Apple's decision to launch the eSIM-only iPhone 14 series in the US has American buyers puzzled. Surprisingly, it stumped some Indian folks, too, despite the availability of a physical SIM slot in the India-centric iPhone 14 series. This is because a large number of Apple consumers in India get their iPhones at considerably cheaper rates from the US through visiting relatives, friends, family, et al. Their apprehensions are mostly about compatibility with Indian networks and eSIM availability in India.
Only one in five handsets sold in India this year is likely to be made locally.
In a communication to the empowered committee on PLI recently, the Indian Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) has stated that except one player (Samsung), all the other eight players (which include vendors of Apple Inc) selected under the scheme were facing numerous challenges in fulfilling the qualification criteria.
Without Google's Android operating system, Huawei may have to put off new launches.
Engineers based in India are estimated to be writing roughly 35 per cent of the 100 million lines of codes required to develop one fully driverless car for global vehicle makers.
The onslaught of Chinese mobile brands is virtually obliterating Indian brands, especially in terms of value. According to industry estimates based on excise and Custom duty trends, the value share of Indian brands (across smartphones and feature phones, operator phone sales - which is mostly Jio phones - and the value of phones smuggled into the country) has dropped to a mere 1.2 per cent in January-October 2021 compared to 25.4 per cent in the calendar year 2015. In the same period, the Chinese have established their domination, hitting a value share of 64.5 per cent, up from 17.8 per cent.
The top driver for the Indian workforce while choosing an employer are salary and employee benefits, followed by work-life balance and job security.
Xiaomi will strengthen its product portfolio and launch 5G devices in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment as it looks to increase its market share in the segment. Xiaomi led the shipments in overall smartphone category in 2021 with a 24 per cent share, according to Counterpoint Research. However, in the 5G segment it is ranked fourth behind One Plus, Samsung, and Vivo, with a 13 per cent share.
Foundries in Taiwan account for more than 75 per cent of the chips that mobile devices made in India need, according to estimates by the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents global and domestic manufacturers. The number is slightly lower, 60 per cent, if one considers all chips -- those of consumer electronics, PCs, laptops, autos, etc. This ties in with the fact that foundries in Taiwan, led by TSMC, account for over 70 per cent of the world's microchip supply, according to estimates by Gartner.
The company will, however, not bring its new 5G-enabled Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G) to India and Singapore markets.
Groups such as Tata, Godrej, HCL, and L&T lead the way
Apple's three vendors in the country have hit the milestone of creating 30,000 new direct jobs since the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices kicked off in April 2021. Based on the government's estimate that one direct job in the electronics industry helps to generate three indirect ones, Apple's vendors, Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron, are close to creating 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. The direct jobs that the vendors have created account for a fourth of Apple's commitment to generate 60 per cent of the new direct jobs out of the 200,000 jobs targeted by the government under the PLI scheme within five years.
The new online store, which will be launched on September 23, will provide customers with the same premium experience found in Apple Store locations around the world, delivered by online team members who are ready to offer their expertise, Apple said in a statement.
Now, that Xiaomi has almost become a household name in India, it is time to explore the top 10 Xiaomi smartphones that have either hit or are expected to hit the Indian shelves soon.
Manisha Sharma (name changed) was always among the high achievers in her company. She was recognised and rewarded for those efforts as well. Mid-December 2022, however, she received a jolt: an email informing her that she had been laid off - along with several of her colleagues. Sharma worked for a big tech firm, which had decided to downsize. And just like that, she was asked to go. "It did come as a shock," she says. "I did not take calls for the first two days, but then realised there is no point in beating oneself up for a situation that's not in your hand. "I thought let this be an opportunity to take a break. I'll now start looking for a job," she adds.
Home-grown companies, including electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firm Dixon Technologies and mobile device maker Lava International, have started exploratory talks with Chinese sub-assemblies and component players for setting up joint ventures (JVs) in the country. Sources in the industry say many domestic companies have also had preliminary discussions with original design manufacturers (ODMs) in China to look at a JV model for manufacturing smartphones. Key ODM players in mobile devices in China include Longcheer, Huaqin, and Wingtech, which has already set up a plant in Tirupati.
The government is planning to roll out 5G testbed in early January to enable small and medium enterprises and other industry players to test their solutions on a working platform, a top Department of Telecom official said on Thursday. For the promotion of 5G indigenous technology, DoT in March 2018, had approved a multi-institute collaborative project to set up an indigenous 5G Test Bed at a total cost of Rs 224 crore. A testbed consists of a specific environment including hardware, software, operating system, and network configuration to test a product or service.
Two of Apple Inc's global vendors -- Wistron and Foxconn (through Han Hoi), which already manufacture Apple phones in India -- and a third entity, Pegatron, which will be setting up a new plant, have applied to the government to be eligible under the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturers.
The users of 5G-enabled Apple iPhones will be able to try 5G telecom services - wherever available publicly in the country - from next week, both on standalone (Reliance Jio) and non-standalone networks (Bharti Airtel). Airtel and Jio customers who download the iOS 16 Beta software update as part of its 'Apple Beta Software Program' can try the service and send their feedback to the company. The final updated software will become available sometime in December.
Once the darling of consumers, the April-June sales figure for Apple is a historic low. This has coincided with Chinese player OnePlus taking top spot in premium smartphones with a share of 40 per cent and Samsung slipping to second position at 34 per cent in April-June.
OnePlus became one of the top five in the high-end smartphone market, with 6.1 per cent market share in 2015
iPhone will have to break Android's domination to make India the next China for Apple
The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) on Wednesday received over Rs 17,873 crore from companies towards 5G spectrum dues. Nearly half the amount (Rs 8312.4 crore) was paid by Bharti Airtel, which made advance payments for four years to free up cash for future investments. Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea paid Rs 7,864 crore and Rs 1,680 crore, respectively.
Currently, the company sells a small quantity through the retail trade.
But the ban remains on Galaxy Note 7, which has seen battery overheating, manufactured before September 15 and having a white battery charge indication on the screen.
Going forward, the Korean company's real competition could be nimble-footed Indian companies, more than the Nokia-Microsoft combine.
Micromax has the highest tablet sales in the second quarter of the financial year 2012, ahead of Samsung and Apple.
Apart from the growing adoption of the internet in the country, brands are drawn to the agility of the medium, its targeted and data driven approach and the increasing cost of offline channels for sales and distribution.
Advantages are not being leveraged fully mainly because of lack of funds, say experts.
The Indian mobile handset market has grown by 14.17 per cent year-on-year to Rs 35,946 crore in 2012-2013.
Artificially intelligent smartphones will be able to offer solutions and suggestions based on user behaviour.
Huawei came under a cloud after allegations that the firm's electronic and telecom devices helped China spy on US corporations and agencies.
New entrant Micromax gives tough competition to established brands as they bring in more lucrative offerings to woo the youth with devices loaded with education and entertainment apps.
Foxconn has said it is aiming to develop 10-12 facilities in India, including factories and data centres, by 2020
But this could be shortlived as the rise has been buoyed on Chhattisgarh assembly poll freebies
Last year, Apple had shipped close to 2 million units into India, this year, the target is to reach 3 million units
Incubated for over three years, the OnePlus 5 comes with a Snapdragon 835 processor.
How expensive was this 'picture of the century'?
One of Apple's suppliers, Salcomp, will invest Rs 2,000 crore over the next five years to make components at a Nokia plant in Chennai. The facility, which has been closed for nearly 10 years, will be revived and made operational from March 2020.
