Global smartphone deliveries ascended 2% YoY last year, given the demand from emerging markets and amplified economic momentum, according to research firm Counterpoint Research.

Apple (AAPL.US) ranked first with a 20% market share, on the back of solid demand in emerging and mid-sized markets, paired with strong sales of the iPhone 17 series.

Samsung ranked second with a 19% market share, posting moderate growth in sales during the year. XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) ranked third with a 13% market share.
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India plans to require smartphone manufacturers to share source code with the government and make multiple software modifications, a move that has sparked private opposition from tech giants like Apple (AAPL.US) and Samsung, Reuters reported, citing sources.

The measures include 83 security standards, which also require companies to report to the government when pushing major software updates, the report, citing four informed sources and Reuters' verification of confidential government and industry documents, showed.

These tech firms argued that such security standards are unprecedented globally and pose a risk of leaking proprietary information. India is the world's second-largest smartphone market, with nearly 750 million mobile devices.
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Prestigious hedge fund manager Michael Burry revealed in his Substack post that he holds a short position in Oracle (ORCL.US), according to foreign media reports. Last November, he had disclosed short positions in Nvidia (NVDA.US) and Palantir (PLTR.US), and that he has been directly shorting Oracle over the past six months without providing details.

Burry explained why he does not short other major tech stocks, noting that shorting Meta (META.US) requires a bearish view on both its social media and advertising dominance; shorting Alphabet (GOOGL.US) involves a bearish view on all forms of Google search, Android, Waymo, etc.; shorting Microsoft (MSFT.US) involves a bearish view on the global office productivity SaaS giant.

He also expected these companies may eventually converge their spending, absorb excess capacity losses, and possibly write off assets, but will still maintain dominance in their core businesses.
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The sales rankings on Yiche.com showed Tesla (TSLA.US) is indeed strong, but Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) believed it is not unbeatable.

Lei proudly mentioned that the Xiaomi SU7 is the only pure electric sedan in the same category that has defeated the Model 3 so far, attributing its sales success to excellent product strength and quality.

Separately, the Xiaomi YU7, having been on the market for only half a year, has its sales still lagged behind Model Y, yet Lei believed that YU7 can also compete with Tesla on equal terms given time.
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The boom in AI data center construction has prompted a reduction in the supply of memory chips, and potentially a rise in prices of consumer products such as smartphones and personal computers this year, Financial Times reported.

Several semiconductor giants, including Arm (ARM.US), Qualcomm (QCOM.US), and Samsung, warned this week that the global race to build large AI infrastructure is squeezing the supply of components needed for mobile devices and other home electronics, report said.

Over the past year, companies like Alphabet (GOOG.US), Amazon (AMZN.US), Meta (META.US), and OpenAI have pledged billions of US dollars to build data centers to support advanced AI models and products, believing that the technology will transform various industries.
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According to Sensor Tower, ChatGPT's mobile MAUs surpassed 870 million in November 2025, capturing a market share as high as 63%, CICC wrote in its research report.

Gemini, meanwhile, was leveraging Google's vast ecosystem to catch up with the pace of ChatGPT. In China, ByteDance's Doubao emerged as a winner with hundreds of millions of daily active users. CICC suggested investors should pay attention to the competitive landscape among Chinese and international players, as well as trends in agentization and commercialization.

The report also highlighted chatbots' position as the "Killer App" in the AI era. While the core transformation of the internet stemmed from changes in production relations, which gave rise to "Killer Apps" such as social networks and UGC content platforms as ordinary users could easily become creators, the core transformation of large AI models lies in productivity, enabling them to efficiently understand user needs and generate content, which eventually leads to the emergence of chatbots.

Currently, chatbots' average monthly active days per user, daily usage time, and retention rates are gradually approaching those of social platforms. Their penetration in work, learning, and entertainment scenarios also continues to deepen.

CICC's investment ratings and target prices for chatbot-related stocks:

Stock | Investment Rating | Target Price
TENCENT (00700.HK) | Outperform | HKD700
BABA-W (09988.HK) | Outperform | HKD197
BIDU-SW (09888.HK) | Outperform | HKD196
Meta (META.US) | Outperform | USD773
Alphabet (GOOGL.US) | Outperform | USD303
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A report by Microsoft (MSFT.US) suggested that the Chinese startup DeepSeek is making progress in many developing countries, potentially narrowing the gap in AI adoption between these countries and advanced economies, ABC News reported.

As of the quarter ending last December, the global adoption rate of generative AI tools was 16.3% of the world's population, up 1.2 ppts QoQ, the report said. The gap in AI adoption between developed and developing countries is widening, with the former adopting at nearly twice the rate of the latter.

Countries that have made early and sustained investments in digital infrastructure and AI, such as the UAE, Singapore, France, and Spain, led in user share. However, DeepSeek is promoting broader AI adoption in the developing world through its free and open-source models.
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US stocks jumbled on Thursday, as the market kept tabs on international developments. The DJIA opened lower but trended up. At close, it jumped up 270 points or 0.6%, at 49,266, recovering some of Wednesday's losses. The Nasdaq finished down 104 points or 0.4%, at 23,480. The S&P 500 inched up less than 1 point, closing at 6,921.

Alphabet (GOOG.US) defied the market trend, peaking at US$330.54 and closing up 1.1% at US$326.01, notching a record closing high. Its market cap approached US$4 trillion, toppling Apple to become the second highest in the US stock market.

Major tech stocks descended broadly, with Nvidia (NVDA.US) down 2.2%, Intel (INTC.US) down 3.6%, and Apple (AAPL.US) and Meta (META.US) down less than 1%.
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The 2026 XPENG Global Product Launch Event was held, after which XPENG-W (09868.HK) Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng spoke with the media, stating that Tesla (TSLA.US) is an excellent company, and both parties can encourage each other and grow together to create better products.

Speaking of Robotaxi, the Chairman mentioned that it still needs a steering wheel and brakes, yet it will become increasingly safe and user-friendly, while also requiring regulation.

During the launch, He revealed that XPeng will commence Robotaxi operations in 2026.
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China intends to give the greenlight to the import of some NVIDIA (NVDA.US) H200 chips as early as the first quarter, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. This indicated that NVIDIA may regain access to the Chinese market.

China is reportedly poised to allow domestic companies to procure H200 chips for specific commercial purposes, sources divulged. However, the H200 chips will be barred from use in military, sensitive government agencies, critical infrastructure, and state-owned enterprises. If these institutions and enterprises still need to purchase the H200 chips, their applications will be reviewed individually.
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