounties and earnable perks.

The two new content expansions will come with in the upcoming Ghost of Yotei Complete Edition. The new edition, coming on October 1, will also come with the co-op Legends mode. It also has a few perks and customization options. The edition will sell for US$ 70.

If you already have the base edition, you can grab an upgrade for only US$ 15. If you don’t want to pay for the upgrade, the game is still getting a few minor tweaks.

SEE ALSO: Ghost of Yotei review: A tale sharpened by vengeance

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HONOR isn’t taking the Robot Phone global — yet

The hardware is ready. The AI isn’t.

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The HONOR Robot Phone may have officially launched, but don’t expect this version to immediately make its way to global markets.

HONOR told media in Shenzhen that it currently has no plans to bring the current Robot Phone outside China. The main hurdle isn’t the hardware. It’s the phone’s AI experience, which is currently optimized for the Chinese market.

HONOR believes a future generation of the Robot Phone would be better positioned for a true global rollout once its AI experience is ready for markets outside China.

That doesn’t mean HONOR is abandoning the idea. Quite the opposite.

More than a phone with a moving camera

The Robot Phone is HONOR’s attempt to introduce a new idea to the smartphone market. It combines a smartphone with a 4DoF mechanical gimbal, allowing its camera to physically move. 

Its AI features take that concept further. YOYO Robot Mode can use voice commands, gestures, and AI tracking to control the camera. It can also automatically pan and tilt to keep a person in frame during vlogs, livestreams, and video calls. 

The phone also brings selected elements of ARRI Image Science and professional cinema workflows to its camera system. Its 200MP gimbal main camera supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording, while ARRI Wide Gamut 3 and ARRI Looks give creators more control over their footage. 

But HONOR isn’t treating the Robot Phone primarily as a volume-driving product.

The company says its bigger goal is to introduce a new concept to the smartphone market and see what kind of effect it can have.

That makes the Robot Phone an interesting experiment for HONOR. The hardware is already here. The company now wants to learn what happens when a smartphone can physically move, respond to its surroundings, and use AI to help operate itself.

For now, though, China is where that experiment begins.

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