China's smartphone makers have long been confined to their enormous local market but this is fast changing, with a growing number of western European users opting for a relatively cheap but still sleek Chinese-made upgrade.
Chinese top-range phones are often around half the price of those made by US and Korean rivals, with many devotees swearing by the quality of their devices, insisting they are just as elegant, functional and durable as any other model.
The aggressive expansion into western Europe -- mainly Spain, Italy and France for now -- of Chinese firms OnePlus and Xiaomi comes as users grow less willing to fork out around $1,000 for a new device.
At the same time the Chinese market reaches saturation point, according to Roberta Cozza, an analyst at American research firm Gartner.
Companies such as OnePlus and Xiaomi "have to look somewhere else. They can deliver good smartphonesand have the possibility to go on more mature markets", Ms Cozza told AFP.
They face stiff competition, however, not just from Apple and Samsung, but also from Chinese giant Huawei, the three of which hold around three quarters of the western European market share.
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But Xiaomi, which was founded in 2010, already occupies the fourth spot, according to global market research firm IDC.
OnePlus is number one in India, where it holds more than half the market share, IDC adds.
And now, European users are growing more willing to make the switch.
"I had already bought more expensive phones before and didn't see the need to spend so much money," Judy Grayland, a 36-year-old Xiaomi Redmi 4X owner told AFP.
"I am really happy with it. It works really well and it looks nice," said the Madrid-based translator and mother of one.
Hearing the call of European consumers, Xiaomi recently opened its first flagship store in Paris, and OnePlus' phones have gone on sale in the catalogues of French operator Bouygues Telecom.
Both brands, complete with accessories, are widely available online.
"We have to go to market step by step. We're already in Spain and Italy and we've learned there for the other European markets," Xiaomi vice president Xiang Wang said.
"We're fighting against people's perceptions, because they think that low prices mean low quality, but it's not (true)," Xiang said.
OnePlus, whose 5T has drawn rave reviews likening it to the iPhone X, is also taking a gradual approach.
"We always start with one partner but there is no reason to extend it. We started in Finland with Elisa, 3 in Denmark, O2 in the UK," OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei said.
BMI Research analyst Dexter Thillien says the firms' arrival on the European market shows they want to up their game.
"The advantage of Europe is that consumers there are a little bit wealthier" than in China, Mr Thillien said.
OnePlus and Xiaomi have more than just Samsung, Apple and Huawei to worry about -- they must also fight off competition from Sony, Motorola, Wiko, LG and the revamped Nokia.
Mr Thillien says one pull factor that OnePlus and Xiaomi hold over the more established brands is their production of premium phones, appealing to Europeans looking for a bargain but who still want a top-quality product.
The battle for buyers looking for a phone in the €250-500 range is bound to be fierce for years to come.
"There are similarities between European (consumers) and those in emerging economies," Mr Thillien said, adding that the European market is more open to change and new products than the US.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
'Nope'
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AIDA%20RETURNS
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
