Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pixel is eroding the iPhone’s dominance in Japan as the Apple Inc. device gets pricier, finding success after years of misfires.

Google phones accounted for a record 12% share in the Asian country in the June quarter, six times what it was a year ago, according to Counterpoint Research data. During the same period, the iPhone’s market share slumped by almost as much: to 46% from 58% a year earlier.

Japan is a key arena for the two Silicon Valley firms, as the world’s third biggest economy and a huge market for mobile software and games. The iPhone has been as dominant there as at home in the US, and its decline this summer was the first time it commanded less than half the Japanese market in two years.

The plunging value of the yen pushed Apple to raise iPhone prices in Japan earlier than its recent global price hikes, and the cost of the device is proving a noticeable deterrent, at a time when the latest handsets have not offered must-have new features.

“Japanese users are becoming more pragmatic,” Tom Kang, a Seoul-based analyst for Counterpoint, said in an interview. “There’s now more opportunity for alternatives. We’ve seen a little bit of growth in Sony and a little bit of growth in some other brands, but the growth of Google was most surprising.”

iPhone Gives Way to Pixel Apple's share in Japan drops below 50% for the first time in two years

Source: Counterpoint Research

The yen’s weakness has also helped juice the Pixel’s sales: it makes the phone a bargain for consumers outside of Japan who want to buy the phone. The Pixel is offered in a limited number of countries and the yen’s slide toward its lowest level in more than three decades has made Japan the cheapest place to purchase the device.

“Japan is becoming the trans-shipment hub for Google Pixel devices,” said Kang. “So the iPhone is suffering from a weak yen and Google is benefiting from it.”

With the yen playing a decisive role in who gets a bigger share from one of the world’s largest smartphone markets, there’s an open question around whether the trend will last. But a growing price sensitivity appears likely to weigh on iPhone sales in Japan for the foreseeable future. The major mobile carriers have cut back subsidies enticing customers to sign up for lengthy contracts, and many have instead turned to buying devices through independent channels.

“Japan is a huge success story for Google and the Pixel team,” said Anshel Sag, principal mobile analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “It appears that most of these devices are from the budget Pixel 6a and 7a series, which would likely mean that Google has successfully captured the middle of the Japanese smartphone market.”

The sales drop in Japan highlights the challenges ahead for Apple. The company posted its third straight quarter of declining sales and predicted a similar performance in the current period, hurt by an industrywide slump that has sapped demand for phones.

The release of Apple’s latest iPhone 15 series may give its market share a bump, though the starting price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max was raised by $100 this year after eliminating a smaller storage tier offered in past years. Google is set to launch its latest Pixel device generation at an event on Oct. 4.

“Price is becoming an important factor,” Kang said. “Loyalty for Apple and iOS is much higher than Android, I’d say. But Android devices always have the price advantage.”

— With assistance by Takashi Mochizuki

crosspost from : https://lemmy.world/post/4209156

> ### Key points > - Random and random nsfw back as actions! > - Added the ability to browse all instances and communities on an instance > - Added admin tools (see #312 for details) > > ##### Ultra > - Added a new article summarizer > > ##### New > - Added user + community block managers (Settings > Lemmy preferences) > - UI changes to the post options bottomsheet > - Icons are now shown next to the user and community items > - User and community items can be expanded out > - A few user items have been moved to a separate bottomsheet > - The filters bottomsheet now uses icons > - catbox.moe links are now opened in-app (can be disabled) > - Imgur video posts now show a small preview image > - You can now view the moderators of a community > - Added an option to disable the new hiding behaviour (Settings > experimental > keep posts hidden) > > ##### Github issues closed > - Deep linking causes a transparent, unresponsive Activity to appear if Sync isn't already running #345 > - Random NSFW #246 > - Expose instance name and view its communities #242 > - Add the ability to generate a random base theme color on app launch #358 > - "Failed to start subscription purchase (2)" when subscribing to Ultra #231 > - Crash when using lemmy.ca instance #204 > - Unable to share direct image on Android 14 Beta #104 > - Unable to direct share image #216 > - Remove the "Display if a post is OC" setting #361 > - Block button shown twice in the about menu #403 > - Block list #305 > - Block button does not change to "Unblock" when you block a community #300 > - [Feature Request] Block Community option added to Post Menu #225 > - Function to unblock a user #269 > - When viewing comments in your own or someone else's profile... #401 > - Summarize article/post/comment feature for Ultra #251 > - Switch Media Upload Dialog for Bottom Sheet #160 > - Support for verified links (top X instances maybe) #77 > - Community in drawer sidebar has blank space between name and instance #47 > - Back arrow in action bar isn't visible in login screen on tablets #53 > - Theme sharing generates screenshot only #96 > > ##### Other fixes > - Fixed a crash when starting chrome custom tabs > - Fixed a crash when searching > - Added a potential crash for TextViews crashing > - Fixed an issue where searching from the drawer would say todo... > - You can now enter "-" and "_" in the username field > - Fixed a crash where some S4R backups would cause a crash > - ProgressBottomSheetDialogFragments now auto dismiss > > ##### Updates > - androidx.annotation:annotation > 1.7.0-rc01 > - com.google.android.material:material > 1.11.0-alpha02 > - com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-gradle > 2.9.9 > > ##### Notes > - NSFW images can no longer be uploaded via Sync > - Android 14 should behave better now > - View + saved are now enabled by default in the actions manager > - Your default community has been reset to handle the new local feed changes > - The voting icons in comments now match slides > - The profile icon is now accessible via the 3 dot menu for comments

Here's a look at the Google Pixel 8 Pro in Porcelain.

!Image

This image is from the Google Store website, which inadvertently published this image early in the promo page for "Google Subscriptions & Services".

Thanks to @android_setting for the tip!

There are many reports of live lyrics rolling out to YouTube Music for Android (version 6.15) and iOS (6.16) today. You might want to Force stop YTM from App info before checking, and be sure to try multiple songs if you don’t see it immediately.

This rollout is not tied to the updated Now Playing UI that adds comments that’s also being tested.

cross post from : https://lemmy.world/post/3714887

> ### Key points > - First round of modtools added > - Added spoiler support > - Hidden posts stay hidden > - Sync can now open lemmy links from the top 50 instances > > #### Ultra > - Added the option to export and import subscribed lists > - Added the option to translate text from images > - Generate "ultra previews" for posts with missing thumbnails > - Display website previews in comments (enable in Settings > Ultra) > - Select text from images during post submission > > #### New > - Added modtools > - Pin / unpin posts > - Remove / restore posts > - Lock / unlock posts > - Ban / unban users from a community > - Hidden posts now remain hidden after a refresh (shown on profiles) > - You can now select Sync to handle Lemmy links from any of the top 50 instances > - Last edited timestamps > - Added the percentage of upvotes a post has received > - Webp images now animate when opened > - You can now open additional folders when selecting media to upload (three dots) > - Clicking on a comment from the inbox now shows the full comment list > - Simplified accounts are listed in the picker > - NSFW previews are now blurred and respect the full height setting > - Renamed "Show emotes" to "Show embedded images" in the comment settings > - Switched to a brighter color for highlighting text fields in night mode > - Filtered communities are no longer shown in recents > - Images in comments are now swipeable when opened > - Added "open url" action to the community picker when a URL is posted > > #### Usability > - Added tooltips to the editor icons > - Added support for the Open Dyslexic font > > #### Github issues closed > - Viewing Inbox message in original context does not show comment being replied to #187 > - Add Lemmy spoiler support #127 > - Import / Export Subscribed Communities #111 > - Tooltips are MIA from the reply and edit pages #291 > - Recents thread list links to reddit url #289 > - Translate option does not appear on image posts with a body #292 > - Add option to copy body text from post #281 > - Displaying more server side info for home instance #273 > - Show all Parent Comments instead of showing many levels of comments #267 > - user filters not working #268 > - Add an indicator whether a comment/post has been edited #266 > - Hide action does not work #60 > - Toggle account action button should cycle between anonymous #255 > - Paid Ad-Free APK file without AdMob bundled #250 > - Restoring Purchase on Chromebook Gives Error #248 > - Separate Downvote & Upvote Scores + Vote Total in Profile #249 > - Ability to return to full Post thread at position of comment #254 > - Add Translate Text option in addition to Extract Text Ultra Feature #252 > - App continually crashes if default post sorting is changed in settings #154 > - Error toast when no posts available says "sub has no posts" instead of community #234 > - Wrong permalink instance #235 > - REQUEST Dyslexic friendly font #222 > - Add option to blur NSFW previews #323 > - Reappearing hidden posts, app scrolls up automatically. #324 > - Emote filter is also filtering regular embedded pictures #321 > - [Ultra] Extract Text From Images for Post Title #315 > - Posting: Community selector shows communities I filtered/blocked #313 > - Photo album navigation across multiple image links within the same post or comment #316 > - Wording not consistent when subscribing to community #307 > - Photo picker doesn't show albums from external storage #304 > - The input box types are mismatched? Title thinks it's a URL and URL think it's a title #303 > - The app should give a dialog asking if you want to leave when you cancel a submit #294 > - profile pictures still low res when enlarged #270 > - Enhancement: Load parent when clicking on comment reply in inbox #285 > > #### Other fixes > - Fixed an issue where the profile section as missing in the small toolbar > - Fixed an issue where the domain was inserted into selftext before the link > - Fixed an issue with the link handler freezing > - Fixed an issue where sharing a comment would share the wrong link > - Plus can now be used in the username input > - Fixed an issue where the title field was not autocompleting > - The title field now auto selects on open when submitting > - Fixed an issue where user highlighting wasn't respecting instances > > #### Updates > - com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-gradle > 2.9.8

When you upload an APK, it must meet Google Play’s target API level requirements.

Starting on August 31, 2023:

• New apps must target Android 13 (API level 33) or higher; except for Wear OS apps, which must target a version between Android 11 (API level 30) and Android 13 (API level 33), inclusive.

• App updates must target Android 13 or higher and adjust for behavioral changes in Android 13; except for Wear OS apps, which must target Android 11.

Permanently private apps—which are restricted to users in a specific organization and are intended for internal distribution only—aren't required to meet the target API level requirements.

With the official release of Android 14 only weeks away, today we're bringing you Beta 5, the last scheduled update in our Android 14 beta program. It's the last chance to make sure your apps are ready and provide feedback before non-beta users start getting Android 14. To enable you to test your applications on devices spanning multiple form factors, Beta 5 is available for Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold, in addition to the rest of the supported Pixel family and the Android emulator.

Beta 5 is our third Platform Stable Android 14 release, which means that the developer APIs and all app-facing behaviors are final for you to review and integrate into your apps, and you can publish apps on Google Play targeting Android 14's SDK version 34. It includes the latest fixes and optimizations, giving you everything you need to complete your testing.

What’s included

The August 2023 update includes bug fixes and improvements for Pixel users – see below for details.

Bluetooth

Fix for issue occasionally causing Bluetooth keyboards to not connect *[1]

User Interface

Fix for issue causing certain Live Wallpapers to display incorrectly in different device orientations *[2]

Fix for issue occasionally causing lock screen to not respond *[2]

Fix for issue occasionally causing home screen launcher search input to not register *[2]

Fix for issue occasionally causing flickering or glitches while in Hub Mode *[3]

Device Applicability

Fixes are available for all supported Pixel devices unless otherwise indicated below.

*[1] Included on Pixel Fold, Pixel Tablet only

*[2] Included on Pixel Fold only

*[3] Included on Pixel Tablet only