Nearly 500 Smartphone Brands Have Left the Market Since 2017 (techspot.com) 42
How many smartphone brands do you think have left the market since 2017? The likes of LG probably come to mind, then there are the many local, lesser-known brands. Maybe fifty, or one hundred? The actual figure is, astoundingly, nearly 500. TechSpot: Counterpoint Research's analysis shows that at its peak in 2017, there were more than 700 smartphone brands contributing to the 1.5 billion units sold annually. In 2023, that number is down by a third to almost 250. Nearly all of those brands that have shuttered over the last five years were local ones found in locations such as India, the Middle East, Africa, China, Japan, and South Korea. The number of global brands such as Samsung has remained consistent at over 30.
Counterpoint Research highlights several reasons behind the shrinking number of brands over the last seven years. The pandemic and component shortages that began in 2020 had a massive impact, while the global economic slowdown following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has caused many smaller smartphone companies to shutter. The local brands have also been dealing with other factors killing off their businesses. More people are holding onto their devices for longer before upgrading, cheaper phones are improving in quality all the time, there's a maturing user base, we've seen technology transitions such as that from 4G to 5G, and a handful of big brands are holding on to more of the market.
Counterpoint Research highlights several reasons behind the shrinking number of brands over the last seven years. The pandemic and component shortages that began in 2020 had a massive impact, while the global economic slowdown following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has caused many smaller smartphone companies to shutter. The local brands have also been dealing with other factors killing off their businesses. More people are holding onto their devices for longer before upgrading, cheaper phones are improving in quality all the time, there's a maturing user base, we've seen technology transitions such as that from 4G to 5G, and a handful of big brands are holding on to more of the market.
Nooo (Score:1)
You're telling me Leagoo isn't selling phones anymore!
better math please (Score:2)
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Don't expect editors to do math.
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Don't expect editors.
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They tried to replace them with an AI chatbot, but it was fools errand. There was simply no way that a machine could ever produce misleading headlines and error-riddled summaries with the same inattention to detail that have made Slashdot editors famous the world over.
It doesn't matter (Score:3)
Are we saying we need to subsidize cell phone manufacturers? Considering what a high-end phone costs these days, I think if someone could make a reliable, 4/5G phone with no extra crap on it and a replaceable battery for a decent price we'd be beating a path to their door. Unfortunately, it looks like people like their phone to be an extension of their jewelry and how much it costs goes to the selection. Just shop around and stop looking at Samsung or Apple first.
I'm in the market for a new one and I've been looking at these with USB-C and removable batteries.
Fairphone - Fairphone is a Dutch company that makes sustainable and ethical smartphones. All their phones have removable batteries and USB-C for charging and data transfer. about $800US
Cat - Cat is a brand of rugged smartphones made by Bullitt Group. Some of their phones, such as the Cat S62 Pro, have removable batteries and USB-C ports. They're marketed through Caterpillar, about $700US
The Fairphone has updates through 2031 and IMO looks like the better of the two.
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For me personally I've let go of the removable battery being a make or break for that same reason, the options toady are just too limited, hopefullt the new EU law will expand the swappable battery options out there.
Without that requirement though the Pixel "A" line like 6A, 7A hit every other mark since it's as stock a version of Android (if you consider the inclusion of Google services as stock of course) has good performance, good battery life, long update support, excellent camera and you can usually fi
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I've thought about the Pixel but support in terms of O/S upgrades etc. has me bugged with Google only supporting 3 years of updates. At that rate, I'd need to buy three phones vs. the Fairphone whose software support is 8 years.
Still, if I were comparing the 7a to a Samsung S23 it's a bargain just on price.
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I think some of the Pixel's in the past have gotten a full OS update past their expiration date but yeah, no guarantee. For me if the phone is still working strong after 4 years I would consider it bonus time so I am not too perturbed about getting the latest update.
On the other hand it will be interesting to see how that 8 year support plays out. Google has the benefit of controlling their hardware for those updates whereas Fairphone has to rely on Google not making a new major version that can actually
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it's funny you mention Unihertz. I looked at the Tank 2 model and it definitely has some odd features. It may be worth the gamble though and try it.
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I have a Unihertz Titan Pocket. It's ugly and thick, but the battery lasts for ages. I think nothing of leaving the house at 30%. The Tank, as I understand, puts that to shame. For $300, it's an not much of a gamble. I'll bet you could get most of that back on eBay in the worst case.
The only thing I'd worry about is the size. My Titan Pocket is an embarrassingly bulky16.8mm, but it's dainty and delicate compared to the Tank at 23.9mm. That's almost a full inch! Even Zack Morris would think twice about
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Why do you need a removable battery in the first place? I have a 7 year old iPhone, the battery is at 70% life, it still operates throughout a full day. It will still get OS updates and security updates for respectively at least 2 and 4 years, so I intend on keeping that device.
If you need to replace a battery so much you need it removable, perhaps you need a better manufacturer.
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Batteries in cell phones used to run down and wear out a lot quicker than today so I think it's partly some carryover from those days. Older phones I had wouldn't even last a day after about 18 months of normal use so there is a fear of having to be faced with that choice of having a costly repair or just replacing the phone for just the battery.
Some people put in a lot of use to their phones and want the ability to go back to 100% within a couple minutes and not have to strap a battery and wait for it to
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Sure, but that hasn't been the case in about 10-15 years since we started using Lithium batteries. The last dumb-phone I had already was closed in battery and never needed to replace it in its lifespan, the phone before that was a replaceable NiMH but after about a year I replaced it with a Lithium battery.
Battery charge speed is nearly unaffected by aging, if your battery isn't charging as quickly as you think it was in the beginning, your phone is doing 'stuff'. I know on Android, this is a problem with m
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My Nexus 5 is on its 3rd battery (and final -- too many other components are beginning to fail) , I replaced it every time it didn't survive 10 hours just lying on a table not plugged in. So either the batteries were from just before the development you described, or its still possibly an issue...
An iPhone SE (1st gen) in the household just got a battery replacement procedure, because it wouldn't last 5 hours of normal usage.
My experience disagrees with your assessment...
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A battery failure every 3 years on the Nexus? That's a problem with shitty manufacturing.
The iPhone SE is 7 years old on the other hand, not sure what you do or what 'normal usage' is in your case, I found out if you put it in low power mode, it will last a bit longer and disable any push notifications, which also drains quickly. I figured that out after I left my phone in the car on a camping trip which was out of any reception and 3 days later it was still at 20% charge, when connected to the network(s) a
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Re: It doesn't matter (Score:1)
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Because the battery in your car is not a Lithium battery. Note the Tesla batteries are not removable by popping open the hood.
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Are we saying we need to subsidize cell phone manufacturers?
No I think the point is that smart phones are becoming more complex to manufacture and that smaller companies simply cannot make them at a decent profit.
Considering what a high-end phone costs these days, I think if someone could make a reliable, 4/5G phone with no extra crap on it and a replaceable battery for a decent price we'd be beating a path to their door.
I think you overestimate the term "we". Nothing is really stopping a manufacturer from doing that today. I suspect manufacturers do not do that because there is only a small demand.
Unfortunately, it looks like people like their phone to be an extension of their jewelry and how much it costs goes to the selection. Just shop around and stop looking at Samsung or Apple first.
Again, people can buy phones other than Samsung and Apple. Easily. For example Google Pixel phones are good. But Samsung and Apple are the two largest brands for a reason. If you
No but it might be worth making sure (Score:2)
Capitalism w/o competition is just feudalism with more steps.
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The Fairphone is promising updates to 2028, they are going to attempt to go to 2031 with security updates, but for that they would need to hire a developer. They are currently reliant on the manufacturer and Google to give them software, as such they have previously cancelled their promises and have suddenly dropped support for both the FP1 and FP3. Be wary about these greenwash companies.
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I think if someone could make a reliable, 4/5G phone with no extra crap on it and a replaceable battery for a decent price we'd be beating a path to their door.
No you wouldn't. It's a fantasy that most people care about that crap. There's a reason major flagship phones full of features without things like replaceable batteries dominate the market while Cat and Fairphone continue to prod along in relative obscurity.
That's also before you get to people who don't see a "non-replacable" battery as a barrier to actually replacing the battery (it's really not that hard and most people who don't suffer from Parkinson's can do it) and realise that the non-replacable batte
Re: It doesn't matter (Score:1)
"brands" are a distraction how much actual change? (Score:5, Insightful)
Were these 500 outfits actually doing handset design and manufacture and such; or were they just badge-engineering a logo and maybe a bootsplash and some shovelware onto the assorted ODM generics that you can have stamped out with your colors assuming you meet the minimum order quantity?
500 actual design and manufacture outfits folding would be news; 500 random 'brands' inserting themselves and a logo from fivver onto a much smaller set of ODMs is vastly less interesting.
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They're pretty much all Android phones (Score:2)
Sure, many brands left but the market is pretty much android and ios devices
The big issue is software updates though
List manufacturers instead. (Score:4, Insightful)
OS (Score:2)
I'll bet 100% of them are Android phones, so not much differentiation. No wonder.
Really hard to compete when you are starting from scratch and have to make an OS or UI and not just hardware.
"holding onto their devices for longer" (Score:2)
I used to replace my (exclusively Android) phone every couple of years but my most recent one lasted 4 years before; security and OS updates stopped, modern apps were lagging, and battery life dwindled. And that phone was a previous generation refurb. I recently bought a refurb Pixel 6A for about $260 and expect it to last another 4 years.
How many *unique* brands is that? (Score:2)
Wait, what correlation? (Score:2)
"while the global economic slowdown following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022"
That's the first time I've heard someone directly link these two event together. I mean sure, there's probably some relation, but I hardly think one cause the other or vice-versa.
Down to a few competitors now (Score:2)
Essentially, the shakeout has reduced the competition to just three companies internationally: Apple, Samsung and _maybe_ Google (through its Pixel line). These three companies survived not only from better marketing, but also the fact all three now support the phone with operating system updates for at least three years. Google's unwillingness to offer Google Mail, Google Maps, YouTube and Chrome to Microsoft pretty much killed Windows 10 Mobile (which was too bad because Windows 10 Mobile was potentially
De facto definition of a smartphone (Score:1)
- deck of cards-ish form factor that's not comfortable in a pocket on a hot day
- year on year decreasing odds of a 3.5mm jack
- battery is not removable but not so the phone can have a waterproofing rating, more of a "because fuck you, that's why" reason
- somewhere between unrepairable and will-call-in-a-hoax-terrorist-threat-in-to-police-if-you-attempt-to-open-it
- because software support if crap you're pressured to buy one every few years
- costs like a used car, works like an ankle monitor for monitoring t
Stockholm syndrome (Score:1)
physical keyboard (Score:1)