A closer look at Panasonic’s Ultra HD Blu-ray player line-up: UB900, UB700, UB400, UB310, UB300

Panasonic was a big player in kickstarting this whole Ultra HD Blu-ray thing. It, alongside Samsung, launched the first player in 2016, aiming high, with the UB900. 

That was a remarkable piece of home entertainment kit and soon after followed the UB700, a step down but none the less remarkable in its performance.

There’s subsequently been the announcement of three more players. So what’s the difference between all these Panasonic Ultra HD Blu-ray players and which one should you buy?

Let’s walk you through it.

• Best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players 2017

Panasonic UB900

This is Panasonic’s flagship Ultra HD Blu-ray player. It’s built to be the best it can be and commands the highest price as a result. It offers outstanding picture quality when playing the latest Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, but it doubles up on offering audio skills too.

It’s around the back that you’ll find the biggest thing that marks this player out: it’s loaded with analogue 7.1 audio connections above and beyond the dual HDMI you might use for Ultra HD Blu-ray playback. Those analogue audio connections are backed up by high-end audio hardware, aiming to make this player the best audio and video device it can be.

• Panasonic DMP-UB900 review: Ultra-HD Blu-ray master class

Panasonic UB700

Take a step down to the UB700 and you’re presented with a box that’s not quite as plushly built, lacking the vibration reducing feet that audiophiles might be interested and a simpler design. 

Again, it’s around the back where this story is really told: those 7.1 audio connections are stripped away and you’re left with optical audio and those twin HDMI. This isn’t designed to be an audio performer like the UB900, but it has the same video processing hardware, so the picture quality is the same. That makes it a solid proposition for those interested in the stunning visuals of Ultra HD Blu-ray.

• Panasonic DMP-UB700 review: Step-down Ultra HD Blu-ray player loses little

Panasonic UB400

The next step takes us into the 2017 launches, with the UB400. This makes a big change in design, shifting from the conventional 40mm box width of the 900 and 700, and taking on a smaller format. For purists, this makes the player itself look visually less conventional, but it is more compact, like a mini version of the UB700. 

You get the same video processing engine as the other two players, you also get twin HDMI and Wi-Fi so you can use the apps, like Netflix, to stream more 4K content. It looks like an ideal player, those twin HDMI meaning you can still hook it up to a TV and AV receiver.

There’s actually a small software difference in the 2017 players too, that will let you change the level of the HDR effect – meaning you can boost the brightness without losing the detail, for example. (This will be coming to the UB900 and UB700 via a software update.)

Panasonic UB310

The big loss from the UB400 is one of the HDMI sockets, meaning you lose your dedicated HDMI audio channel, although this is still the same compact box design as that other player, although the UB310 and 300 design is slightly more basic than the UB400.

Yes, the video processing engine is the same, so the pictures you get from your Ultra HD Blu-ray are powered by the same hardware as the UB900. There is also a Wi-Fi connection so you can use those apps such as Netflix. 

Panasonic UB300

This is the lowest and least featured of the Ultra HD Blu-ray players that Panasonic offers, but surprise surprise, it uses the same video processing engine, so the picture quality is just as good from those 4K HDR discs as with the other players. 

What you lose in this box is the Wi-Fi connection, so if you want to use Netflix from the box, you’d need a wired connection. Can you live with that? Probably, because the TV you’re using probably has its own Netflix player anyway.

• 17 best 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays available to buy now

Final thoughts

The UB900’s position was always to satisfy a demanding market and for the average user, it does a lot more than you’ll need. At the same time the UB700 is an excellent player, but if you’re only after a single HDMI output and the desire to play those discs, you might be satisfied with the UB300. 

There is a consideration however. We’ve tested the UB900 and the UB700 over a fairly long period of time and during those times we’ve had a number of updates to the boxes. Some of that is because they are new devices – but at the same time, if you leave your box disconnected, you won’t have the benefit of online services or such easy updates. 

As for whether you want to use those internet apps: Panasonic’s user interface on these players isn’t as slick as it is on many smart TVs, so you’ll probably have a much better experience using the apps on your smart TV or via your set-top box, like Sky Q or Virgin TV V6 for example. 

Prices are still to be confirmed, but with five levels of player, we’re guessing that the price of getting yourself an Ultra HD Blu-ray player is going to drop substantially.

The crazy colours of Huawei P10 revealed: Gold, blue and, er, green

Huawei has previously announced that it was working with Pantone to determine and use the latest fashionable colour tones with its new smartphones. Now we can see what shades have been chosen.

Evan Blass, under his Twitter handle @evleaks, has posted images of three variants of the Huawei P10 – in gold, blue and green. The green one is especially, erm, interesting.

Huawei P10 in (left to right) blue, gold, and green. pic.twitter.com/Li1jh55Y46

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 16, 2017

The Huawei P10 is expected to launch in two sizes on Sunday 26 February, on a mad day of press conferences ahead of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The P10 and P10 Plus are rumoured to have 5.2 and 5.5-inch Quad HD displays respectively and feature curved edge designs.

• Huawei P10 and P10 Plus: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
• Huawei P10 and Watch 2 confirmed, announced during MWC on 26 February

They have been heavily tipped to sport Kirin 960 and/or 965 chipsets, with 4GB of RAM the commonly tipped. A 6GB of RAM variant has also been mentioned in the past, which could be restricted to Asian territories, maybe even just China.

A dual camera will be on the rear – hence the two lenses in the images. Oh, and did we mention that one of them will be green. Green!

We’re hoping to host the livestream of the launch event here on Pocket-lint and will be at MWC all week to bring you all the mobile news.

Pixar opens a free Khan Academy course on storytelling

Pixar is offering a free course through Khan Academy that can help you find the kind of stories you want to tell — and help you tell them better. The “Art of Storytelling” is the latest installment in a series of free courses from the studio called “Pixar in a Box.” It discusses ways to build worlds and characters, how to make sure your stories reflect your unique perspective, along with other relevant advice. And if there’s anybody qualified to give storytelling advice, it’s the creators of Toy Story, Wall-E and Up.

Pixar’s older courses are also still available on the educational website if you want to learn more about animation, colors in films and environment and character modeling. Of course, if you’d rather learn about something else, you merely need to browse other areas of Khan Academy. The famous online education platform has an enormous catalog of lessons and is available as an Android and an iOS app.

Via: TheNextWeb

Source: Khan Academy

Reddit mixes up its front page with new ‘r/Popular’ subreddit

As Reddit has grown from a small, insider community to a highly-trafficked intersection of conversation and news, debate has raged over what should get shown on the site’s front page. Like Google search results, the first posts will have a much better chance of getting seen than those with lower popularity. Eventually the site got big enough for the larger subreddits to outperform the new ones cropping up, so Reddit admins assigned a set of default subreddits to fill the front page, effectively choosing what type of content logged out users see. To avoid this editorializing, they’ve started fresh with a new concept: r/Popular.

This new subreddit will populate the front page with a diverse set of content, like the old r/all used to do. Logged-in users won’t see any change, as their landing page will still be filled with posts from their subscribed subreddits. Visiting r/Popular shows a decent amount of content from the larger, recognizable communities, but with some new blood trickling in, like posts from the inimitable r/NatureIsFuckingLit.

Reddit has been wanting a more elegant solution than forcing a set selection of content in front of logged out users. The r/All subreddit was an imperfect solution, as evidenced when the site gave users the ability to filter out content from communities they didn’t like. While r/Popular is more hands-off for administrators, there’s still a palatability check: Content won’t show up from NSFW and 18+ communities, subredits that have opted out of r/all and those that users constantly filter out of their r/all page.

Source: Reddit

‘EverQuest’ co-creator joins Amazon Games Studio in San Diego

Amazon is firing up new locations for its Games Studio (AGS) offices along the West Coast and infusing it with some legacy blood. John Smedley, one of the original creators of the seminal MMO Everquest, will be helming a new team operating out of San Diego. Apparently, they’re already working on a project harnessing both Amazon Web Service Cloud and Twitch.

AGS is expanding its cells in Seattle, Orange County and Austin with new hires, but Smedley’s hire is the more promising news. With experience creating Everquest, the MMO shooter Planetside and post-apocalypse survival sim H1Z1, his games have run the genre gamut while building player community with competitive and cooperative gameplay.

Smedley’s hire comes after some downtime for the industry veteran. In July 2015, he stepped down from his role as president CEO of Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment, where Smedley first started building Everquest in 1996) after he went on Twitter to threaten cybervandals who had harassed him and temporarily knocked out Daybreak’s game servers. Later that October, he voluntarily shut down his nascent company Pixelmage after its first Kickstarter effort failed to raise enough money for a new title. But Smedley confirmed to VentureBeat that several members from that team will be joining him at AGS, which now numbers 14 people.

What shape his new project will take is unknown, as Amazon’s press release gives no detail beyond integrating Amazon’s Cloud tech and Twitch. While he didn’t confirm that his project will be using AGS’ free Lumberyard game engine, he did admire that it lets developers create AAA-titles more quickly and uses AWS as the backend, according to VentureBeat. AGS’ tech is building steam: The long-delayed Star Citizen switched from CryTek’s CryEngine over to Lumberyard back in December, while former Rockstar North head Leslie Benzies’ new company will be using the game engine to make his new title Everywhere.

Source: VentureBeat

Eagle attack! France trains bird of prey to take down rogue drones

Why it matters to you

The authorities are steadily building up their defenses against irresponsible drone pilots who continue to flout the rules.

If you happened to be in charge of taking down rogue drones, what solution would you go for? A shoulder-mounted, projectile-firing bazooka, perhaps? Or maybe an electromagnetic defense shield? Or how about something a little more low-tech, like a highly trained golden eagle?

The bird-based solution has been deemed the most effective by the French military, which this week showed off the impressive skills of its four new recruits, each one able to spot, chase, and grab a drone from the sky in the matter of just a few seconds.

The predatory creatures, which began training last year, were reared to associate the multi-rotor copters with a tasty meal.

Starting in the coming months, they’ll be used to intercept drones – mainly consumer models like the DJI Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic – spotted flying near some of the country’s military air bases, and could potentially be used to protect airspace over restricted areas such as airports and prisons.

Worst case scenario

Some security experts fear that terrorists could fit explosives or other materials to a drone and fly them into crowds or into sensitive locations like government buildings. Such an act occurred in 2015 when a political protestor attached radioactive material to a quadcopter and landed it on the roof of the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo.

With threats like this in mind, the eagles will form part of security efforts at special events such as Bastille Day, G20 summits that bring together leaders from around the world, and international conferences like last year’s climate summit in Paris.

The French government woke up to the potential threat posed by drones following a number of mysterious flights a couple of years ago around several of its nuclear power stations, as well as over famous Paris landmarks.

More: U.K. may use eagles to keep drone-delivered contraband out of prisons

Commenting on alternative solutions for taking down rogue drones, a spokesperson for the French Air Force said, “In certain situations [where falling debris could land on a crowd], the drone cannot be shot down,” adding, “The eagle, along with other means, can enable us to intercept the craft without causing any further damage.”

It’s not the first time that the majestic creatures have been trained up to tackle illegal drone flights. Dutch police are already using the bird of prey for the same purpose, describing its method as “a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem.”

Latest LG teaser highlights the UI changes coming to the G6

LG shows off the G6’s user interface in short teaser.

With the official unveil of the LG G6 just ten days away, LG is continuing to dish out additional details about the phone. The latest teaser video from the South Korean manufacturer shows off LG UX 6.0, the user interface that will make its way onto the G6. From the short video, it doesn’t look like LG will make drastic changes to the UI elements, instead focusing on tailoring the interface to take advantage of the G6’s 18:9 FullVision display.

LG has detailed changes to the camera app, which will introduce a Square Mode that will shoot images in 1:1 format, as well as a Food Mode that boosts colors and saturation when taking images of food. With the phone now able to shoot swuare images, you’ll be able to stitch them together to create a Collage Wallpaper. Furthermore, the camera will be able to create GIFs from photos in your media library.

LG will unveil the G6 on February 26 at Mobile World Congress.

LG G6 OFFERS ULTIMATE USER CONVENIENCE AND PRODUCTIVITY WITH FULLVISION DISPLAY

SEOUL, Feb. 16, 2017 — LG Electronics (LG) will feature its new mobile UX 6.0 in its upcoming G6 smartphone specifically customized to maximize the advantages of the device’s expansive FullVision display. LG G6 will feature a 5.7-inch QHD+ FullVision display (2,880 x 1,440) with an 18:9 screen ratio that almost entirely fills the front of the smartphone. The dimensions of the phone are ergonomically designed to ensure maximum comfort and compatibility with existing and upcoming digital content.

The phone’s new UX maximizes the benefits of the FullVision display, providing the user with the ultimate convenience and advances, such as:

• Differentiated experience for viewing content such as video clips and web surfing
• Improved camera UX that maximizes the extra real estate provided by the 18:9 format display
• Smartly designed GUI (Graphical User Interface) that enables the opening of two perfectly square windows side by side, delivering a more productive, better multitasking experience
• A Differentiated Experience

The FullVision display in the LG G6 provides users with a new viewing experience. The large screen features an expanded top and bottom that allows users to view more information when surfing the web, or while reading e-books and provides a more immersive experience when users view videos or play games.

The LG G6 is expected to kick off an era of premium smartphones with 18:9 screen aspect ratios, which is why such a wide variety of films, apps and games tailored to the 18:9 aspect ratio is sharply rising. The smartphone includes a feature that allows users to view existing 16:9 ratio content easily in 18:9 format.

Enhanced Camera UX

The camera UX has been considerably enhanced thanks to the expansive 18:9 screen aspect ratio display in a way that increases the convenience and the fun. The expansive screen enables users to take and review photos simultaneously. LG UX 6.0 provides a Square Camera feature which divides the 18:9 display into two identical perfect squares. With this, users can shoot images in 1:1 format – a popular format on social media apps such as Instagram – and review them in the adjacent window. There is also new shooting mode called Food Mode that delivers high color quality and saturation ideal for, well, food. Users can create GIF files by combining anywhere from 2 and 100 pictures in a loop.

Advanced Multi-tasking

The LG G6 takes advantage of the expansive 18:9 display in many ways. Open a call reception window next to the calendar app or the photo gallery at the same time as the message app. Multiple square photographs can be connected together and viewed as a Collage Wallpaper on the lock screen. Type a memo on one side while surfing the web on the other. Inside the calendar app, turning the G6 horizontally will display the calendar in the left window while a detailed schedule will appear on the right. The combinations are endless.

“The LG G6 with FullVision was inspired by the philosophy of experts in the movie industry who believe that an 18:9 ratio screen would be the best solution for viewing both old and new cinematic content in the digital age,” said Juno Cho, president of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “We’ve not only embraced that philosophy in our newest smartphone but taken it to a whole new level by incorporating the 18:9 format in many other ways. I think users will appreciate the many ways we’ve made the LG G6 more productive.”

The LG G6 with UX 6.0 will be introduced to audiences worldwide at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Spain on February 26.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 vs. Honor 6X: The battle for budget supremacy starts here

Two of the best budget phones in India go head-to-head.

Xiaomi has started off the year strong with the Redmi Note 4, offering a feature-rich phone for ₹12,999. Although Huawei’s sub-brand Honor doesn’t have the same brand recognition as Xiaomi in India, the manufacturer’s latest budget handset, the Honor 6X, stands out in several areas.

In fact, the Honor 6X is the only phone that is close to the Redmi Note 4 when it comes to the value proposition. Both handsets offer a ton of features, and in the case of the Redmi Note 4, the highlight is the battery life. For the Honor 6X, it is the dual-camera setup at the back.

The distribution models are also the same, with sales strategy pitting two of the largest e-commerce players in India against one another. Xiaomi has sided with Flipkart for the Redmi Note 4, while Honor is selling the Honor 6X exclusively on Amazon India. With both phones sold via weekly flash sales, there are a lot of similarities both in the feature-set on offer and the targeted audience. Let’s see if the Redmi Note 4 can hold its own, or if the Honor 6X manages to pull ahead.

Hardware

Xiaomi set the bar for design and build quality in this segment, and Huawei has matched it with the Honor 6X, offering an anodized metal chassis with chamfered edges and a premium design. Visually, both phones look very similar, and what they lack in flair they make up for in sturdy build quality. Both handsets have 2.5D curved glass at the front, and while the Honor 6X offers on-screen navigation buttons, the Redmi Note 4 relies on hardware keys.

The Redmi Note 4 has a better display, and is more comfortable to use one-handed.

The subtle chamfers on the side makes it easy to use the Redmi Note 4 one-handed. The phone has a larger 4100mAh battery over the 3340mAh unit in the Honor 6X, but it isn’t noticeably thicker at 8.5mm over the 6X’s 8.2mm. It’s impressive that Xiaomi managed to fit in a larger battery in a chassis that’s around the same size as the Honor 6X.

As for the display, the panel on the Redmi Note 4 produces accurate colors, and while the Honor 6X wins out when it comes to sunlight legibility, its panel tends to gravitate to cooler colors. You can change the color temperature through the display settings, but the color reproduction is better on the Redmi Note 4. Both phones offer a blue light filter that reduces eye fatigue when viewing the screen at night.

Internal hardware is also similar between both devices. The Indian variant of the Redmi Note 4 is powered by a Snapdragon 625 SoC, which has eight Cortex A53 cores clocked up to 2.0GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU. Meanwhile, the Honor 6X features Huawei’s own Kirin 655 SoC, which has the same octa-core Cortex A53 cores, but with four clocked at 2.1GHz and the latter four at 1.7GHz. On the GPU front, the Kirin 655 comes with a Mali-T830MP2. The Redmi Note 4 wins out over the Honor 6X when it comes to visually-intensive gaming, and that’s largely driven by the efficacy of the Adreno 506.

A glaring omission on the Honor 6X is the lack of dual-band Wi-Fi, and as such you’re limited to connecting to 2.4GHz networks. The Redmi Note 4 lets you connect to both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. In day-to-day use, both phones run lag-free outside of a few gaming-related scenarios. Both phones have speakers located at the bottom, but the one on the Honor 6X is marginally louder than that of the Redmi Note 4.

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 review
• Honor 6X review

The Redmi Note 4 is available in three variants, with the base model offering 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage for just ₹9,999. The sub-₹10,000 pricing works in Xiaomi’s favor, and the entry-level option will undoubtedly sell in huge quantities in India. Xiaomi is also offering a variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage for ₹10,999, and a model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for ₹12,999.

Meanwhile, the Honor 6X is sold in two configurations: a version with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage for ₹12,999, and an option with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for ₹15,999.

Winner: Redmi Note 4

Battery life

Xiaomi has prioritized battery life with the Redmi Note 4, and the result is a phone that can last up to two days on a full charge without any issues. That’s if your daily usage only involves a couple of hours of streaming music or video, along with a few hours of browsing, social media usage, and gaming. The combination of the 4100mAh battery and the energy-efficient 14nm SoC ensures that you get at least a day’s worth of use even if you’re streaming video throughout the day.

The Honor 6X is no slouch either when it comes to battery life, with the phone also lasting through a full day on regular use. However, it doesn’t quite match the battery prowess of the Redmi Note 4. Great battery life is a prerequisite for both phones as they both lack fast charging options. The Redmi Note 4 takes just over two hours to fully charge, with the Honor 6X taking slightly lesser time. You’re not going to be able to charge these phones quickly in the middle of the day should you need to. That said, with the battery life being what it is, you’re not going to find yourself in that situation often.

Winner: Redmi Note 4

Software

It’s hard to find a user interface that’s as convoluted as MIUI. Sadly, Huawei’s EMUI puts up a good challenge. The notification shade alone highlights everything that’s wrong with the way Chinese manufacturers approach software. That said, Huawei has gotten rid of a lot of the excess in the Nougat-based EMUI 5.0, paring back the overt customizations to offer a cleaner implementation. The update will fix many of the annoyances that are currently present in EMUI, and should make using the phone far less irritating. Huawei has mentioned that the Nougat update will be rolling out to the Honor 6X in the month of April.

As for MIUI, Xiaomi’s user interface is known for offering a smorgasbord of features, and if you’re new to the UI, there’s plenty to discover. Xiaomi also adds new features on a regular basis, and has rolled out several local features aimed at Indian users. For instance, the dialer automatically filters spam calls, and gives you caller ID information for several brands. Then there’s the option to limit calls from those in your contacts list, automatically record all calls, and more.

We’re yet to see the changes that Xiaomi will bring to the table with a Nougat-based version of MIUI. The Android 7.0 Nougat update is available in beta for the Redmi Note 4, but that version is still based on MIUI 8, with the user-facing side seeing no alterations. Even with MIUI 9, it is unlikely we’ll see drastic changes in the user interface, as the ROM is still primarily aimed at Chinese customers.

Winner: Honor 6X

Camera

The camera on the Honor 6X is the best in this segment. The dual camera setup isn’t the same as what you’d find on the likes of the Honor 8 or the Huawei P9, which have dedicated color and monochrome sensors, but the standalone 12MP lens does a fantastic job, particularly when you consider the fact that the Honor 6X costs a third of the Huawei P9 and half of the Honor 8.

Honor 6X on the left, Redmi Note 4 on the right.

Images from the Honor 6X are full of detail and portray accurate colors. The Redmi Note 4 also has a decent camera, but it isn’t on par with what you get with the Honor 6X.

Winner: Honor 6X

What should you buy? Up to you

The Redmi Note 4 and the Honor 6X are two of the best budget phones available today, and that will continue to be the case for much of 2017. There really isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two handsets: both offer great 1080p panels, premium design, sturdy build quality, and all-day battery life.

The Honor 6X takes the edge when it comes to camera quality, and the Redmi Note 4 is the winner in terms of battery life. Both phones are evenly matched on the software front as well, but that is set to change shortly for the Honor 6X, which will pick up the Nougat-based EMUI 5.0. The update will make the software much less tedious to use, in turn making the device a much more enticing proposition.

See at Amazon India

That said, the Honor 6X has a ₹3,000 premium over the Redmi Note 4, and while the camera quality entirely justifies the cost, the minor gulf in pricing could prove to be the difference over the course of the year. Furthermore, Xiaomi has a brand cachet that is unmatched in this category, which when combined with the lower pricing gives the Redmi Note 4 a slight edge.

See at Flipkart

LG explains why the G6 has a big ‘FullVision’ display

Even though LG has yet to fully take the wraps off of its next flagship smartphone, the latest teaser explains why you need the G6 and its “FullVision” display. Measuring 5.7-inches diagonally with a QuadHD+ resolution of 2,880 x 1,440, it has an unusual 18:9 aspect ratio that’s taller than you’re used to. Because of the extra space, however, it has plenty of room to fit two windows next to each other when held horizontally. LG’s press release brags that the G6 is expected to kick off an “era” of similar phones, and its leaked design does seem like a sign of what’s to come.

A “Square Camera” feature takes shots that are immediately ready for Instagram, and also allow the user to review them while lining up another picture at the same time. The calendar app is also apparently multitasking-ready (beyond the usual Android support), automatically showing the calendar on the left and a detailed schedule on the right. We’ll find out everything else about the phone on February 26th — or sooner, if LG keeps slow-feeding details like this.

Source: LG, LG (YouTube)

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.

Microsoft won’t be cheering much, either. Windows’ share of the mobile space fell from 1.1 percent near the end of 2015 to 0.3 percent last year, with just shy of 1.1 million phones shipped. While that was virtually expected given the dearth of Windows phones (HP’s Elite X3 was the real standout last fall), it leaves the platform not far behind BlackBerry. For all intents and purposes, this leaves the smartphone market down to just two platforms, Android (81.7 percent) and iOS (17.9 percent share).

And it’s rough even for some of those backing the winning horse. Samsung lost its lead among individual manufacturers after falling nearly 3 points to 17.8 percent. Gartner blames it on a combination of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and pressure from typically lower-priced Chinese rivals like Huawei and BBK. Apple didn’t grow nearly as quickly as its Chinese counterparts, but its 17.9 percent share was enough to give it the lead. Simply put, the smartphone business is a vicious place to be — even one misstep can cost a company dearly.

Via: Daring Fireball

Source: Gartner