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When Xiaomi first began making smartphones in 2011, it took many design cues – on both hardware and software – from Apple, so much so that the Chinese company was dismissed as an iPhone copycat maker by Western tech sites. The stigma of this stuck with the company for years (at least in English-language media), even though Xiaomi had developed a nice identity of its own by 2014. It wasn’t until two years later, though, when Xiaomi wowed the industry with its pioneering bezel-less Mi Mix that it finally shed that label. Old habits die hard, however. On Thursday Xiaomi...

image Tom's Guide Apple remained the most profitable smartphone brand through the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a new market research report. The Cupertino tech giant managed to capture 86 percent of the total smartphone market profits Q4 2017, even though the premium handset segment didn’t grow as expected, according to a new report by Counterpoint Research (via CNBC). Additionally, the iPhone X accounted for 21 percent of total revenue and 35 percent total of the profits made by the entire industry in the fourth quarter — allowing Apple to grow about 1 percent, year-over-year. That’s despite the fact...

Apple wowed the world with its iPhone X. Now it's Samsung's turn. The South Korean electronics giant on Sunday will unveil its latest phone, the Galaxy S9, at its Unpacked event at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung's invitation for the launch featured the number nine -- for the name of the device -- as well as the teaser, "The Camera. Reimagined." The Galaxy S series is Samsung's most important product line. If you own an Android phone, the odds are pretty high that it bears a Samsung logo. Last year, about one out of every...

Apple will discontinue the first-generation iPhone X when the second-generation model launches later this year, rather than bump the device down its smartphone lineup for lower than $999, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who clarified his earlier prediction with a follow-up research note today. Kuo said that Apple keeping the current iPhone X in its smartphone lineup for a reduced price, such as $899, would likely cannibalize sales of the mid-range 6.1-inch iPhone with Face ID and a LCD display that he expects to launch in the second half of 2018 for between $650 and $750 in the...

SAN LEANDRO (KPIX 5) — Two East Bay teenagers have been arrested for killing a man over an iPhone X. The victim: Danny Carlos, a 32-year-old father from Redwood City. The deal started on the ‘letgo’ app. What was supposed to be a quick sale turned into a robbery and eventually murder. “Danny was doing everything right in regards to using the app,” said Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ray Kelly. .... They got search warrants for the letgo servers and found out who Carlos was communicating with on the app. That led detectives to 18-year-old Jordan Patton and 18-year-old...

When Apple unveiled the iPhone X in September, it seemed the tech giant had finally addressed one of the most common complaints about iPhones: Their propensity for the screen to shatter when dropped. Apple said the glass on its three new iPhones—the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X—would be tougher than not just its predecessors, but all other smartphones out there. The new generation of iPhones “are reinforced by a steel and copper structure with the 50 percent deeper strengthening layer using our dual ion-exchange process,” Apple said, adding that it is “the most durable glass ever made...

DisplayMate: Apple’s iPhone X has the most color accurate display we’ve ever measured; it is visually indistinguishable from perfect IPhone X “Switching from LCDs to OLEDs is a major engineering and manufacturing challenge, so I was eager to test and evaluate the new OLED iPhone X,” Dr. Raymond M. Soneira reports for DisplayMate. “The result: Apple has produced an impressive Smartphone display with excellent performance and accuracy, which we cover in extensive detail below. What makes the iPhone X the best smartphone display is the impressive precision display calibration Apple developed, which transforms the OLED hardware into a superbly accurate,...

In a blast from the past, there are long lines already forming in cities around the world for tomorrow’s iPhone X launch. After the iPhone 8’s muted rollout in late September, the lines of people willing to wait overnight suggest massive demand for the iPhone X – despite its US$1,000-plus price tag. In Singapore, there are “hundreds” waiting for the iPhone X outside Apple’s freshly-opened store. By late afternoon, there were already overwhelming numbers, reports Channel News Asia. “You need breathing space. This will take a while. There is no point in pushing,” Apple store staffers were heard saying. Video...

If you're just waking up, you're too late: iPhone X preorders sold out within minutes overnight. Apple Add Interest Today marked the kick-off for iPhone X preorders, Apple’s much anticipated 10th-anniversary edition of its iPhone. Preorders opened at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time and 3:01 a.m. ET for those Apple devotees who wanted to be some of the first to get their hands on the phone that Apple's CEO Tim Cook called the “biggest leap forward since the original iPhone” at its Sept. 12 launch event. While the iPhone X was gone online in minutes, the phone will be available in...

Apple's new iPhone X $999 price tag only looks expensive, according to Apple chief Tim Cook. Asked by ABC's Good Morning America presenter Robin Roberts whether the iPhone X's price tag was "out of reach for the average American", Cook replied that it was "a value price actually for the technology you're getting". After explaining that most people pay don't pay the full sum upfront and often receive carrier subsidies and trade-in discounts, Cook also suggests that whether the iPhone X is out of reach for most people is beside the point. That's because Apple's goal has never been to...

At least not in the derogatory sense that many are using to label a phone that costs $1000. I started a conversation on Twitter last week trying to separate what is expensive and what is a luxury. And as the comments continued, I realized that explaining the nuances of what luxury means in tech would take longer than 140 characters so here I am. Please don’t think I am neglecting to understand the privileged position from which I am discussing what a luxury is and what it is not. The focus here is on establishing what the true value of...