Global Smartphone Market Sees Growth after over 2 Years in October

People rest eating ice cream and reading their smartphones outside the GUM department store, enjoying a warm autumn day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP)
People rest eating ice cream and reading their smartphones outside the GUM department store, enjoying a warm autumn day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP)
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Global Smartphone Market Sees Growth after over 2 Years in October

People rest eating ice cream and reading their smartphones outside the GUM department store, enjoying a warm autumn day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP)
People rest eating ice cream and reading their smartphones outside the GUM department store, enjoying a warm autumn day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (AP)

The global smartphone market returned to growth in October after more than two years of slump, helped by a recovery in the emerging markets, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

The data showed that global monthly smartphone sell-through volumes grew 5%, making October the first month to record year-on-year growth since June 2021, breaking the streak of 27 consecutive months of negative year-on-year growth.

Global smartphone sales have been under stress for the last two years affected by various issues starting with component shortages, inventory build-up and lengthening of replacement cycles, Counterpoint said in its report.

"Following strong growth in October, we expect the market to grow year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023 as well, setting the market on the path to gradual recovery in the coming quarters," the market research firm said.

The growth, which was last seen in June 2021 coming from a COVID-19 induced pent up demand, has now been led by emerging markets with a continuous recovery in the Middle East and Africa, Huawei's comeback in China and onset of festive season in India, it added.

Huawei's China smartphone sales grew strongly in the third quarter, surging 37%, as shoppers snapped up its Mate 60 series phones.

The developed markets with relatively higher smartphone saturation have been slower to recover, the report said, but it cited the launch of Apple's iPhone 15 series as another factor for the growth.



Meta Agrees to Pay Trump $25 Mn to Settle Account Ban Lawsuit

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed support for US President Donald Trump. Drew ANGERER / AFP/File
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed support for US President Donald Trump. Drew ANGERER / AFP/File
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Meta Agrees to Pay Trump $25 Mn to Settle Account Ban Lawsuit

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed support for US President Donald Trump. Drew ANGERER / AFP/File
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed support for US President Donald Trump. Drew ANGERER / AFP/File

Meta has agreed to pay President Donald Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit he filed claiming he was wrongfully censored by Facebook and Instagram after the US Capitol riot, the company said Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the settlement of the suit brought against Meta and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, in what was seen as a victory for Trump.

According to people familiar with the agreement, the Journal said, $22 million of the payment will go towards funding Trump's future presidential library, with the remainder covering legal fees and payments to other plaintiffs in the case.

Meta in the settlement will not admit wrongdoing over the suspensions of Trump's accounts.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the settlement to AFP.

Trump had widely criticized social media platforms for suspending his accounts after the January 6, 2021 insurrection by his supporters, and comments he made that were seen as praising people engaged in the violence.

But he has recently courted tech titans including Zuckerberg and X owner Elon Musk, both of whom attended Trump's presidential inauguration last week in Washington.

Zuckerberg has expressed support for Trump, and he has tweaked Meta's policies to lift restrictions on some content within the company's apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Meta would be "restoring free expression on our platforms," Zuckerberg, who reportedly dined with Trump at his Florida estate in November, said this month in announcing a rollback of fact-checking operations.

The settlement is the latest bow by media corporations as they gird for a second Trump presidency.

In December, ABC News agreed to pay a $15 million settlement payment to resolve a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump stemming from on-air comments about him made by a top anchor.

Earlier Wednesday Meta reported its net income soared by 59 percent to $62.36 billion for the full year.