Xiaomi, Oppo to import smartphones to India as plants struggle: Report

China's Xiaomi and Oppo have needed to fall back on bringing some cell phones models into India as their neighborhood get together plants battle to return to typical creation levels, three sources acquainted with the issue said.
The main part of the Xiaomi cell phones sold in India are made by contract maker Foxconn in the southern conditions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, while Oppo amasses its India-made telephones at a plant on the edges of New Delhi.
In spite of the fact that assembling offices in India have been permitted since May to continue tasks, a few cell phone plants are as yet wrestling with work deficiencies making it hard to satisfy need that developed during almost two months of lockdown when deals of telephones were not permitted, the sources said.
It was not quickly clear what number of telephones the Chinese brands are currently bringing in, the sources included, declining to be distinguished as they were not approved to talk about the issue with media.
"This is absolutely to deal with the interest that is there and the way that they (Xiaomi) can't deliver to fulfill need," one of the sources stated, including the imports were a momentary measure until creation and dispersion returns to ordinary.
Xiaomi didn't react to a solicitation for input and Foxconn declined to remark.
In spite of the fact that Oppo's plant revived with diminished staffing on May 7, it needed to close again for over seven days after a few laborers tried positive for the coronavirus.

Oppo India, which is claimed by China's BBK Electronics, declined to remark.

Apple does a Jio with TV+, offers content subscription at Rs 99 per month

International News

With over 1.4 billion active installed base of devices globally and millions in India - iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Macs, iPod touch and more - Apple has finally flexed its muscles to take on content streaming giants like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime and Disney with aggressive pricing, free offers and all-original stories.
The announcement of a much cheaper Apple TV+ subscription than expected (Rs 99 a month in India and $4.99 in the US and other countries) immediately saw shares of Netflix, Disney and Roku tumbling down as Apple, which has nearly $210 billion cash at its disposal, has sensed the mammoth streaming opportunity that lies ahead and is going to open its coffers for creating more originals, even in regional languages.
Indians today spend 30 per cent of their phone time and over 70 per cent of mobile data on entertainment and movies are their preferred choice on smart TV and larger screens.An over-the-top (OTT) viewer in India is spending approximately 70 minutes a day on video streaming platforms, with a consumption frequency of 12.5 times a week, an Eros Now-KPMG report said last week.
When we look at the data consumption, In India, the Internet video traffic is projected to reach 13.5 Exabytes (EB) per month by 2022 -- up from 1.5 EB a month in 2017 -- with video contributing 77 per cent of all Internet traffic by 2022.The opportunities are enormous and Apple TV+ with its large installed device base is smiling at its rivals who lack the vantage point of being in your home in the form of an iphone or iPad.

 "Apple built on their integrated ecosystem advantage by announcing low-monthly pricing for Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, and a free year of Apple TV for a buyer of an Apple device," said Frank Gillett, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester....Read More

Terry Gou must name his successor: iPhone maker Foxconn needs another CEO

Company News

Before Terry Gou received a divine message to run for Taiwan’s presidency, the Foxconn founder said that he had stayed awake at night wondering what he could do for today’s youth.

That’s an admirable sentiment, but doesn’t much help his own shareholders when they need him most. The company’s major client, accounting for half of sales, is facing the biggest challenge in more than a decade. The tech sector overall is wrestling with a slowdown. And a trade war between China and the US puts Foxconn directly in the crossfire.

Flagship Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reported earnings late Tuesday. The maker of Apple Inc. iPhones posted operating income that didn’t even match the lowest of analyst estimates, dropping 35% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest miss for a March quarter since Hon Hai started reporting consolidated numbers 11 years ago.

The results were bad across the board. Gross margin was the lowest in seven years, and operating margin fell near historic lows. Judging by the stock’s drop Wednesday morning, investors didn’t see this coming any more than analysts.

Gou loves to talk. He is happy to chat about his trip to the White House and meeting President Donald Trump. He loves to ponder what Taiwan needs from a president. He is keen to share his twin passions of charity and cancer research. But what he doesn’t like to discuss are the inner workings of his own $34 billion business.


 In situations like this, a CEO should be on a conference call explaining the situation to investors. Executives would do the rounds of financial media to calm shareholders. Yet Gou isn’t doing that. Hon Hai’s investor relations team offers the scantest of information in a single earnings table sent from a Gmail account.

Xiaomi enters digital payments market, expands handset manufacturing

Company News

Leading smartphone player Xiaomi has entered the fast-growing digital payments market with its Mi Pay service, the company announced on Tuesday. Primarily an UPI (Unified Payments Interface) —based mobile application, the Mi Pay service will be accessible to all MIUI — its mobile user interface — users in India.

The MIUI interface — spread across SMS, contacts, scanner, app vault, and settings in Xiaomi handsets — will also allow several utility payments ranging from phone bills, phone recharges, water or electricity bill payments through the payments service. The firm has partnered ICICI Bank as its payment service provider. Consumers can effectively make payments using UPI and other debit cards, credit cards and internet banking across 120 banks and over 120 billers, Xiaomi said.

“Mi Pay UPI has been approved by NPCI under the multi bank API model and it has been audited by CERT-IN empanelled auditors E&Y and Lucideus. Mi Pay provides the safest and secure transactions with all data stored locally in India servers in an encrypted format,” it said in a statement.

The move comes a year after the Chinese consumer electronics major had entered the digital lending space in India, with the launch of a ‘Mi Credit’ product, earlier in 2018. The company began offering instant personal loans to its users, through offers that appear on their lock screen while they are using the phone.

Adds seventh plant

 To match the growing demand for its handsets, Xiaomi has partnered Flex — an original equipment maker — that would manufacture smartphones for it in Tamil Nadu. The new Flex plant is the seventh plant to manufacture Xiaomi phones here. It already has six dedicated units from Foxconn and HiPad that are producing Mi and Redmi devices in India.