Devices & Platforms

Smartphone financing company M-KOPA hailed reaching the milestone of providing over five million customers with loans in Africa totalling US$1.5 billion.

Tata Group, a global enterprise headquartered in India, and Analog Devices (ADI), a major player in the semiconductor business, have announced a strategic alliance to explore potential cooperative manufacturing opportunities.

Indonesian digital telecommunications company Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, through its subsidiary, data communication, internet, and IT services group Lintasarta, has partnered with professional services company Accenture in a strategic collaboration to accelerate its sovereign AI cloud platform, aimed at propelling AI-driven digital transformation in Indonesia.

Semiconductor growth in India continues apace, with a number of deals announced in the past few days.

Indian telco Bharti Airtel is reportedly planning to shut down its Wynk Music streaming service in favour of a partnership with Apple Music as part of a broader exclusive content deal involving Apple TV+.

PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications says it is banking on affordable 5G devices as a key part of its strategy to drive growth in its 5G business in the Philippines as it plans on stronger rollout of its 4G and 5G networks for the rest of 2024.

The African smartphone market saw smartphone shipments grow by 6% year-on-year to 17.8 million units in Q2 2024, continuing recovery over the past three quarters against macroeconomic volatility.

The Indonesian smartphone market grew 20% year-on-year in Q2 boosted by the vendor promotion during the holiday season.

Smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia grew 14% year-on-year in Q2 this year reaching 23.9 million units, as the region continues to recover from macroeconomic effects.

The Latin American smartphone market recorded a fourth consecutive quarter of growth after being fuelled by affordable devices.

The Indian smartphone market declined by 2% YoY in the second quarter of 2024, but 5G smartphones saw their highest market share growth so far.

The Chinese smartphone market experienced 10% growth in the second quarter with units reaching 70.5 million units, and local vendors occupying the top five spots for the first time.

The Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC) said on Thursday the latest upgrade of its network speed test app 'i-Speed' turns phones into an automated crowdsourcing tool for telcos to measure and optimise network performance.

The Indian smartphone market was flat with a growth rate of only 1% in the second quarter of 2024 due to subdued seasonal demand.

Analyst houses Canalys and IDC reported growth in the global smartphone market fuelled by the hype from gen AI equipped devices.

Smart Africa, an alliance of African countries, international organisations, and global private sector players tasked with advancing Africa’s digital agenda, last week signed a potentially significant agreement with KaiOS Technologies, whose mobile platform is said to make the internet accessible to all.

­­Smartphone shipments in Africa surged 24% in the first quarter of this year due to lowering inflation and new device launches.

Smartphone shipments have for the first time surpassed feature phone stock in Africa,  showcasing the rise in adoption of more advanced handsets across the region.

“Breaking news,” says the MTN Cameroon Twitter feed, continuing: “Canal+ is now available on MTN TV.” Yes, MTN Cameroon has partnered Canal+ to deploy a streaming platform. But how will this service benefit Cameroon’s leading network – and its users?

Global smartphone shipments are predicted to grow by 4% year-on-year in 2024 to 1.21 billion units due to rebounding consumer demand.

Apple continued its retail expansion in Asia by revealing it will open its first Apple Store in Malaysia in June.

Smartphone shipments in Latin America surged 23.3% year-on-year in Q1 due to retailers moving to clear inventory, and Chinese vendors pushing aggressively.

The Indonesia smartphone market saw a sharp rise in smartphone shipments due to the holiday season, as it continued its recovery. 

Telecom Argentina and OSS vendor Intraway have announced plans to establish a joint digital company to create a platform that allows regional CSPs to monetise their networks using Open APIs under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative.

Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units in Q1 2024, marking a third consecutive quarter of growth and indicating that recovery of handset sales is well underway. 

Indonesian telco Telkomsel has announced that it has launched an eSIM service for local customers, making it the last of the country’s major operators to do so, as the industry awaits upcoming eSIM regulations from telecoms regulator Kominfo.

Global smartphone shipments are expected to rebound 3% to 1.2 billion units year-on-year in 2024, with emerging markets driving this growth according to analyst company Counterpoint Research. 

Smartphone shipments in Africa grew 6% to 68.7 million units in full-year 2023 due to rising consumer confidence in H2. 

Corning Incorporated, an innovator in materials science, is showcasing at MWC 2024 a new radio access network (RAN) compute platform, developed in collaboration with Dell Technologies and Intel, to speed the deployment of 5G networks inside high-density buildings.

Thales announced on Monday it is partnering with Google to launch its new eSIM Discovery service that aims to make it easier for users to download and activate eSIMs onto compatible Android devices, including tablets, laptops, and smartwatches.

The Indian government is working on developing an Indian mobile phone brand, a minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, whose portfolio includes communications, said this week.