Apple is still No 1 in China’s premium segment, which consists of handsets priced over US$600, but it is losing market share to Honor and Huawei, according to IDC.

Apple saw iPhone sales in China decline 19.1 per cent in the first quarter, while Huawei achieved sales growth of nearly 70 per cent, according to Counterpoint.

The US tech giant’s latest initiative shows that it remains committed to boosting capital spending in the world’s largest smartphone market, despite sluggish iPhone sales.

Xiaomi has told New Delhi that smartphone component suppliers are wary about setting up operations in India amid heavy scrutiny of Chinese companies by the government.

Huawei’s return to form in the world’s largest smartphone market was jump-started by the surprise release last August of its Mate 60 Pro 5G handset.

Some people have expressed concerns that the Baidu search features on the Galaxy S24 series are not as good as Google’s version.

The collaboration between Samsung and Baidu comes as the race to integrate generative artificial intelligence features into handsets has intensified in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Samsung has shifted its focus to the high-end segment of mainland China’s smartphone market, particularly with its foldable handsets.

Realme’s 12 Pro+ smartphone to launch at the end of January will focus on providing a better zoom lens at a budget price, as the Chinese firm caters to young overseas users.

The move comes soon after 4 executives at the company’s Indian unit, including a Chinese national, were arrested for alleged money laundering.

The Chinese smartphone brand has urged the Finnish electronics giant to comply with the court’s decision, as Beijing flexes its legal muscles in cross-border disputes.

Xiaomi’s share of India’s smartphone market is expected to fall 5 percentage points to 15 per cent this year, behind Samsung and Chinese peer Vivo.

The company says it reached the milestone in the second quarter, with most devices sold outside China.

New Delhi will provide subsidies under a scheme to boost domestic manufacturing and strengthen the South Asian country’s bid to become a major hub in the global electronics supply chain.

Xiaomi returns to revenue growth in third quarter as it targets more AI enhancements to its smartphones.

Computers with chips that have built-in AI capabilities are expected to account for 86 per cent of laptops shipped in China in 2027, according to IDC.

Rising sales in China drove US chip giant Qualcomm to better-than-expected earnings in the past quarter, prompting the company to make a target-beating revenue forecast for the current quarter.

Xiaomi has become the latest industry player to create a single system that works across smartphones, vehicles and IoT products, as Huawei works towards liberating its own integrated OS completely from Google’s Android.

Honor reclaimed the top smartphone vendor spot in the third quarter with an 18 per cent share and total shipments of 11.8 million units, as the mainland market posted a modest decline.

Oppo’s move comes as ChatGPT-like products are increasingly seen as potential game-changers in the highly-competitive smartphone market.

The accusations, detailed in a court filing on October 10, follow the arrest this week of a Vivo executive in a money laundering investigation by India’s financial crime agency.

Vivo, the second most popular smartphone brand in India, is among several Chinese companies that have come under regulatory scrutiny in the South Asian nation.

The arrests add to the legal troubles of the Chinese phone maker in India, and come amid rising tensions between Beijing and New Delhi.

Xiaomi’s new alliance with Padget Electronics in India shows how major handset brands are boosting their production in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market.

The list of registered app stores in the country includes Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and even Samsung, but not the mainland’s fourth-largest smartphone brand.

Honor chief executive George Zhao Ming said the company will focus on noncore chips such as the C1, a self-developed radio frequency communication device to boost 5G signals that it unveiled in March.

Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro may prove popular with domestic consumers but analysts say its overseas appeal will be limited, with no return to its heyday on the horizon.

An overwhelming majority of young consumers in Southeast Asia are more attracted to mid-range or budget phones than higher-end models, according to a new survey.