After the announcement of the date for the spring presentation of Apple‘s new products (it will tentatively take place on March 23), images of AirPods 3 began to appear on the Web – one after another. First renders, then live photos, and now – a large number of live photos.
There is no longer any doubt that the spring presentation of Apple’s new products will do without AirPods 3. The appearance of the second-generation AirPods Pro is still in question, but the supply of AirPods 3, according to rumors, has already begun.
Rumors attribute better sound quality to the AirPods 3 (at least due to a new processor), improved autonomy, active noise cancellation and silicone earbuds in the kit. But, at the same time, they most likely will not have support for aptX Adaptive or LDAC.
AirPods 3 look much more like AirPods Pro than AirPods 2. This can be clearly seen in the comparison image above. Also, the cost of AirPods 3 is already estimated – $ 150.
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Apple finally defeated Samsung in the global smartphone market
Apple overtook Samsung to become the world’s leading smartphone brand amid record sales of iPhone smartphones. The company showed a huge jump in the last quarter of last year, while Huawei‘s position weakened greatly.
According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of iPhone smartphones increased 22% in the previous quarter. The surge is driven by the release of the iPhone 12 lineup, which supports fifth-generation networks. Also, sales of previous models did not fall, the demand for which is stable after the price decline.
The company has shipped 90 million smartphones and has more than 23% market share. Analysts note that Apple has strengthened its position in the premium segment of smartphones in China. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, two of the top three selling premium smartphones in China are from Apple.
The second place in the quarter belongs to Samsung, which received about 19% of the market. The third place went to Xiaomi, followed by Oppo and Vivo, which took the fourth and fifth places, respectively. Huawei dropped to 6th place.
If we consider the results for the year, then Samsung is in the lead, Apple is second, Huawei is third, followed by Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme. The latter was the fastest growing brand in the past year.
Counterpoint Research’s data is broadly consistent with estimates by another analyst firm, IDC, which we have already published.