Tag: iOS

Huawei continues to make huge strides in the smartphone market and their surge over the course of 2017 continues.  Counterpoint, a global technology research firm, has just released their latest Market Pulse for July 2017.  In that report, the Chinese manufacture has jumped over Apple to take the number two position in global smartphone sales percentage.  Perhaps even more impressive in this is the fact that they made this jump without a “hero” device like Apple’s iPhone 7 or Samsung’s Galaxy S8.

Samsung is by far the leader in smartphone sales percentage globally with just over 20%.

The July report from Counterpoint is the fifth consecutive month of gains in market share by Huawei and they have distanced themselves from others in the highly competitive Chinese manufacturing market.  Still, as the report points out, the risk to Huawei is their over dependence of their home market and expansion into Europe and North America will need to happen for them to hold on to that 2nd place solidly.

Analyst firm IDC has released their Smartphone OS Market Share report for the first quarter of 2017 and its all looking good for Android.  The report looks at smartphone unit shipments to base the figures and Android for the quarter was on 85% of all units shipped.  That’s up from the 81.4% of the previous quarter (Q4 2016) but still 2.6% below the high water mark of 87.6% in Q2 2016.

The gains for Android came at the expense of Apple’s iOS.  Unit shipments for iPhones dropped to 14.7%, down some 3.5% from Q4 2016, which happened to be the height of its shipments at 18.2%.  The only other mobile platform that was mentioned was Windows Phone in the report.  That all-but dead platform now accounts for .1% of smartphone units sold.

Apple has seeded the second beta build of iOS 10.3.3 to both their developer and public beta testing communities today.  The update is available for download for those with registered iPhones and iPads that are compatible with the update.  This second beta does not bring any new features and focuses on overall performance and bug fixes.

While it is not clear when 10.3.3 will be released, it will likely be soon for a few reasons.  First, this is very much a maintenance release and with the exception of a new wallpaper for the iPad Pro 12.3″, there is nothing new to be found.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, WWDC starts next week.

Google is pushing hard to get Actions on Google built for Google Assistant and one of the best ways to do that is to throw some prize money at it.  Google has announced a new contest where the top prize is $10,000 and a trip to Google I/O 2018 for a developer who creates an app leveraging Actions on Google.

For those who are not developers, Actions is the set of APIs that are leveraged to bring Google Assistant compatibility and/or integration into apps.  Google opened up the platform earlier this year and while adoption has been good, Google of course wants to make it more widely used.  Amazon right now has over 10,000 apps that tie into Alexa and Echo and Google is significantly less than that number.  This contest should help change that a bit.

Google Maps is in the process or rolling out a location sharing feature that you may actually want to use.  Location Sharing is something that has been a bit spotty for both Android and iOS with Apple probably having it figured out best with Find My Friends.  But, as is usually the case with Apple, it is only for fellow iOS users.  That is why this new feature in Google Maps is so exciting.  It works cross platform between Android and iOS.

In a nutshell, here is how it works.  When the feature rolls out to you, there will be a Share Location feature in the menu.  Tap it then select the contacts you want to see your location in real time.  You can set it up to share your location in real time for a set amount of time or until you turn the feature off.  Once you start sharing, your selected contacts will get a notification on their phone and when they open up Google Maps, they will be able to see where you are in real time.

Today’s Deal is on another great accessory from Anker.  The PowerCore Slim 5000 is a 5000mAh battery pack that, as the name suggests, is a slim design that is actually smaller than most phones.  Right now this battery pack is down to $19 on Amazon, 62% off the regular price of $31.  The pack has one USB port to connect your Android phone or iPhone to for charging and is rated to give a full charge to a Samsung Galaxy and iPhone 7 Plus one full charge while smaller devices such as the Nexus 5X or iPhone 7 could get two charges out of it.  The pack comes with Anker’s PowerIQ

Anker PowerCore Slim 5000

technology to give a smooth, consistent charge to your devices, making it both save and efficient in the charging process.

Anker designed this pack to be held in your hand along with your phone so if you are on the go, you can still hold your phone and work as the pack doesn’t make everything feel big and bulky.  The pack is also coated in silicone so it won’t scratch up your devices and gives it a smooth feel that is easier to grip than aluminum designed packs.  There are LED indicators to let you know when your phone is charging and when you are done, it easily slips into a pocket or handbag.

Like all Anker products, the PowerCore Slim 5000 comes with an 18-month warranty against any defects and issues and, since this deal is through Amazon, you have a 30 day hassle free refund policy (which is now extended through the holidays).

Head over to Amazon to get more details and to order yours.  It is Amazon Prime eligible for members.