back to article Apple, Samsung feel the pain as smartphone market slumps to lowest shipments in 5 YEARS

Apple and Samsung are licking their wounds after reporting a double-digit drop in global smartphone sales for calendar Q1, as the sector plunged to the lowest volumes shipped in half a decade. Figures from analyst Canalys show that 313.9 million handsets were shifted in the three months, down 6.8 per cent - the sixth straight …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    5 YEARS

    = 1 BREXIT.

    Discuss.

    1. Gordon 10

      Re: 5 YEARS

      These are global numbers you muppet. The UK's self inflicted foot shooting will barely register.

      However Apple's and Samsungs price related foot shooting seems to be proceeding well. I wonder if Huawei are also suffering for the same reason - they are aiming high on the price side - excluding Honor of course.

      1. DaLo

        Re: 5 YEARS

        I wonder if Huawei are also suffering for the same reason

        Seemingly not. From the article "Huawei snuck into second spot with 50 per cent climb in shipments to 59.1 million, giving it a 18.8 per cent share of sales, versus 11.7 in Q1 '18."

    2. NoneSuch Silver badge
      Devil

      Not Buying Another Samsung

      Until they stop Crapware sideloads I neither want nor need.

      1. Mongrel

        Re: Not Buying Another Samsung

        I saw the bloatware on friends Samsung phones and put them in the "Never going to buy one of them" column.

        I try to get handsets to last 4 or more years before replacement, mostly because I don't use it for much more than sparse communications the odd low effort games & playing music so I normally end up with a Moto G. Easy to root apparently, if I really didn't want any pre-installed crap

        1. Zippy´s Sausage Factory

          Re: Not Buying Another Samsung

          They do the same with their TVs. I emailed their customer service and their response was basically "no, you can't uninstall that Facebook app".

          To which my reply was... to ask if it could be forwarded to their developers as a feature request for the next release of the base software.

          Yes, I'm boring, I know.

          1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

            Re: Not Buying Another Samsung

            You could just NOT connect the Samsung TV to the Internet then whatever crapware it has installed on it is irrelevant.

            I did the same with my Sony. My Humax FreeSatPVR gets all the TV I need.

        2. Persona Silver badge

          Re: Not Buying Another Samsung

          AndroidOne is the other way to avoid pre-installed crap...… and get security patches for a few years too.

    3. Danny 14

      Re: 5 YEARS

      "Discuss"

      You're an idiot.

  2. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    I dunno...

    How about Apple release a device with some stunning new design features such as octagonal edges, or removal of the power switch, or a nice orange and lime colour scheme. Surely that's more than enough "next gen design" to get the faithful salivating to buy a new phone at some almost reasonable cost???

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Just one question

    What's the level of market saturation ? How many people are there in the world who do not have a phone and have the means to pay for and use a flagship model ?

    Does anyone really think that such people exist ?

    I don't. I think that just about everyone who can have a phone has one. The market is saturated, so shipments are dropping.

    Nothing to see here, except marketing people in panic. Well, you're supposed to analyze the market, not react to it. A drop in shipments is inevitable, as we are now transitioning to a replacement market - which is something marketing should know.

    1. DaLo

      Re: Just one question

      It's not just that it's a replacement market. It's also the fact that the replacements are slowing too.

      <IMHO>

      When there was high innovation (especially when prices were lower) then more people were enticed by the shiny new kit. When older devices still work so well and can run most of the apps available there is less incentive to upgrade. A combination of bundled phone insurance, third party repair shops and screen covers/cases being almost ubiquitous make replacement due to damage less likely also.

      </IMHO>

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Just one question

        >When older devices still work so well and can run most of the apps available there is less incentive to upgrade

        Time to add a few more noop loops to the next forced OS upgrade

        1. Duncan Macdonald

          Re: Just one question

          What OS upgrade - with most phones after about 12-18 months the device is abandoned by the manufacturer. At that point the OS that it is running is the one that it will have until the phone fails.

          1. Gordon 10

            Re: Just one question

            Not Apple and (sometimes) Sammy. Which is an appreciable chunk of the market.

            One of the good things the Apple tax gets you is a long line of OS upgrades and patches. Still overpriced mind....

          2. werdsmith Silver badge

            Re: Just one question

            I guess it means iOS. I have a company issued iPhone 5S which was handed to me in 2013. It has recently taken the lastest 12.2 version OTA. It's not actually showing signs of slowness in the OS though.

            And it has its original battery and screen. How can this be possible?

            1. Dave 126 Silver badge

              Re: Just one question

              It's possible the phone wasn't used too much, so wasn't subjected to too many charge discharge cycles. A smaller screen uses less power, and can also dissuade the user from using power apps, such as video and graphically intensive games.

              1. werdsmith Silver badge

                Re: Just one question

                It gets used and charged every day but it's a company phone and its main use is 2FA.

          3. jezza99

            Re: Just one question

            Funny my iPhone 6 (4YO) seems to be running the latest iOS and apps. Which phones don't have updates after 12-18 months?

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Just one question

              Almost all of them.

              That I know of, the only brand issuing regular updates for older phones other than Apple is Xiaomi, who were still issuing quarterly updates to my oldest phone (original Red Rice 3G version) right up to the day my daughter broke the 2nd USB charging port (repaired it once - no spares out there now).

              My mums 3 y/o Sony gets about 1 update per year, and performance is as ropey as hell, especially bluetooth connection.

              Wifes SamGal Note4 hadnt had an update in several years before she swapped it for a Huawei at Christmas and it was dog slow after the last update it did receive, the Red Rice was faster.

              (Old £84 phone much faster than newer £599.99 phone).

              My 2 y/o Xiaomi Note 4x gets an update to a built-in app or the OS on average every week.

      2. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Just one question

        > A combination of bundled phone insurance, third party repair shops and screen covers/cases being almost ubiquitous make replacement due to damage less likely also.

        True. And Phones are also better built these days too (and SoCs are smaller and lighter), and the inclusion of waterproofing also aids their longevity.

        Despite countless drops and tumbles, a case and screen protector has kept my S8 looking pristine. However, the case alone wouldn't be enough to prevent shock damage if the phone's internal components weren't robustly assembled.

      3. Down not across

        Re: Just one question

        High innovation? Only if you consider removing functionality (sd card slot, headphone jack, removable battery) people like. Oh, and while hiking up the prices to absurd levels.

        I thought enough was enough and got Nokia 8 as a punt when their prices dropped to ~200-250 quid, and it has been working flawlessly and is running stock Pie with no bloatware. Latest update was March 2019 which arrived in April.

        I could not justify spending four-figure (or near enough) sum on a new phone that would have more negatives than positives compared to my current phone.

    2. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Just one question

      Any new technology will eventually mature and when that happens the market will slow down to replacement plus younglings who've got their first pay-packet.

      The one thing of which there's an inexhaustible supply is MBA/marketroid types who fail to appreciate this basic fact of life.

      1. Persona Silver badge

        Re: Just one question

        In some respects the phone market is the marketeers dream. It's like the car market with a constant stream of shiny new models but the depreciation curve is much steeper and the second hand market is tiny in comparison. This suggests there will always be a place for top end expensive new phones.

        1. julian.smith
          Thumb Up

          Re: Just one question

          Insightful

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Just one question

          There is a HUGE second hand market. I don't know where you are looking...

      2. Philip Lewis
        Coat

        Re: Just one question

        "who fail to appreciate this basic fact of life."

        So there's hope, and they won't breed?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Just one question

          No, unluckily, as "Idiocracy" shows so well, they have more chances to breed.... hence the continuous supply.

    3. The Pi Man

      Re: Just one question

      My 80 year old parents don't have a mobile phone of any description. They sure as hell could afford one.

  4. JK63

    With prices crossing into 4 digits to the left of the decimal in the US, they've done this to themselves. The "cheapest" new iPhone is $750. Samsung isn't far behind that.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      That's it for me.

      I'm using a 6S (128GB) and have been thinking about upgrading for the last two years. But all of the upgrades are of the $1000+ variety and the new features just aren't that valuable. Maybe this year will be different... but I'm not getting my hopes up.

      1. Philip Lewis

        Me2. I took advantage of the cheap battery upgrade and I just don't see the value proposition of the latest and greatest. I prefer the old button too, so there's that too.

        1. Jay 2

          Snap! My 6S also had the battery upgrade late last year. With the lack of 3.5mm headphone socket and loss of the home button, the later models really don't appeal to me at all. Not that I feel the need to upgrade at the moment.

          1. Dave K

            Agreed here as well. Decided last month instead of replacing my old LG G4, I just bought a new battery. Phone still runs fast, does everything I need and has a headphone jack. Modern phones don't offer enough new, take away essential features, often have too much crapware on them and cost too bloomin much.

            1. cmaurand

              $1000.00 is too much for a phone. I just ordered a battery and a back for my current phone.

              1. werdsmith Silver badge

                No need to pay $1K. If you are running a 6S a used 8 refurbed new battery and good condition can be had easily for equivalent of $400 here. I tend to look for bargains and pay much less than that.

    2. Gonzo wizard

      Prices...

      Aaaaand... that's exactly why I bought an 8+ after the launch of the X. There's a hard limit on what I'm prepared to spend and I'm a technophile for goodness sake...

      1. Danny 14

        Re: Prices...

        yup. typing on a note3 here. Unlocked, rooted, custom firmware, new battery, 128gb card inserted. Nice screen and absolutely no reason to upgrade.

      2. AK565

        Re: Prices...

        I did the same thing. My carrier (in the U.S.) offered a screaming deal on the 8+. What made it screaming for me was that I tend to keep phones until they no longer do the job for me and that my carrier offers a $15/month post-contract discount. YMMV.

    3. Boo Radley

      I'm still using my Note 4, with a 128gb SD card, and I have a spare Note 4 for when this one dies. I could use a new battery though. So I'm set for the next 3 to 4 years easily.

  5. quattroprorocked

    Mid market phone.

    Top end phone.

    And the difference is....

    Buggered if I can tell.

    1. BigAndos

      I replaced my Pixel with a Moto G6 plus that cost me £170. Only meaningful drawbacks are camera is worse (but still good enough for everyday use) and I've already had the sole major OS update I'll get. Other than that its responsive, plenty of storage and the battery lasts twice as long.

      1. Bob Camp

        I also have a Moto G6 and agree with you. It's plenty fast enough for me and battery usually lasts two days unless I've been using the phone a lot. Plus, if I lose or drop it, I'll just go buy another one.

        The same thing that happened to PCs is happening to smartphones. Low and mid-range products are plenty fast enough for almost everybody.

        1. Tom 35

          I have a moto G4 that still works OK. Only 2 GB RAM so I'm thinking I might buy a G7 for about 1/3 the price of an S10 or iPhone.

          1. Andy Denton

            My G4 died unexpectedly, but had been faultless up until then. I was going to get a G7 but it was 3 days away from being available. Ended up spending a bit more on an Honor 10 which is excellent (aside from a not insignificant amount of crap ware) and has all the features I'll ever probably need.

        2. julian.smith

          Moto G3 here - the money I've saved buys a lot of good wine!

    2. John 104

      Waterproofing. That's pretty much it. I commute via motorcycle and am hard on phones, so I have to go up to the 'flagship' models to get this feature. I'd much rather have a $250 phone that is waterproof...

      1. Danny 14

        wide bought a G7 power. its a bit chunky but has 64gb internal, 64gb uSD and a 5000mah battery. screen is decent and its plenty fast enough too. All for 179.99. That will last for years.

  6. BigAndos

    The problem is they rely on annual upgrades to prop up revenues and now there is little innovation people just replace when broken. I don't need new meaningless "features" like animated emojis every year. I think we'll start to see concerns on sustainability hurt the market (and all of retail too). Making phones and shipping them all over the world, then landfilling due to designed-in obsolescence, is very polluting and I think more and more people will worry about this. I'd be looking to make money out of repair and recycle operations if I was a phone maker, and make the damn things easier to fix.

  7. Adair Silver badge

    Phones are like cars now...

    Except for status victims, nobody gives a shit what you drive anymore.

    Having said that a huge climate driven shift is probably on the way where what powers your car is going to matter a lot to a lot of people.

    Phone manufacturers will just have to watch with envious eyes and hope that someone can come up with some equally earth shattering development for their commodity devices.

    1. Mongrel

      Re: Phones are like cars now...

      A thing that annoys me though is that there don't seem to be enough decent reviews\roudups\comparisons (even here) of the different markets, all the attention is thrown at the ludicrously priced monoliths rather than the low to mid range stuff that many people prefer\can afford.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Phones are like cars now...

        The 'ludicrously priced monoliths' usually drop in price after around nine months to closer resemble the price of a midrange phone.

        Reviews of phones at the low end are likely a waste of time if a prospective buyer will just get the best deal he can on the day - a £70 or £ 90 phone being offered for half price on the highstreet is not uncommon. None will have great cameras, all be be just fine for Maps, email, calls, etc. Huawei won't let you change the launcher... Etc.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Phones are like cars now...

      Around here there are an awful lot of car status victims. A very popular model being the Audi TT with personalised number plates because they all look about the same age.

      I think that the reason that Apple went from round button to ears/horns rather than full screen was really to create a big marketing distinction, so iPhone users would "have to" buy one without a round button or look poor.

      They had not anticipated how quickly the Android makers would first follow suit, and then start to get rid of the ears, making the iPhones look old.

      I was reminded of this because this morning I saw someone with one of those iPhone cases that had a circular cutout on the back to make sure you could see the entirely nonfunctional Apple logo, which is pretty sad.

      1. Tom 35

        Re: Phones are like cars now...

        There have been cases with apple holes for years. Half the sales department here have them.

    3. DiViDeD

      Re: Phones are like cars now...

      "Except for status victims, nobody gives a shit what you drive anymore."

      Unless, like me, you drive a 17 year old Alfa Spider.

      In which case you are constantly greeted, on a daily basis by random passers by (usually of the more generously gifted in years variety, I must admit) making comments ranging from "Oh, I've always loved Alfas" to "still running? Remarkable!", and, on one memorable but painful occasion "nice kit car. Did you build it yourself?".

      It's a tribute to my essentially generous and peaceful nature that that particular individual is still alive. And will probably be able to do without the crutches in a couple of months.

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Phones are like cars now...

        you drive a 17 year old Alfa Spider

        Or t'missus - who drives around in a 53 year old Morris Minor. Lots of old gimmers looking at it and cooing that a MM was their first car.

    4. ItsMeDammit
      Joke

      Re: Phones are like cars now...

      And if you pull the sun visors down you can have TWO fashionable notches in your windscreen, which according to the phone manufacturers is what all the sheeple want these days.

      PS - I recently "downgraded" my Samsung S8 to a Moto G6 (the Amazon exclusive edition) and I am much happier with it - I guess I'm a flat screen, not getting screwed for another ££££ phone kind of guy.

  8. Philip Lewis

    Did I correctly read a 6% ($12) uptick on AAPL today?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Increase in services revenue projected to continue. Investors are still very keen on anything cloudy.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Because investors understand the difference between market share and installed base. Apple's installed base is still increasing, especially in China (going from 17 to 20% over the past year - a lot of Chinese are buying secondhand iPhones the sales figures don't capture) and that's what drives services revenue. If the phone replacement cycle goes from 2 to 4 years, but Apple's installed base continues to increase, they'll be more than fine in the long run.

  9. Paddy

    "Flagship killers" like the Pocophone F1 might be having an effect. (Especially when online votes by MKBHD placed its camera shots second overall)!

    1. Duncan Macdonald

      Pocophone F1

      I have one - it is a nice phone. At under half the price of a flagship model it does a very good job of imitating one (and with a Snapdragon 845 it is one of the fastest Android phones).

  10. mevets

    Hua-Bois?

    On a recent flight, the family in front of me included two school aged children. At one point the kids were bickering over two tablets; a Huawei (mediapad?) and an iPad. I was surprised that neither wanted the iPad. I assume he family were East-Asian/Canadians (it seems a bit odd to ask), and I wondered if the great pumpkins bellicose wanking is engendering the sort of devotion for Huawei that has served Apple so well. It may be that the gear is really great, but it felt like a "leafs vs sens"(*) thing.

    (*) hockey reference, both teams are shit.

    1. Barry Rueger

      Re: Hua-Bois?

      My decision last month to go with a Huawei P20 (always one generation behind) reflected both the relativity low price and my desire to poke Trump in the eye.

      Have to say I really like the phone, although Android Pie has some serious problems.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hua-Bois?

      Don't think so. I bought my wife a Medfiapad for Christmas, it is simply much better than an iPad in terms of display, sound and general responsiveness.

      I wouldn't buy one of their phones, though. Not because of spying, just too big and fragile.

  11. ma1010
    Unhappy

    Xiaomi is missing a bet, I think

    They have some great-looking phones at really good prices. If only they worked well with US providers I'd certainly get one, but they don't cover the right frequency bands.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Xiaomi is missing a bet, I think

      The global versions work on US/Canada LTE bands at least

      I suspect the USA isn't really worth it, by the time you have bribed the networks and resellers to carry your phone then bribed the politicians not to ban you - there are more profitable markets in Asia.

      1. djstardust

        Re: Xiaomi is missing a bet, I think

        128gb max in Europe with no expansion of storage. Meh.

        1. Duncan Macdonald

          Re: Xiaomi is missing a bet, I think

          Xiaomi make the Pocophone F1 which does have a microSD slot.

    2. bengoey49

      Re: Xiaomi is missing a bet, I think

      Mid range Xiaomi phones ( Pocophone F1 for example ) as well as well as the cheap Xiaomi phones do not have the LTE Bands for the US. The top end Xiaomi phones ( Xiaomi Mi8, Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 ), I believe have most of the US LTE ( except CDMA ) Bands. Please check with your carrier before you buy.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wileyfox Swift (1st Gen)

    is still rocking it for me. Certainly doesn't feel outdated. Dual SIM. Extendable memory. Removable battery. Decent screen size. (Switched to Lineage OS with no complaints).

    Only feature it lacks that I might have been tempted with, is NFC. But that's more down to Travel West Midlands shitty "Swiftcard" implementation than a real need. I've still managed this far without Google pay.

    (My starting point is not to buy anything Apple, so not having Apple pay is a given)

    Can't speak for the "experts" but last strategy piece I was paid for said that smartphone sales would decrease 2016-2020.

    1. Sandtitz Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Wileyfox Swift (1st Gen)

      Was that the one with the idiotic, out of spec USB port?

      1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

        Re: Wileyfox Swift (1st Gen)

        Was that the one with the idiotic, out of spec USB port

        Yes. You can't charge it using a generic USB lead - you have to use their supplied charger or lead. And it hasn't been updated in ages.

        My wife had one - now doesn't.

  13. Jim-234

    Their attempts to wring the maximum amount of cash out of their customer base backfired

    Apple and then Samsung pushed the price for their new flagship phones way above any semblance of reason and now they wonder why suddenly their hugely overpriced phones are not selling?

    At $500 it was already expensive, then the push to $750, then the push to $1k then the push to $1250 and so on.

    If you had to fork out that much money for a top of the line phone, you are probably going to hang on to it for a long time to get your money's worth.

    Also the newer models don't really have all that much more to offer the average user than the previous model.

    Sure some fancy marketing features that people don't care about as much.

    But having staked out huge prices, I doubt the corporate types want to roll them back, so they will be stuck in a loop of diminishing sales, which they try to make up for by hiking the prices to get the revenue numbers up, which then leads to less sales again and so on.

    1. fidodogbreath

      Re: Their attempts to wring the maximum amount of cash out of their customer base backfired

      The last three iPhone cycles have been about taking things away and making the experience worse, while increasing the price. I have a 6s that works fine. Were I to "upgrade," I would get a dramatically more fragile all-glass device that has no headphone jack, a dumb-looking notch in the screen, the same OS I have now, and a scorched hole where my wallet used to be.

      What would I get that I don't already have? Animojis, Face ID, some stupid AR/VR shit I'll never use, worse cell reception due to inferior modem and antennas (XR), the same or worse battery life...and that's about it.

      I'm ragging on Apple here, but Samsung and Google have fallen into the same trap. The article makes it very clear that "premium" materials, a 1-2% improvement in some obscure camera spec, and a few pointless features just aren't compelling enough for most people to part with major cash.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    saturation

    there's a huge amount of 2nd hand phones available on ebay and elsewhere. I replaced my (3rd hand) galaxy S2 with a 2nd hand [another brand] while it broke in the US, and the replacement is well-above my expectations - and needs, all under 70 bucks. Sadly, there's a trend to lock the bootloader, which is f... annoying re. rooting, but as an urgent replacement, I can put up with it (and I only need to charge it every couple of days). Why would I _ever_ spend more?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Second Hand phones

      Thats the method I use. Pawn Shops are also a good source of barely used phones. My current iPhone 7 was otained from one. A year old and half the original price.

      I'm not paying Apple even a bent penny but I get a pretty decent device at a very decent price.

      I had Androids for years and like many I got totally fed up with the bloat and apps that can't be removed so int the end, I bit my lip and went over to Apple. No Facebook unless I install it equals a winner in my eyes.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: saturation

      That is my method. I have a Galaxy S8+ bought A YEAR AGO for $300 used and unlocked. A $1000 phone is DOA in my budget. But I WILL get that $1000 phone... in a couple of years...used, for $300...

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple and Samsung phones are overpriced for what they offer. Why spend nearly £1000 on one when you can get a good quality lesser known brand for half that price. I saw a OnePlus 6T 128gb for £500 and it looks like a very good spec phone, so why pay twice as much for something just as good?

    1. Steve K

      Second-hand

      Also Music Magpie or MazumaMobile have second-hand phones-aplenty and with 12-month guarantees if you do want the latest but at a significant saving.

  16. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    FAIL

    Wanted versus delivered

    Wanted from upgrade:

    - Faster CPU

    - More memory

    - New radio bands

    - Better battery life

    - More robust software

    Delivered:

    - Parts of screen are gone

    - Headphone jack gone

    - microSD slot gone

    - Drop protection gone

    - Security updates gone

    - Crap cameras all over the front and back

    - Faster CPU

    - Horrible battery life

    - Slow, bulky, and inefficient wireless charging

    - Buggy and privacy invading shovelware

    - Costs twice as much

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Wanted versus delivered

      I would be happy with better battery life, better resistance to damage and improved signal holding in fringe reception areas.

      And for 2019 a screen that is easily readable in bright daylight without using loads of battery power to try to out compete the sun. All these years of LCD screens and there is still no laptop that I can use to work outside in the summer.

      I could not care less about removable storage, removable battery and 3.5mm socket. I don't have them now and I don't miss them at all.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    5S @ 5

    Just about to wish my iPhone 5S a happy fifth birthday. Still no reason to buy something else with prices the way they are, a phone is just not worth that amount of money.

  18. Time Waster

    Apple feels no pain

    Apparently Apple shareholders do not agree with this sentiment. 13% increase in share price today (and counting), rocketing them back to “most valuable company in the world”, with a market cap of well North of a trillion dollars. If this is a bad set of results, I’d hate to see what happens on a good day!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple feels no pain

      The run faded a bit before close, but still up $10

  19. DiViDeD

    Locking their Wounds?

    I think you'll find that, even with the drop in sales volumes, both Apple and Samsung can still afford to hire someone else to lick their wounds for them.

    1. DiViDeD

      Re: Locking their Wounds?

      That would be Licking, of course.

      Damn digital slippage!

  20. naive

    Smart phones should replace PC's

    When the industry manages to define a standard docking setup for Android smartphones, they could start taking the PC fortress.

    The current state of technology allows it and potentially huge amounts of money can be transferred from traditional PC expenses to the smartphone market. Google could offer companies a clear business case for moving from windows to their chrome based cloud, since they are not reliant on license fees.

    Companies can save significant amounts of money by using the computing power in modern smartphones coupled with cloud based desktops functionality offered by chrome. It would free them from the chores surrounding the operation of large networks with desktops, the required peripheral Windows servers together with the complexity and skills needed.

    It is an interesting question why this concept is not already implemented, that would be the real revolution in computing.

    1. Down not across

      Re: Smart phones should replace PC's

      Samsung (just as an example) clearly thinks like you do that phones shoul/could replace PCs, with their dock and all.

      Personally that sounds like a ludicrous idea to me. I'd rather not lose/break my "PC" accidentally when it falls out of pocket, gets nicked etc.

      Sure, it would be handy to connect keyboard and maybe screen on occasions when you don't happen to/want to carry laptop with you.

      I do appreciate that lot of people do most things on their phone and might well like the idea. Just saying that for me that would not be the argument that would make me part with large wad of cash for a new phone.

    2. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

      Re: Smart phones should replace PC's

      Personal laptops fall into a category where portability is usually worth more than high processing power and ergonomics. That's what phone makers should go for. Apple is going to have trouble here, since they've spent years finely tuning iOS to be absolutely nothing but be a walled garden for cell phones. Android phones can more easily present a desktop environment or even show a bit of Linux (assuming there's enough pushback against Google killing it soon).

  21. TacticalTimbo

    What is going on with the price gouging; each successive handset is more expensive than the last, and not by a few pounds but 50 to 60% more!? Meanwhile, the USP of the new phones gets less, and less.

    In the smartphone heydays, the upgrades were game changers, and the prices kept falling with each cycle.

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