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Ben Sin

The global rise of Chinese phone brands has thrown a monkey wrench into the smartphone business. They have breakneck release schedules, are willing to push industry trends, and tend to offer higher-specification handsets for less money than legacy electronic brands.
Sony, HTC and Motorola have become almost non-factors in the phone market; LG is losing relevance by the year; and Samsung has had to dilute its Galaxy branding with a string of budget A-series phones aimed at Southeast Asia and eastern Europe.
And what of Apple, the biggest legacy phone brand of them all? Slowing sales have forced the company increasingly to branch out into other businesses such as providing content services.
The changing tide will be particularly noticeable at the first two trade shows of 2020: Apple will make an official appearance at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for the first time in 28 years. But it’s not there to show new hardware; rather, the company’s senior director of privacy, Jane Horvath, will speak on the importance of consumer privacy – something to which Apple has pivoted to distinguish itself from rivals.

While CES has traditionally not been a phone-heavy trade show, two major Chinese players will make a splash: Huawei sub-brand Honor will launch the international version of its V30 Pro, and OnePlus will unveil a concept device at the event, which runs from January 7 to 10.
The former is notable because the Honor V30, like Huawei’s Mate 30, cannot run Google’s core apps because of an export ban imposed by the United States government. That Honor is going ahead with a global roll-out implies the company is not going to wait around for the US authorities to throw a lifeline; instead, the Chinese tech giant will move forward with its plan to convince the world to use its Huawei Mobile Services instead of Google Mobile Services.

Little is known about OnePlus’ concept handset, other than what company chief executive Pete Lau has said – that the handset will be a “very special device”. Some believe we may see a prototype foldable phone.
That’s about all that can be predicted about mobile phone brands at CES. If this sounds underwhelming, that’s because everyone is holding out for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, which – as the name suggests – is a far more smartphone-centric show.
Every major smartphone manufacturer bar Apple will have a stage at MWC. The headlines may belong to Oppo that week, as credible rumours say the Chinese brand will launch a follow-up to its late-2017 Find X handset at the event; Oppo sub-brand Realme has already confirmed it will launch a 5G handset at the show. Realme’s phone will probably be a 5G version of the X2 Pro. Given Realme’s aggressive pricing, this should be the most affordable 5G phone yet.

Oppo’s sister brand Vivo has also sent out “save the dates” invitations to media for the February 24-27 event – although I don’t expect Vivo to launch new hardware there.
As one of the world’s largest telecommunications players, Huawei has always had a major presence at MWC, and 2020 will be no different, as the company continues to push ahead with 5G expansion.
There are suggestions it may unveil a new flagship handset, the P40, at the show too (predecessors the P9 and P10 were launched at MWC). Personally, I wouldn’t bet on it. In my opinion, Huawei has grown too big to launch a flagship handset at a crowded trade show; it would rather have the spotlight all to itself in a stand-alone launch event, just as it did when it launched its P20 and P30 handsets.

That logic applies to Samsung too; I doubt we’ll see the Galaxy S11 – of which the talk is that is will use Samsung’s new 108-megapixel camera, but optimised much better than in the recent Xiaomi Mi Note 10 – at MWC, although there may be teasers.
However, we will probably see a new phone from the other South Korean chaebol, LG. The speculation in South Korean media is that LG will unveil its V60 handset, which, like the V50 and G8X, is intended for us mainly with a snap-on second screen.
Xiaomi, which made its MWC debut last year, is likely to return, but it’s not likely to introduce new hardware.
If I had to wager a guess, I would say that Oppo’s much hyped Find X2 will be the hardware star of MWC 2020.


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After Apple’s launch of its foldable iPhone, what are the caveats for Chinese buyers?

Smartphones

Smartphones in 2020: the big reveals expected at CES, Mobile World Congress

LG’s curved electronic display wall at CES 2019. Photo: Bloomberg

=== PHOTO CAPTURED FROM FACEBOOK === Images of Apple's senior director of privacy, Jane Horvath. FACEBOOK.

Visitors test the new Xiaomi Mi 9 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 27, 2019. - Phone makers will focus on foldable screens and the introduction of blazing fast 5G wireless networks at the world's biggest mobile fair as they try to reverse a decline in sales of smartphones. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 10, 2019 attendees wait in line for a 5G exhibition at the Qualcomm booth during CES 2019 consumer electronics show, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. - The United States and China are in a virtual deadlock in the race for 5G, or fifth-generation wireless networks expected to unlock new services, an industry survey showed April 2, 2019. The report shows the United States has closed the gap with China in "readiness" for the ultrafast wireless systems and has more 5G deployments planned in 2019 than any other country. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)

The Huawei section at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. The Chinese telecommunications giant is expected to show its confidence in the world’s appetite for handsets lacking Google’s core apps by unveiling the international version of its Honor V30 Pro at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. Photo: AFP

A smartphone for your child? Make sure they won’t bow to peer pressure before you give them that iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or whatever

Babies on mobile phones. They’re probably too young to own one. Photo: Shutterstock

Kids, no phones, in a park. [21DECEMBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: shutterstock

Child looking at phone instead of homework. [21DECEMBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: shutterstock

Parent teaching child about mobile phones.[21DECEMBER2019 FEATURES]CREDIT: shutterstock

Want to give your child their first smartphone? Don’t consider their age – think about if they are truly ready for one before you do. Photo: Shutterstock

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro review: great value gaming phone – but pay for the additional controller accessory to make it feel like a Nintendo Switch

The Black Shark 2 Pro. Photo: Ben Sin

The left controller accessory with joystick comes free with the phone. The right accessory with a touchpad and buttons is a separate purchase. With both in use, the Blackshark 2 Pro offers the best gaming control experience on a phone I’ve ever experienced.

The Blackshark 2 Pro's back is crafted out of aluminium with two vertical LED lighting strips that sandwiching the Blackshark logo. There are two main cameras: a 48-megapixel sensor and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens.

The Blackshark 2 Pro with both controller accessories snapped on (left and right side) playing the game Modern Combat 5

Fantastic controller accessories and slick gameplay make the Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Pro a great value gaming phone – but the stock Android 9 system makes it a mediocre smartphone at best until the Android 10 update. Photo: Ben Sin

Lifestyle

Gadgets


Huawei to use Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to unveil international version of its Honor V30 Pro, which won’t have Google core apps due to US ban
Another Chinese brand, Oppo, could hog the headlines at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with rumoured launch of Find X2; Realme, LG launches also set



New handsets from Oppo, Huawei sub-brand Honor, Realme, and LG, and a OnePlus concept phone are expected at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. Apple will be back at CES too.
