APPLE IS BEING GIVEN SOMETHING
TO THINK ABOUTAre you in the market for a new phone? Even
if you have long been entrenched in Apple’s
ecosystem, you could be easily excused for
casting envious eyes in the direction of friends
wielding devices from up-and-coming Chinese
brands. Handsets from Chinese companies
including Huawei and Xiaomi have, over
recent years, improved significantly in their
feature set, value for money and, dare we say it,
market share.
All of this has paradoxically been happening
on the backdrop of a well-publicized and
intensifying trade war between the U.S. and
China. However, it speaks volumes about
the appeal of Huawei’s devices that, despite
the Trump administration essentially
blacklisting Huawei phones from sale in the
U.S., the brand has still knocked Apple out of
second position in the global smartphone
market. Only Samsung is currently stood in the
way of Huawei reaching the market’s summit.
In next week’s issue, we’ll be looking closer at
the political side of Huawei’s recent rise and
tussles in the tech sphere, as well as how other
Chinese brands have fared in comparison to
Apple. Right now, though, our attention will be
on whether you should seriously contemplate
buying a Chinese-branded device, perhaps as
an iPhone replacement – even if you are U.S.-
based and for this reason, unable to consider
Huawei as a practical option. Should you
believe the hype?