Smartphones: shipments slip amid design drought

{"text":[[{"start":11.78,"text":"The resurgence of foldable phones, albeit ones with screens that can bend, illustrates the apathy of smartphone makers. "},{"start":18.872,"text":"For years, handset innovation has been limited to screen size, frame thickness and display clarity. "},{"start":24.701999999999998,"text":"The result is a decline in sales. "}],[{"start":27.869999999999997,"text":"This year, the International Data Corporation expects shipments of smartphones to fall 4.7 per cent to a decade-low. "},{"start":34.912,"text":"It is the second year of decline. "},{"start":36.917,"text":"IDC points the finger at a weak global economy. "},{"start":40.009,"text":"But paucity of ideas contribute to the lull. "}],[{"start":43.769999999999996,"text":"In the developed world, smartphone penetration will exceed 90 per cent of adults this year, according to Deloitte. "},{"start":50.273999999999994,"text":"Companies are overly reliant on customers renewing old phones by habit. "},{"start":54.266999999999996,"text":"The evolution from flip phones to keyboards to touch screens and back is uninspiring. "},{"start":58.809,"text":"Indeed by 2027 IDC expects foldable phones to have conquered just 3.5 per cent of the market. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":66.05,"text":"The impact is already clear in chip sales. "},{"start":68.904,"text":"Arm, whose technology is used in nearly all smartphones, reported a near 1 per cent drop in revenues for the past fiscal year. "}],[{"start":76.77,"text":"What could boost the sector? "},{"start":78.58699999999999,"text":"Significant improvements in battery life so users are not tethered to power sources would help. "},{"start":83.579,"text":"So would complete global range via low-orbit satellites, along with the addition of artificial intelligence features that fully personalise phone services. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":92.44999999999999,"text":"The saving grace for companies is customer tolerance for high prices. "},{"start":96.42899999999999,"text":"The foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, for example, costs $1,800. "},{"start":102.50899999999999,"text":"See also the success of a new Huawei handset released in China this week and priced above $900. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":109.39999999999999,"text":"Apple sets the industry standard for navigating market saturation and fluctuating demand via bigger bills. "},{"start":115.37899999999999,"text":"Data from Omdia estimates that iPhone shipments fell nearly 12 per cent in the second quarter compared with the previous year. "},{"start":121.77199999999999,"text":"Yet company earnings show iPhone revenue fell just 2.5 per cent. "}],[{"start":126.92999999999999,"text":"The first iPhone, released in 2007, cost $499. "},{"start":132.434,"text":"If prices rose in line with inflation, the latest iPhones would sell for $736. "},{"start":138.339,"text":"Compare that with the top end model of the new iPhone 15 due next month at $1,299. "},{"start":144.65699999999998,"text":"High-end customers certainly have no apathy. "}],[{"start":147.07999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/120691-1693524080.mp3"}