cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19496775
This may get a lot worse for every non Chinese phone maker, as they get access to cheap subsidized chips from SMIC that are extremely competitive for low end phones.
What also doesn’t help is that Samsung and other western targeting brands are facing pressure to maintain their software and do the bare minimum for security updates, while these Chinese brands usually get away with one update or less.
Samsung isn’t under any sort of pressure. No one is forcing their hand to give updates. Their entry level phones still get 2 years only. Mid level 4 years. Where Samsung loses is price competiveness. Emerging markets are very price conscious. Chinese OEMs offer way better bang for buck than Samsung ever does. Heck, for a random mid level price, a Chinese OEM will give OLED screen, 120 Hz display (which Samsung has only for Flagships) and way faster charging(with an actual charger; and no, I don’t believe Samsung gives a darn about the environment by not bundling chargers, they only do so so they can sell their massively overpriced chargers).
Samsung is under pressure, though, both from governments (EU Cyber Resilience Act will have consequences for unmaintained devices) and from the markets, bringing economic pressure from consumers who no longer accept their two years of updates when competitors offer a better deal.
I don’t buy the “faster charging” scam, that’s just burning through your battery so you’ll need to buy a new phone sooner. I can wait 30 minutes per day to get my phone charged up, I don’t need 200W to hit my phone battery. If anything, the fast charging is a tacit admission of phones needing to be charged often, covering up their terrible power consumption or small batteries.
I don’t think SMIC refuses to sell to non-Chinese companies. Nokia mostly uses Unisoc chips, which are made in China (not sure if by SMIC).
But if they did, it would be a pretty serious problem, since I don’t think SMIC even has a viable competitor in the entry-level smartphone chip market.
Apple’s market-share in China collapsed recently because they can’t compete.
That lack of competing isn’t because of price tho. The CCP has effectively convinced the population that Apple (US phones) are bad/untrustworthy, much like the US government has done regarding Huawei. There was a time when Apple had a decent (not great) marketshare in China.
I don’t buy $1000< phones but it’s also not something that I would cheap out that much. You get more specs than Samsung on paper, I guess, but that’s not a phone needs the most. It’s literally one thing you always use and all the most sensitive shits are in there. Chinese smartphone? Please.
