This morning at CES 2016, the company announced a brand new range of ultra low-end Pixi 4 phones and tablets, all powered by Android and a dual-core or quad-core processor, but each with a different-sized screen.Īlcatel OneTouch’s latest Pixi range will come with 3.5-inch, 4-inch, 6-inch and 7-inch models, with the last of those being far more like a small tablet than a smartphone.Īlthough they’re clearly entry-level products, the new Pixi range have been loaded with a number of features to make them attractive to first-time smartphone buyers, or those with lower budgets. And, if Huawei’s 2015 performance is anything to go by, Samsung should definitely be keeping an eye over its shoulder.Īlcatel OneTouch has built something of a name for itself at the affordable end of smartphone and tablet market. Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi are expected to renew their focus on markets where Samsung is normally very strong. One explanation, of course, is that Samsung released its last high-end flagship smartphone right in the middle of Q3, while many other competitors waited until October/November.Īs 2016 rolls in, the competitive landscape is only going to get tougher for Samsung. Holiday sales are usually stronger than any other quarter for most tech companies, so Samsung may be a little worried to see the 18% drop from Q3 even if Q4 was an improvement on the same quarter in 2014. Rather unusually, however, Samsung did see a quarter-on-quarter drop from Q3 2015, in which it made 7.4 trillion Korean Won. A big part of that focus was moving away from the plastic flagships of the past to make solid, glass and metal handsets with market-leading specifications. If anything, it shows that Samsung’s 2015 focus on creating fewer, but higher quality handsets is working. While other Android smartphone makers are struggling to make any progress financially, Samsung’s Q4 estimates (if accurate) will see them beat last year’s final quarter profits by 0.8 trillion Korean Won, or approximately $666 million USD. That was based on estimated sales worth 53.0 trillion Korean Won ($44B USD). Samsung estimates that its profit for the quarter reached 6.1 trillion Korean Won, or roughly $5.1 billion US Dollars. Samsung has issued its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of 2015, and things look to be heading in the right direction, albeit slowly.

Kinivo bluetooth driver bloatware