Yazılar

Foreign Phone Sales in China Drop Nearly 10% in May Amid Rising Local Competition

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Sales of foreign-branded smartphones in China, including those from Apple Inc., fell 9.7% year-on-year in May, according to data released on Friday by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

Total shipments of non-Chinese brands dropped to 4.54 million units in May, compared to the same month in 2023. Although CAICT did not provide a breakdown by company, Apple’s dominant share among foreign players means its performance heavily influenced the overall decline.

The data highlights the intensifying competition foreign manufacturers face from domestic brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, and Honor. Apple has been particularly impacted, prompting the tech giant to implement aggressive pricing strategies, including discounts of up to 2,530 yuan ($351) on iPhone 16 models through Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Meanwhile, the broader Chinese phone market also saw a significant contraction. Total smartphone shipments in the country fell 21.8% year-on-year, with 23.72 million units sold in May.

Analysts say the data reflect both weak consumer demand and a growing shift toward homegrown technology, amid rising geopolitical and market pressures.

OpenAI Introduces ‘Tasks’ Beta Feature to Compete with Virtual Assistants

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On Tuesday, OpenAI unveiled a new beta feature called “Tasks” for ChatGPT, marking the company’s entry into the virtual assistant arena, aiming to compete with established platforms like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. This feature allows ChatGPT users to request actions to be performed at a specified future time, such as one-time reminders for events like concert ticket sales or recurring tasks such as daily weather updates or weekly news briefings.

Based on interactions with users, ChatGPT will also proactively suggest tasks that users can choose to accept or decline. This new function broadens the scope of what ChatGPT can offer, making it more assistant-like, similar to Alexa and Siri.

The launch follows a growing trend where AI-powered systems are reshaping virtual assistant functionalities. Amazon, for example, has been revamping its Alexa service with generative AI capabilities to remain competitive, while Apple has incorporated its “Apple Intelligence” technology into Siri. In collaboration with Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Apple now seeks user consent before sending queries to OpenAI’s services.

OpenAI’s “Tasks” feature will be available to Plus, Team, and Pro users globally in the coming days, with the web platform being the first to get access.