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Global smartphone sales recover from a months-long slump
Smartphone sales shrank year-over-year in the fall, leading some to wonder whether the category's halcyon days were finally over. Well, not quite. Gartner has determined that smartphone sales bounced back ever so slightly in the first quarter of 2018, growing 1.3 percent over the same period a year earlier. Don't credit that to hot flagship phones like the Galaxy S9 or iPhone X, though -- if anything, it came in spite of those high-priced devices.
China's smartphone market sees its largest drop in five years
There's no question that China's smartphone industry is in a tough spot, but it's apparently worse than expected. Canalys has estimated that smartphone shipments in the country plummeted 21 percent year-over year in the first quarter of 2018 -- the steepest drop since 2013. Almost everyone saw their shipments go down, with Oppo and Vivo (both owned by BBK) taking the worst hit with a 10 percent drop. Gionee, Meizu and Samsung shipped less than half as many devices. Even Huawei, the clear frontrunner, grew by a mere 2 percent.
Oppo 'gradually' winds down its Blu-ray player and audio business
For years home theater fans have loved Oppo's well-engineered and capable products, but today the company announced that after 14 it's getting out of the business (Oppo's mobile arm is separate and will continue) of Blu-ray players, headphones and audio systems. According to a post on its website, "As our latest 4K UHD players reach the pinnacle of their performance, it is time to say goodbye." It will continue to support existing products with in- and out-of-warranty service, and firmware updates will continue -- Oppo just isn't going to make new devices and is winding down manufacturing. Anyone who purchased a device within the last 30 days can return it for a full refund and if you're still interested in something, all of its devices will still be on sale until they're eventually out of stock. As good as 4K Blu-ray is, the company apparently agrees with those who see a limited future for the technology in the face of streaming.
The best 4K Blu-ray player
By Chris Heinonen This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After researching every currently available 4K Blu-ray player, and spending more than 20 hours testing the features and performance of six contenders, we're sure that the Sony UBP-X800 is the best for most people. All the players we tested had indistinguishable 4K disc performance, but the Sony's disc-loading speed, snappy menus, and superior 4K upscaling of DVDs and non-4K Blu-rays set it apart from the pack.
China's smartphone market shrinks for the first time in 9 years
For a while, it seemed like the Chinese smartphone market was an infinite growth machine. Companies would have rough patches, but the overall field would always be on the up and up. Well, those days are over. IDC estimates that Chinese smartphone shipments declined 4.9 percent in 2017 -- the first drop since 2009. The analyst firm pinned it primarily on "minor upgrades" to Chinese phones that weren't enough to spur a wave of new buyers. We'd add that the market is maturing. Much of the rapid growth from past years was sparked by a burgeoning Chinese middle class buying its first smartphones. Many of the people who could afford smartphones have them, and they aren't always in a rush to upgrade.
The best gear for building your home theater
By Grant Clauser This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. Everyone loves watching a great movie on a big screen with a kickass speaker system, but few would complain about losing the sticky floors, uncomfortable seats, and kids with smartphones (unless they're your own kids). Our A/V team spends thousands of hours each year to find the best-looking and -sounding home theater equipment. Whether you have a dedicated theater room planned or are thinking of upgrading your weeknight living room movie night, we have recommendations covering whatever space and budget you have.
OnePlus 5T packs a tall screen and upgraded dual cameras for $499
After more than a few leaks and not-so-subtle teasers, the OnePlus 5T is official -- and it's at once everything you expected and a bit more. The centerpiece, as you've no doubt guessed, is the 6-inch, 18:9 ratio 2,160 x 1,080 AMOLED display. The fingerprint reader is now on the back as a result of the taller screen, but it means a larger canvas for your apps and videos in a device that's roughly the same size as its predecessor. It can auto-adapt to bright sunlight and other harsh conditions, and you can tune the display's colors for accuracy (such as DCI-P3 or sRGB) or vividness. And thankfully, the trendy tall display isn't the only improvement.
Oppo's 4K Blu-ray players are the first with Dolby Vision HDR
Late last year Oppo promised its Ultra HD Blu-ray players would eventually be the first with support for Dolby Vision HDR (in addition to the required HDR-10 spec that all Ultra HD Blu-ray players support), and now a software update is available to unlock the feature. It only works if you have Ultra HD Blu-ray discs made to support Dolby's flavor of HDR (plus a compatible TV), and, coincidentally, two just went on sale this week: Despicable Me 1 & 2. Later this year, they will be joined by movies including The Fate of the Furious and Power Rangers, as more studios release Dolby Vision-ready discs, while Sony and LG have their own players on the way.
Meizu fires back at Oppo with its own high-speed phone charging
Last year, Oppo rolled into Mobile World Congress with what seemed like the fastest battery-charging tech in town. These days, the Chinese company is still eager to show off its impressive, periscope-inspired smartphone camera, but Meizu has been more than happy to pick up where Oppo left off. Now, in fairness, Meizu's Super mCharge isn't quite as fast as Oppo's SuperVOOC solution, but it's still damn fast. Specifically, it can take a 3,000mAh battery from zero to full in 20 minutes -- and it might be a little safer too.
Oppo's clever, zooming dual camera was inspired by periscopes
The dual-camera craze is real at Mobile World Congress, but Oppo decided to break from the pack with its own, very clever implementation. Long story short: the company managed to build a 5x "lossless" zoom system for smartphones using two sensors and a zoom mechanism inspired by periscopes. The latter part is nothing new, of course: 'tis a feature which was once common on compact digital cameras, and ASUS even applied this to its ZenFone Zoom last year. Oppo's implementation, however, takes things up a notch.
BlackBerry's share of the smartphone market is virtually zero
BlackBerry may be hoping for a recovery in its smartphone business, but it's hitting rock bottom right now. Gartner analysts estimate that BlackBerry's once-dominant platform hit 0.0 percent market share in the fourth quarter of 2016. Yes, zilch. The company did ship 207,000 phones, but that gives it less than half the unit volume of the "other OS" category. This wasn't hard to see coming given BlackBerry's years-long decline, gradual shift toward Android and recent focus on services. It's still incredibly symbolic, however, and shows that the company's deal with TCL effectively amounts to starting from scratch.
Oppo's first Ultra HD Blu-ray player is a tribute to physical media
Add one more Ultra HD Blu-ray player to the list, now that Oppo is ready to release its UDP-203. While the $550 deck doesn't include any 4K streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon or Vudu, it's all about high-end disc playback. It's also able to play Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD Audio, Super Audio CD and CD, if you just can't let physical media go. There are two HDMI outputs (in case your receiver isn't able to pass through 4K/HDR video) and one input.
Oppo's first Ultra HD Blu-ray player is coming later this year
Lately we've paid more attention to Oppo's mobile devices, but it's still the home of some well-regarded audio/video equipment. The company revealed its first Ultra HD Blu-ray player at CEDIA 2016 last week, and now is taking sign-ups for more information on its website. We don't have detailed specs for the UDP-203, but Oppo told Chris Heinonen that it would sell for $499. The pictures he took show dual-HDMI ports, two USB jacks, analog 7.1 audio output, RS-232 and Ethernet. HDTVTest, meanwhile, cites UK journalist John Archer reporting that he's been told the player will be available with a step-up UDP-205 model, and both will support Dolby Vision HDR.
Apple builds an R&D center in China to survive a tough market
There's no question that China isn't as much of a money maker for Apple as it once was. However, it's not about to quit the country -- if anything, it's settling in for the long haul. The company has unveiled plans to build a Chinese research and development center by the end of the year. Just what it'll work on isn't evident at this stage, although it's part of an overall increased investment in Apple's second-largest market.
The smartphone market is peaking
It's not just Apple taking a tumble in the smartphone market, apparently. IDC has published estimates for first quarter market share which not only suggest that shipments are virtually flat (up a mere 0.2 percent), but that the mobile landscape is changing rapidly. While Apple was the only company in the top five manufacturers to see a big hit, Samsung shrank slightly as well... and even the Chinese contingent is shaking things up a bit. Huawei is still sitting comfortably in third place, but Lenovo and Xiaomi are out of the top ranks -- instead, it's the popular but not-quite-household names like Oppo and Vivo (both owned by BBK) that are storming up the charts.
Oppo R9 is a fancy mid-range phone for selfie addicts
How many megapixels does your pretty face deserve? 16 apparently, according to a couple of new Android smartphones from Oppo. The freshly announced R9 and R9 Plus are the latest addition to the Chinese company's mid-range line, featuring a powerful front-facing camera with Samsung's 16-megapixel ISOCELL sensor and a bright f/2.0 aperture, along with Oppo's new and improved beautification plus selfie panorama modes. These will no doubt be a big hit amongst ladies in Asia, but that's not to say men can't enjoy the occasional selfies, either (yes, I'm very much guilty here).
Oppo promises stable photos from smaller smartphones
Numerous smartphones have image stabilization, but they're usually large, chunky or both, and for good reason: The optical (lens-based) stabilization they typically use chews up a lot of space. Oppo, however, believes it has a better way. Its new SmartSensor brings sensor-shifting stabilization to phones (reportedly for the first time), giving you blur-free shots without the usual bulk. Moreover, it fixes some of the chronic problems with OIS. It's much faster when correcting shots, uses about 50 times less power and accounts for rolling motions and other kinds of shaking that optical stabilizers usually can't correct.
Oppo can fully charge a smartphone in 15 minutes
Most people might not drool over Oppo phones, but they're going to get a feature that might get those salivary glands pumping. This morning at Mobile World Congress, the company showed off its new SuperVOOC quick-charging technology. If real-world results are as promising as they say, Oppo fans will be able to fully charge some of their devices in 15 minutes. No, seriously.
Oppo embraces near-stock Android to sell more phones beyond China
It's relatively easy to buy Oppo's smartphones in many places around the world. However, it's still obvious that they were originally designed for Chinese buyers, who tend to favor heavy customization -- how is Oppo supposed to make a name for itself abroad? By stripping things down, apparently. The company has released a beta version of Project Spectrum, a firmware release that gets much closer to stock Android. You'll still find signature Oppo features like a custom camera app and screen-off gestures, but you'll see much more of Google's original interface (specifically, Lollipop). It's only available to download for the Find 7 and Find 7a at the moment, but there are plans for both broader hardware support and a Marshmallow upgrade in the months ahead.
The best $150 over-ear headphones
By Lauren Dragan This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. If I wanted to spend $150 or less on a pair of over-ear headphones, the Sony MDR-7506, for the third year running, is the model I'd buy. After we researched all of the over-ears in this price range that are currently available (around 110 units in total), read countless professional and user reviews, and conducted three separate listening panels of audio professionals, the Sony MDR-7506 emerged as the clear winner.
