Huawei Closing in on Apple, Aims to Become World's Largest Smartphone Maker Within Four Years

[RamGuy]

My non-Apple products are working even better for me, and I don't pay a fortune for them.

You have Apple TV, I have an nVidia Shield, which does everything your Apple TV does, plus streams games from my PC, has apps such as Kodi (so I can watch stuff from my NAS), Netflix, Crunchyroll etc. I also have Chromecasts in every other TV in the house, so I can stream Netflix from my phone everywhere.

My Sony MDR-XB950BT are several leagues over your, frankly, ridiculous looking Airpods and their bargain-basement sound quality.

The gorgeous 5k 27" display on my desk beats the living lights out of your 27" iMac. Plus, it's connected to a computer that's way faster, more capable, fully expandable, user serviceable and generally much more useful than your iMac.

The quality of Google applications (Photos, Maps) is leagues beyond their Apple counterparts.

The thought that you paid a lot more to get a lot less simply makes me laugh. You are taken for a ride, and you're deep in Stockholm syndrome territory.

When did this become a "how long can you pee" contest? Comparing headset like your MDR-XB950BT's to earbuds like the AirPod's like comparing apples to oranges.

My Sennheiser HD 800's and my Hegel HD12 DAC at home would obliterate your MDR-XB950BT's, but how does that relate to anything? You won't see me using my HD 800's outside the house.

I would believe that those who opt for the AirPod's do it for the seamless synchronisation and pairing between their Apple devices (Apple W1) or they do it because they wan't something small. Or perhaps even both? I'm also one who prefers headphones, I just replaced my B&O BeoPlay H7's with the new BeoPlay H8's and I bet they sound better then your XB950BT's. But is there one thing I would want from the AirPod's it's the W1 Chip, having to re-sync everytime I want to move from my iPhone to my iPad to my Mac is tedious..


And when it comes to the Apple-TV.. Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. I grabbed the NVIDIA Shield when I got my LG OLED 65-inch B6E TV as I wanted to test out some 4K content. I returned it within the first week. I didn't like it, not at all.

I mostly use it for Plex, YouTube and a few other things. The Plex-app feels really dated compared to the one on the Apple TV (Gen.4) and the loading of cover arts is really slow compared to the Apple TV lagging the whole GUI-experience. And the whole "automatic refresh rate switching" didn't work out all that well as I got noticeable hiccups/lag during playback with that option enabled.


All in all the Plex-experience was really disappointing, especially considering NVIDIA is clearly marketing the devices heavily towards Plex. It almost feels like they have some kind of collaboration and still the app is not all that great to use...

My girlfriend kept complaining about the YouTube-app as well and how she felt the interface was horrible with her list of about 50 people she subscribes to. It was shown in an endless list with a square icon, only one for each row so she had to scroll forever to find the channels she wanted to go to.

The Chromecast software in the Shield isn't all that great either. It doesn't not support 4K/HDR like the Chromecast Ultra for some awkward reason even though the hardware should be more than capable. The game streaming isn't that relevant for us, we play on our gaming PC's and on the TV we mostly use our Nintendo Wii:U (soon to be replaced with the Nintendo Switch) or on our PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.


Another thing we also love with the Apple TV is it's great "family games" like Sketch Party TV. That was a huge hit during the holidays. Passing our iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil around family members while people was guessing while looking at the TV.


Your whole rant about iMac is just stupid. People use Mac's for a reason, and that reason is most likely related to software and not hardware. As a IT Professional myself, running my own VMWare ESXi setup, Windows Server 2016 and whatnot at home and with a dedicated Windows 10 gaming PC for myself and my girlfriend I know everything about capable hardware and I'am by no means "locked" to Apple hardware and software.

But still I prefer to use my MacBook Pro with macOS while working "in the field" and I wouldn't replace my iPhone, iPad and MacBook with anything else at this current date as I have yet to experience anything that works as efficient and seamlessly as my current setup.



It's just plain stupid of you telling other people what they should and should not enjoy in life.

 

[bozzykid]

You haven't had to deal with their Emotion UI. Take it from a guy who had suffered an earful and sleep on a lumpy sofa for several weeks. Stock Android is way, WAY better than what Huawei's software.

One more thing, Huawei's hardware is superior to Moto's for at the same price range.

I think almost all skinned android sucks. However, there is no evidence it really matters when it comes to sales. Just look at Samsung's Touchwiz.

 

[RamGuy]

As I'm from the Netherlands and seeing lots of people having huawei I can tell you that those phones are very well built and equipped with cameras at least on par with iPhone. Software is latest android with an iOS skin. You can't tell the difference from iOS 10. Google now and services like maps are way better then Apple's offerings. At least google does understand Dutch very well. Also take in consideration huaweis got better screens than iPhone plus (same as Samsung s7 and s7 edge) also they had a dual camera 6 months prior the iPhone 7. 3 years ago nobody noticed huawei here and now they're outselling iPhones. Also far less expensive than Apple. People are starting to notice here you pay a lot of Apple tax and Apple is fast getting yesterday news. If I was mr Cook I would be worried indeed. Huawei delivers where Apple is stalling.

Can't tell the difference? Like seriously? Android has its advantages, just like iOS. But claiming that the GUI skin on the Huawei phones makes it impossible to tell it apart from iOS 10 is just stupid. Your claim is simply a lie.

And no, Huawei does not source their displays from Samsung. They are NOT the same as on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. What makes you claim things like this? You are flat out lying through your teeth.

 

[MrX8503]

Yeah, like the 835.

It amuses me how iSheep hold on to the last remaining spec they have: single-thread CPU speed. Now that everything else is measurably worse, they hug this last thing as if their life depended on it.

Not that it's relevant in the slightest, since the iPhone is like an old American muscle car: fast in a straight line, useless for anything else.

It's very relevant and the A10 multicore score is the highest...so there's that. https://browser.primatelabs.com/ios-benchmarks

Even the 6S is faster than flagship Android smartphones in real world tests. Apple has been destroying Qualcomm in processor speed for a while now. It amuses me how Android fans hug the spec sheet as if their life depended on it.

Can you prove that around the time when A10 was released, which other chip-set had the similar performance benchmarks, not that it is a metric of real world usage, but still, just for bragging rights.

But here is one example of real world usage. Note 7 could not keep up.

Can you show me examples of any phone have better battery life per unit mAh? I am asking for something very specific here, which is another metric of performance/optimization.

The example you gave of Whatsapp is exactly what can be done on an iPhone, take a picture and share it in Whatsapp, without leaving the camera app. How is the even a comparison to iOS workflow?

The American muscle car analogy was unintelligible.

Even the 6S is faster than the Note 7. About a minute faster....

 

[claudiomdp85]

If they keep it like this, I have no doubt we'll get some fierce competition between them and Samsung.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you, I bought the huawei p9 lite for my wife and she loves it. It's good that other brands make their way up, competition is good.

 

[Abazigal]

On iOS, this is simply not the case. I don't know who establishes who can share to what, and why Twitter is in my sharing menu despite not having Twitter installed.

The developer decides whether their app supports extensions. I find there are pros and cons for this. For one, the onus is on the developer to implement this in their app, which can be a bummer. On the other hand, it does allow for very creative uses of the share-sheet extension (like Copied), and prevents my sharing menu from being flooded with every manner of app like what I am seeing with Android (because I get to decide which apps I want to share to and which to disable).

Twitter being in your sharing menu is probably a holdover from iOS 6 when Facebook and twitter sharing were baked directly into iOS. You can turn it off though.

Overall, I find Apple's implementation more refined and elegant.

 

[symphara]

I agree with you, I bought the huawei p9 lite for my wife and she loves it. It's good that other brands make their way up, competition is good.

I hope the success they had in 2015 and particularly 2016, when they went mainstream, won't spoil this.

I heard rumours about the P10 being both significantly more expensive and using a front home button, which are silly things to do. Really good Android-specific design and value for money was their forte. If they mess up, it will be their own doing.

Even the 6S is faster than flagship Android smartphones in real world tests.

No it's not. Those clips you keep posting are not real world tests by any stretch of imagination. Nobody uses their phones like that.

In real world use I do everything faster on my $400 Android phone than you do it on your $1000 iPhone. Because I can simply copy files to it. Because I can open anything with every app that supports it, without opening the app first. Because I can set any default app. Because my back button is under my thumb, not on top of the screen.

The last time I did this real life comparison, with an iPhone girl, she lost badly but she hugged her iPhone and declared she loves it.

And that's it, this is mediocre fashion tech, for the technically illiterate or attention-seeking people.

What I find most objectionable about the iPhone is not its mediocrity. Is that in 2017 they're so absurdly overpriced that they should be amazingly better at everything, and they're not better at nearly anything except for contrived benchmarks.
[doublepost=1485443551][/doublepost]

Overall, I find Apple's implementation more refined and elegant.

It's not elegant or refined, it's less functional than Android's (more limited options), and stupid/confusing (offering to process stuff with applications that don't exist on the device).

 

[airshu]

I've noticed apps on ios seem to be more expensive than google play, at least in australia. eg, minecraft is 8.99 on gplay, 10.99 on iphone. and in normal search results there always seem to be more paid apps on ios
in addition, google play credit seems cheaper to come by. theres a survey app by google that pays out in credit, I've got $50 in my account from the past year or so just from that. some phone providers allow carrier billing on the play store, and ive been with a provider that gave a very generous amount every month. i havent had to pay for an app in years, and i likely wont have to for a while to come

im thinking of switching to an iphone se, because id like a small phone. but thats the only apparent benefit, and getting used to ios seems hard enough without suddenly getting nickel and dimed more aggressively

 

[lowendlinux]

Why not just take the whatsapp picture from within whatsapp?

You know no matter how many times we go over the Andorid v iOS debate on the front page it's not going to ever be settled. People in here are comfortable and happy in their chosen eco-system. Personally after seeing the JRE youtube videos I'm not exactly sold on the value of any of the Chinese branded phones even though people love them.

 

[MrX8503]

I hope the success they had in 2015 and particularly 2016, when they went mainstream, won't spoil this.

I heard rumours about the P10 being both significantly more expensive and using a front home button, which are silly things to do. Really good Android-specific design and value for money was their forte. If they mess up, it will be their own doing.


No it's not. Those clips you keep posting are not real world tests by any stretch of imagination. Nobody uses their phones like that.

In real world use I do everything faster on my $400 Android phone than you do it on your $1000 iPhone. Because I can simply copy files to it. Because I can open anything with every app that supports it, without opening the app first. Because I can set any default app. Because my back button is under my thumb, not on top of the screen.

The last time I did this real life comparison, with an iPhone girl, she lost badly but she hugged her iPhone and declared she loves it.

And that's it, this is mediocre fashion tech, for the technically illiterate or attention-seeking people.

What I find most objectionable about the iPhone is not its mediocrity. Is that in 2017 they're so absurdly overpriced that they should be amazingly better at everything, and they're not better at nearly anything except for contrived benchmarks.
[doublepost=1485443551][/doublepost]
It's not elegant or refined, it's less functional than Android's (more limited options), and stupid/confusing (offering to process stuff with applications that don't exist on the device).

They're real world tests because it uses real apps to test the processor speed. Your workflow/shortcuts has nothing to do with the processor speed.

If you take a shortcut on your drive home that doesn't mean your car is faster. Lol

 

[symphara]

Personally after seeing the JRE youtube videos I'm not exactly sold on the value of any of the Chinese branded phones even though people love them.

I've had a few Nexus smartphones, a Blackberry 9900, a Samsung Galaxy, so I was similarly disinclined to get a Chinese branded phone. Actually when I got the Huawei P9 I thought it was going to be a placeholder until the next Nexus. The reviews were ok but not stellar either.

But then I went and personally tried one for a bit and it won me over. 8 months later, I can safely say this is the best phone I ever bought, and I had some fancy stuff including an Ericsson R380s, back in 2001

Also remember that reviews are the kind of articles that give 5 stars for the screen of an iPhone 7 (which is ok but absolutely mediocre), without mentioning its resolution, but 4 stars for the screen of a Pixel XL (which has an amazing 2k OLED), because, brace yourself, it's not 4k. Real life example of a presumed reputable source.

So just try it for yourself. Best advice I can give.

 

[MistrSynistr]

I have a Mi Band 2 and it's great. Got it for $24 and does everything the higher end Fitbit's do, and actually looks sleeker than them.

 

[symphara]

They're real world tests because it uses real apps to test the processor speed. Your workflow/shortcuts has nothing to do with the processor speed.

A real world test would replicate real world usage. Using apps in a contrived test that nobody does except for the tester in question doesn't qualify as a "real world test".

If you take a shortcut on your drive home that doesn't mean your car is faster. Lol

If your car takes half an hour to get in, and you lose a minute every time you try to activate something, it just doesn't matter.

 

[PaulRustad007]

What are the chances that any Chinese smartphone has built in spy-ware?

 

[mi7chy]

What are the chances that any Chinese smartphone has built in spy-ware?

You mean like this? Or, the iCloud malware that plasters your family's nude pics all over the internet?

https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28...sage-contacts-and-may-share-them-with-police/

 

[spacemnspiff]

Except, of course, that's not real usage.


Ask all you want, it's in the pile of useless stats, next to quantity of solder per square mm of board.

I have to give you though a prize for original obsequiousness. People want to know about the battery life of phones, you want to know about life per unit mAh. That's amazing.


There's nothing I can do for you reading comprehension problems.

Deflection noted, tagged - fruitcake. I can clearly see who has reading comprehension problems. I am sorry I wasted my time.

 

[Stjuls]

So you're an Android fan that hangs out on Apple forum sites?

This is a Mac forum.

 

[kdarling]

To ensure the company stays around long enough to continue making great products that I want to use.

That's a valid reason for profits, although not necessarily huge profits. Plenty of smartphone makers for instance have been around for decades with lower profits than Apple. All they need is enough

Just ask pebble. How are those low margins doing for consumers who now no longer have a company to continue providing support and updates?

At a production cost of about $20 per unit, Pebble had huge margins. Margins weren't the problem.

It was the fact that Pebble grew too fast, and then Apple entered their main market.

Alternatively, look at the number of companies who won't release android wear devices because it just isn't profitable?

Again, the profit margin is easily there for anyone. Heck, even Apple only pays about $80 to make each Watch, and no doubt Samsung and others are paying less for most, and not much more for fancier ones with LTE.

The problem is that the smartwatch market really hasn't taken off, so Moto and HTC have backed off for now.

Still, Samsung, LG, Huawei, Tag Heuer, Casio, etc are all bringing out new Android Wear watches for 2.0.

I think a big reason is because Wear 2.0 allows downloading watch apps without needing an Android smartphone.

That means finally being able to make much more use of an Android Wear watch with an iPhone, including the availability of thousands of customizable watchfaces.

 

[PaulRustad007]

You mean like this? Or, the iCloud malware that plasters your family's nude pics all over the internet?

https://theintercept.com/2016/09/28...sage-contacts-and-may-share-them-with-police/

Yup, all of the above.

 

[spacemnspiff]

It's not elegant or refined, it's less functional than Android's (more limited options), and stupid/confusing (offering to process stuff with applications that don't exist on the device).

I can play that game, Android doesn't allow hardware level feature sets, what a POS OS. Your turn.

 

[Pez555]

I have a Meizu M5 note as a back up to my 7 plus and let me tell you there is not much, if any difference in build quality and OS. definitely makes me wonder why and how apple get away with charging so much.

For reference my M5 note cost me £104.

 

[I7guy]

That's a valid reason for profits, although not necessarily huge profits. Plenty of smartphone makers for instance have been around for decades with lower profits than Apple. All they need is enough

All we need is enough money for basic shelter and food. Nobody needs more than that.

At a production cost of about $20 per unit, Pebble had huge margins. Margins weren't the problem.

It was the fact that Pebble grew too fast, and then Apple entered their main market.



Again, the profit margin is easily there for anyone. Heck, even Apple only pays about $80 to make each Watch, and no doubt Samsung and others are paying less for most, and not much more for fancier ones with LTE.

The problem is that the smartwatch market really hasn't taken off, so Moto and HTC have backed off for now.

Still, Samsung, LG, Huawei, Tag Heuer, Casio, etc are all bringing out new Android Wear watches for 2.0.

I think a big reason is because Wear 2.0 allows downloading watch apps without needing an Android smartphone.

That means finally being able to make much more use of an Android Wear watch with an iPhone, including the availability of thousands of customizable watchfaces.

To cost $80 dollars to make an AW..all you need is a few billion in r and d, a fab plant, and commitment for x millions of watches. Then it cost you $80 to make. If you don't have the pre-reqs it could cost you a few billion to make watches for $80.

 

[MrX8503]

A real world test would replicate real world usage. Using apps in a contrived test that nobody does except for the tester in question doesn't qualify as a "real world test".

It is a real world test.

If your car takes half an hour to get in, and you lose a minute every time you try to activate something, it just doesn't matter.

That makes absolutely no sense. Whatever shortcuts you do on your phone does not represent the processor speed.

 

[Fenez]

The ecosystem makes all the difference in user experience.

I am assured of timely software updates.

I enjoy great hardware and software design.

I have access to a great apps, and very often, the best apps in terms of design and features (eg: overcast, fantastical, tweetbot, Spark, Airmail etc). Good apps for Android do exist, but their selection pales compared to what is available for iOS.

Apple's ecosystem means I have the best of both worlds when it comes to software and services (eg: I have access to both google services and Apple's own, so I mix and match to my heart's delight).

I can do stuff like field calls and send SMSes on my iPad or Mac. Or handoff between apps. Fling files around with airdrop.

You want a smartwatch, the Apple watch is the only one which looks like it will still be around two years from today.

AirPods. I don't think I can ever stand to use any other pair of headphones (be it wired or wireless) ever again.

AppleCare means I am never left high and dry if anything happens to my devices.

So yeah, I save some money getting a cheaper Android phone. But when I consider what I give up in exchange, I don't really find it worth it.

Oh I thought you were talking about stuff that had nothing to do with just being in the eco system, thats more of a choice. What i thought you meant was that there were specific things that you couldn't do from one phone to another.

 

[Taipan]

You do know, iPhones are developed, built and installed by a Chinese company the are only sold by an American company. IPhones are actually made by a company called Foxconn. Making them just as Chinese technically speaking as a Huawei. Also not many phone companies actually build their own phones anymore but at least Huawei are the only company in the top 3 that do!

iPhones are developed by Apple, which is not Chinese. And I assume software installation happens at Apple after they have been built in China.

So you prefer a smartphone that's developed by an American company, built and installed by a Chinese company and sold by and Irish company?

Yes, I would. And I assume installation happens at Apple.

I always find these statements comical . tell us where again, iPhones are built?

I find it comical that I
a) have to explain my statement
and
b) knew that was going to be the case as soon as I wrote it.

Hint: Count the number of verbs in your statement and compare it to that in mine.