Foldable Smartphones See 73% Sales Growth YoY

The smartphone industry is one of the most profitable in the world, and a unique development and innovation within this industry is seeing a lot of growth as of late. This innovation is that of foldable smartphones, and while these devices have their fair share of detractors they are also seeing some tremendous success in terms of global units being sold with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that global shipments of foldable smartphones have crossed 16 million units so far this year. That represents a solid 73% growth rate, and it lends credence to the investments that companies like Samsung have made in this sector. Samsung already has a 62% share of the global foldable smartphone market, with its Galaxy Fold devices driving much of the growth in this category. It is expected that their share of the market will increase to as much as 80% with the latest versions of Galaxy Fold smartphones and Flip 4 products being released later this year.

According to a report released by Counterpoint Research, the global market for foldable phones is expected to see even more growth by next year. Based on this analysis, the foldable smartphone industry will see around 23 million units being sold by 2023. Competitors such as Huawei and Vivo are making an entry into this market as well, but in spite of the fact that this is the case their influence will be rather limited because they are mostly focusing on Chinese markets whereas Samsung has more of a global appeal.

Smartphone sales have generally remained consistent despite severe economic strife all around the world, and foldable phones are introducing a new product segment to the market. This new product is important because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping the industry healthy during a period of increased inflationary pressure which may have limited the growth of this industry if steps had not been taken to mitigate that.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Meta Releases New Survey That Highlights The Growing Trend Of Business Messaging

It can be stated without any doubt that messaging platforms today are very different from what they were years ago.

Today, half of our communication relies on messaging through smart devices, not to mention the great speed, convenience, and reliability such forms of connectivity provides to users around the globe.

But it’s not only regular consumers who are benefitting from the ordeal but also businesses who can’t help but stress how big of a relief business messaging is in today’s fast-paced world.

To help put things into better perspective, we’ve got users sending around 20 billion texts to brands worldwide each month through apps like Facebook Messenger only.

We get to see quick replies and the service on such apps is user-friendly. Also, it's great for the best direct interactions. And on average, more than half of the world’s population would prefer a text over a phone call to a brand, any day.

Keeping all of these pointers in mind, leading tech giant Meta has joined hands for a survey with the Boston Consulting Group in this regard. The survey comprised nearly 6,500 respondents that were seen taken from the APAC region.

The entire goal here was to get a glimpse of what respondents felt about using messaging when conducting responses to different brand queries. And also, the results would show us how brands would take such information and better align themselves through such shifts.

While the report is massive, entailing a staggering 29 pages, you do bear witness to so many different kinds of insights.

For starters, the report delineates how the trend linked to business messaging has changed over time, especially after the pandemic. As was witnessed, the lockdowns really had the eCommerce sector booming and that’s why it’s a little surprising to see the consecutive rise in business messaging in the recent past.

But this is definitely a trend that many brands should take note of as many customers are willing and prefer to interact more through a message and other means of online communication.

This really raises the bar and makes more people expect a lot in terms of interactions with brands so the competition is tough out there.

Next up, the report highlighted the frequency with which consumers message their brands for inquiries regarding anything. And as expected, the results showed plenty of activity. The messaging volume was intense and figures really rose to new highs.

So many customers are carrying out chats with businesses on a frequent basis and not only seeing this as their supplementary means for making a connection. Needless to say, this is slowly but surely turning out to be a great connector that links brands to their clients.

This report also went ahead and highlighted how brands could best make use of messaging in their day-to-day routine. And we feel if you’re interested and happen to own a brand in today’s time, well, then what are you waiting for? Head on over to check out the report on Meta’s website.

Remember, not offering great messaging options today for your business is nothing less than missing out on a golden opportunity.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Climate Change is Making Summer Nights Too Hot for Survival, Scientists Say

Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing humanity because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up causing disastrous weather events as well as rising sea levels that could make numerous coastal areas impossible to live in. In spite of the fact that this is the case, one of the worst impacts of climate change is actually the increase in average temperatures which are being pushed past livable levels.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that hotter nights are causing a lot of destruction all around the world. According to scientists that published a new study in Lancet Planetary Health, even the most positive predictions for climate change show heat related deaths at night increasing six times over by 2100 with all things having been considered and taken into account.

The hottest average night right now usually has an ambient temperature of about 20.4 degrees Celsius, and according to average estimates this will increase significantly over the course of the century. We might start seeing nighttime temperatures that touch the forty degree mark which is more than ten degrees Celsius higher than what human beings can tolerate without air conditioning.

• Also read: New Study Proves Climate Change Can Make Over 200 Human Diseases Worse

The increase in night time temperatures will likely force people to start using more electricity to cool their homes. This can create a bit of a problem since it could increase emissions and send us even faster down the path to climate change based destruction.

Hotter days are easier to get through, but if these increased temperatures continue into the night the deaths they can cause could increase by as much as 50%. We are fast approaching the point of no return, and there is not much hope to be had if major governments and industry leaders don’t take steps to mitigate climate change. The subtler impacts of climate change are perhaps the most dangerous since we are not taking the requisite steps to prevent them from causing an uptick in preventable deaths all around the world.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Text Based MFA Shown to Have Numerous Security Issues

Password protection used to be the gold standard for keeping yourself safe and secure online, but it has recently fallen out of favor due to brute force attacks making passwords difficult to protect. Multi factor authentication creates a new layer of security which is useful because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up complicating matters for potential malicious actors. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the use of SMS based MFA codes might not be as secure as many assumed.

Researchers at Black Hat recently revealed that there is a technique known as “smishsmash” that can make it very easy for hackers to access MFA codes sent via text message. Smishing is a form of phishing that uses text messaging to send you a link that would give all of your login details to a malicious actor, and with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that it makes MFA considerably less secure.

Spoofing a text message is remarkably easy with all things having been considered and taken into account. Additionally, people tend to trust texts that they receive a lot more than emails, so they would be more likely to enter the requested details without realizing the risk that this can pose to them.

A far more secure method for MFA involves using texts sent through an authenticator app, and the main advantage of this method is that it is quite difficult for malicious actors to spoof notifications if you use one. Companies that require their customers to use 2FA or MFA should be encouraged to eschew SMS based codes in favor of the much more secure authenticator app method.

This just goes to show that security improvements will be moot if they don’t consider all of the various factors. MFA is important, but it will fail to provide the security that is required if malicious actors can use phishing techniques to get their hands on the log in code so it’s essential to make the switch sooner rather than later.

H/T: PCMag

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Google’s Updated Distribution Numbers Reveal Android 12 Is Running On 13.3% Of Devices

The start of August saw Google coming forward and unveiling its distribution numbers for Android. And according to the latest statistics, Android 12 is currently running on 13.3% of devices, just ahead of the new launch of version 13.

But right before the update came in front of us all on August 4, Google was last seen providing us a glance of the figures on May 9, of last year. At that time, we didn’t have Android 12 listed as a part of the distribution numbers. Now, we’re seeing the current inclusion arise, even before we’ve got news of the launch of Android 13.

But during that month, we observed how Android 12 and any version above stood at 6.6%. However, it wasn’t listed in an explicit manner across the Android Studio.

Thanks to 9to5Google, we’re getting an up-close and personal view of how Google presented the numbers on a monthly basis. And the representation was definitely spot on as the same data was utilized here.

In May, the chart revealed 93.3% and the rest was based on the assumption that it belonged to Android 12 but that’s still unclear. But another confusion lies with how Google didn’t clearly note down Android 12, around three months back.

Using that simple logic, the total entries in this particular pie chart is around 99% but the rest of the 2% may be related to Android 12L. In case you didn’t know, that has a totally different API level, thanks to the tablet with foldable features. But most of it has to do with devices produced by Google, including the Pixel 3a and newer versions.

At the moment, Android 11 can be seen at 27%, increasing from figures of 23% in May. And today, this version is the most utilized by users around the world. Next in line comes Android 10 with 22% and after this is Android 9 pie. This currently stands at 14.5%. Despite being four years old, it’s still proving to be tough competition against other more stable variants.

The methodology used to get these results by Google may not have changed over the years. It is the same data that gets released each month, taken from all Android devices that got access to the Google Play Store. And the fact that it’s standing true to the same method for data collection is really applaudable.

Google isn’t offering updates on this data through its official web pages so if you want to witness it, you can go to the Android Studio.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Twitter May Have Been Through A Lot But Its In-App Revenue For July Did Better Than Expected

We all know about the drama related to Twitter and Elon Musk that is known to affect the platform in more ways than one.

Twitter certainly went through a rollercoaster of experiences in July when the world’s richest person decided to back out on a $44 billion acquisition deal that he put so much effort into securing. On that note, Twitter has dragged the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to court.

But despite all of its woes and worries seen over time, Twitter actually didn’t do too bad in terms of its in-app revenue last month. To say the least, it actually outdid people’s expectations of the app.

While many expected July to be one of the worst months for Twitter, considering all the drama that occurred, well, it wasn’t. The in-app revenue didn’t fall, contrary to many beliefs. In fact, it actually rose from that observed in the previous month.

Twitter managed to make a net revenue worth $462,000 from all of its Android and iOS applications for July. Yes, we know what you’re thinking. That is just a little higher than what we saw in June, which was about $439K. But remember one thing, we’re talking about net revenue in this case and that is what is left after cuts have been allotted to both Apple and Google.

While the increment may be tiny but when you look at the bigger picture, it’s actually larger than what we saw during the period between May to June. Remember, many tech analysts felt that the tide was just not in favor of Twitter after it made a marginal increase in June of this year. But it’s safe to say, the app really pulled through with a bang, proving that it still has what it takes to grow.

Also, the revenue for the app in general since the year’s start has also doubled. So that’s another sign that the platform isn’t planning on giving up anytime soon.

H/T: AF

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

People have started cutting down on expenses they don’t need and you might be surprised to learn that it isn’t because of inflation

Inflation is one of the biggest problems in the world with the majority of it affecting third-world countries. But, that certainly does not mean that first-world countries are not at all affected by it. inflation is at an all-time high in the United States too.

According to new data released on Friday by Commerce Signals which is a TransUnion Company, they analyzed how inflation can and does affect the spending of the people.

People generally send in two groups discretionary and non-discretionary items. Discretionary items are the things that one buys with the amount of money that has been left after spending on non-discretionary items like utilities or groceries. So, in other words, discretionary items are non-necessary items like entertainment, etc., and non-discretionary items are the necessities of life.

According to the data, due to the current inflation people have started cutting back on things such as electronics and subscriptions. The data showed that there had been only a 13% increase in the amount of money spent on discretionary items in July, in contrast with a 16% increase in the amount of money being spent on non-discretionary items.

However, while many people believe that all these decreases in consumer spending are because of Inflation, but that is not the case at all as the two are related but not the cause of each other. According to Nick Mangiapane who is the CMO at Commerce Signals, purchases at food and grocery stores have gone up by 13%. Out of that 13%, 10% are from increased transactions, and only 3.5% is from the actual price of the item.

In simpler words, Commerce Signal’s data says that the amount of food purchases has only risen by 3.5% but, the data released by the federal government says that it rose by 13%, which leads us to the conclusion that people are trading down. An example can be that when looking for food to take out, people are choosing Hamburgers instead of steaks.

What exactly does trading down mean you might be asking? Well, trading down means to replace a product just because the first one was too expensive. So, it means that consumers are replacing the products they use with cheaper versions of them.

The good news is that while people have started becoming a bit choosy about the products they use and their brands, consumer spending is not declining at all. If this continues the more high-end brands might be in profit more than their middle counterparts.

H/T: MarketingDaily

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World