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Huawei and Xiaomi have grown quickly to take about 30% of the world's smartphone market. Xiaomi uses American technology in its smartphones. Chinese court granted an anti-suit injunction to Xiaomi against InterDigital a Delaware based American company, when it sued Xiaomi for patent infringement. The anti-suit injunctions issued by the Chinese court block foreign companies from taking legal action for patent infringement anywhere in the world. Three such rulings have been given protecting Huawei, Xiaomi and BBK Electronics. The fourth protects Samsung in its dispute with Sweden's Ericsson AB. Xiaomi has sold millions of phones using InterDigital patents since 2013.

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The marketing of the iPhone 6 in the U.S., China and global markets helps Apple widen its lead over competitors in 2015. Apple sales were 47.5 million iPhones in the 2nd quarter 2015, increasing by 35% over the prior year quarter. Apple is also gaining sales from buyers switching from Android phones. Apple's iPhone sales now make up 63% of its sales, compared with 53% in the same quarter in 2014. Sales of iPhones increased 59% to $31.37 billion as the average selling price went up by $100 to $662.42. Apple remained above the fray, and actually increased average selling price to $662, as Xiaomi sold quality Android phones at near cost in China hitting Samsung sales and margins hard, and leaving unsold inventory for Samsung in China. Rarely has a company dominated its business in this manner from the standpoint of profits with only about 20% of the market in smartphones. Apple profits in the 2nd quarter were $10.7 billion, increasing from $7.74 billion in the prior year quarter. The iPad unit sales declined by 18% for the 2nd quarter 2015, the sixth quarter of such declines and fewer customers upgrading. The iPad has also not taken off in the workplace. Mac unit sales were up 9%, even though the PC market declined in units by 9.5% globally for the quarter. Apple shares up 39% in 2015, fell by 6.7% over concerns about slowing China sales....

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South Korea's crowded hospital environment and Asian culture of being in continual close proximity for caretakers lets the MERS virus spread. The government's failure to alert hospitals of known cases means doctors are totally unaware of the MERS outbreak until many patients with MERS were transferred to larger hospitals in Seoul. The result inhaled droplets of MERS virus and rapid spread. The government feared there would be panic in the neighborhoods and acted too late. The known cases of MERS virus reached 95 cases, and 2500 people are being monitored. All this happened in a few days- The first infected patient was at an hopital in Asan, south of Seoul on May 12-14, 2015. He was sent to a larger hospital St Mary's in Pyeongtaek, near Seoul, with no one knowing he had been to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. From there he was transferred to Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, and he was diagnosed for MERS virus on May 20. By this time 37 people at MERS were infected, and one of them admitted to Samsung hospital in Seoul infected a large number of people there. President Park Geun-hye's Gallup Korea approval rating dropped six percentage points to 34%, and the government moved to make an "all-out response."...

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Panasonic announced a third quarter loss of over $8.8 billion. New CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga says Panasonic will reduce manufacturing in Japan, cease selling mobile phones overseas and reduce investments in solar panels and rechargeable batteries. Tsuga told a news conference: "Unless we take this step, whatever we say will be an empty promise. That's how damaged our current situation is." Panasonic faces severe competition from Samsung which has larger investments in manufacturing, research and marketing of televisions and mobile phones. Panasonic share prices fell 19%.

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The Biden administration is looking for more information from companies facing a global shortage of semiconductors. This request for more information comes as leaders of GM, Ford, Intel Corporation, Apple, Samsung, Medtronic, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing meet Mr. Biden at the White House, and the Biden administration looks for ways to help tackle the shortage. Diplomats of the US in Malaysia and Vietnam and other countries will work with governments in these countries to keep factories running with covid 19 protections in place.  The president of the Semiconductor Industry Association says the companies are looking forward to the discussion to meet national security and global technology leadership concerns, and strengthen America's chip supply chain.

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In the third fiscal quarter ending June 28, 2014, Apple sold 35.2 million iPhones, up 13% from the year ago quarter. Profit reported was $7.75 billion for the quarter, up from $6.9 billion in the prior year quarter. Revenue increased to $37.43 billion from $35.32 billion the prior year quarter. Apple is not experiencing the weakness in smartphone sales that Samsung is seeing. The strong sales comes with increasing sales in China following the distribution deal with China Mobile. iPad sales slowed with sales declining to 13.3 million iPads in the quarter, down 9% from the prior year quarter. While Samsung has difficulty in preventing lower cost competitors such as Xiaomi and Huawei from eroding sales in China Apple sales are increasing. Apple's revenue in China increased by 28% for the quarter. China is a western brand conscious market as seen in sales of U.S. and German made automobiles. Another trend Apple is capitalizing on is the sale of larger screen iPhones. Screens larger than 5 inches make up 20% of iPhones shipped in China, according to IDC, which are estimated to go up to 50% by 2017....

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Apple did its first product launch in China with the launch of the iPhone 5C in China. The phone is priced at $99 in the U.S. and targets buyers at the low end. In China where subsidies kick in later in lower monthly phone bills the price is much higher at about 4500 yuan or $733. Buyers in smaller cities in China pay about 1000 to 2000 yuan for a smartphone. Apple's market share is about 5% in China, behind Samsung at 18% and Chinese manufacturers Huawei, Lenovo and HTC.

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Huawei's investment to compete in smartphones with Samsung, Nokia and Apple is one of the main reasons for a 53% drop in profits in 2011.

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The Apple Iphone retains 60% of its value in the secondary market for smartphones, compared to 42% for Droid X, 36% for Blackberry Torch 9800, 34% for Samsung Vibrant.

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Apple has 42% of the smartphone market in the U.S. A larger iphone with 5.5 inch screen could generate a meaningful upgrade cycle, say analysts, increasing Apple's market share by 11%. The larger device is especially important in emerging markets where the iphone serves as the main computing device. Samsung currently dominates the larger screen market with 34%, followed by Lenovo. The shift to larger screens is significant- market research firm Canalys estimates that 40% of global smartphone shipments were larger than 5 inches in the 2nd quarter of 2014, up from 21% the prior year quarter. This is the one area in which Samsung holds an advantage.

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Lenovo is accelerating the integration of Motorola Mobility operations into Lenovo in 2015. About 40% of the 100 million plus smartphone shipments planned in fiscal year 2015 will be Motorola Mobility phones, compared to 30% of the 85 million shipped in 2014. Motorola phones will be priced in the $400 plus range and Lenovo's own smartphones below that price level. The focus is on reducing costs and sales growth to turn around the Motorola Mobility brand quickly. Lenovo is now in third place after Samsung with 241.5 million shipments and Apple with 169.2 milllion, for the first three quarters of 2014, according to IDC. Lenovo faces intense competition from Xiaomi and Huawei in China and emerging markets.