On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Global smartphone sales continue to decline in Q3 2019, Gartner reports, as they drop by -0.4% Y-o-Y to 3.8 billion units due to consumers becoming more concerned about getting value for money, leading to weak demand.

“For the majority of smartphone users, desire has shifted away from owning the least expensive smartphone. Today’s smartphone user is opting for midtier smartphones over premium-tier ones because they offer better value for money,” the analyst says. “In addition, while waiting for 5G network coverage to increase to more countries, smartphone users are delaying their purchase decisions until 2020.”

The shift leads to the strengthening of entry-level and mid-tier portfolios by brands such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. Such a strategy has helped Huawei, Samsung and Oppo grow in Q3 2019, while the resolutely high-end Apple has continues to face double-digit sales declines. In fact, Huawei is the only top 5 smartphone vendor to achieve double-digit sales growth in Q3 2019, selling 65.8 million units, a 26% Y-o-Y increase. Key to such performance is, of course, China, since the ongoing trade war with the US lead the company to invest more heavily in its home country.

"Mobile Lens System" maker Olloclip announces a range of products, including one-piece clips and protective cases, for use with the iPhone 11, Pro and Pro Max, together with the Samsung S10 and S10e.

“With the arrival of the iPhone 11 series and Samsung’s new S series, Olloclip is proud to continue innovating exciting solutions for mobile photographers who just want to shoot on their phones,” the company says. “Olloclip’s unique unibody clips make attachment to the phone a breeze, and our precise engineering ensures that whatever lens is being used fits perfectly every time.”

The clip system snaps on top of the smartphone, even if it is inside a case. Compatible lenses snap on the clip over the built-in camera module, creating an interchangeable lens system for mobile photography. Additions to the lens system include the Macro 10X Essential, Pocket Telephoto 2X Essential and a Stability Kit update complete with Bluetooth shutter release, "super-light" tripod and pivot grip stabiliser.

A leaked presentation slide reveals AMD plans to release the first Threadripper CPU with 64 cores and 128 threads-- the 3990X, featuring a doubling of both core and threads of the 2nd generation Threadripper flagship, the 2990WX.

First revealed by Videocardz.com, the 3990X features the same 280W TDP as the 32-core 3970X and even the 24-core 3960X. Further details are scant, other than a mention of 288MB of total cache. In fact the slide does not mention anything regarding clock speeds (the current guess is of 4.5GHz boost speed) or the thermal solution involved, something one can safely assume will be truly massive.

Huawei takes on the high-end likes of the iPad Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab S5 with the MatePad Pro-- a tablet with a 10.8-inch 16:10 aspect ratio touchscreen featuring a punch hole for an 8MP front-facing camera.

The panel making the display is AMOLED, and handles 2560 x 1600 resolution. It comes within an aluminium chassis carrying a Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 990 processor together with 6/8GB RAM and 128/256GB NAND flash storage. The 7250mAh charges through either 40W SuperCharger or 15W wireless charging, and the tablet includes an M-Pen stylus for drawing and more precise touch input.