Top mobile companies 2017-18

Best of 2017: companies

The playing field of mobile manufacturers is shifting. 2017 saw an expanding presence of Asia-based brands not only in their own markets, but region- and world-wide. If you’re a fan of brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi, then this holiday season brings you very good tidings. Here’s what you need to know about the realm of mobile manufacturers as we head into 2018.

There are two elephants in the room...

At the risk of having overstated how much things have changed, please be reassured that Samsung and Apple are still the top mobile phone manufacturers on earth. And they are at war. For years, the mobile giants have been taking each other to court all over the world for all kinds of reasons, from patent infringements to countersuits seeking to get money for legal damages, to retrials of those very same countersuits. Silly? Yes. In fact, it was only in November that the United States Supreme Court rejected the latest Samsung appeal over a patent infringement case in which a lower court ruled in favor of Apple. Is it finally all over?

Maybe...but probably not. 2017, as with any other year, saw Apple and Samsung drop two highly-anticipated devices in its smartphone lines respectively. A key difference emerges here; David Nield of T3.com points out that, although they released updates of their iWatch and iPad, and with the performance results of the new HomePod speaker system still waiting to be seen, their hopes for success rested on the iPhone X (and to a lesser extent, the iPhone 8/8 Plus.

Meanwhile, Samsung has come out across the board with updates to the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Note, not to mention its other home electronics such as smart televisions, appliances and smart home kits that, together with its mobile products, try to create an immersive experience. As expected upon the release of the devices, the clamor reached a fever pitch and the talk, hype, and speculation was non-stop as always.