Let’s take a walk down memory lane. Most people wouldn’t really appreciate the significance of the year 2011 in the mobile world; but for those of us who do, we know that this was the year that the world was introduced to the Samsung Galaxy Note.
This was a device of Godzilla proportions, sporting a 5.78" x 3.27" body and a 5.3" display. Samsung even included a unique piece of hardware with the device – the S Pen, its distinctive stylus. And many other exciting functions were also crammed into the device.
To put things into perspective, Apple was on its iPhone 4s iteration at the time, sporting a 3.5" display that was generally in line with the other smartphone screen sizes of the day. Samsung placed the Galaxy Note in the space that sits between the traditional smartphone and the tablet, propelling the term "phablet" into the public consciousness.
With the Note, the South Korean company did what it does incredibly well – it marketed a product to the world. Plenty remained unconvinced over the phone’s size; there were concerns about how it would fit into a pocket and about how strange people would look talking on a device that large in public. But it didn’t matter; the world embraced Samsung’s message, and the Galaxy Note was a hit that drove the phablet category to new dimensions.
Following up on the original Galaxy Note, Samsung released the Note 2 then the Note 3. These new versions housed 5.5” and 5.7” screens, respectively. The all-new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 went on sale in the region this month. The device will retain the 5.7” screen, and it will be the first Note device from Samsung to sport a metal frame, which is a clear sign that Samsung has heeded the calls for it to use more premium materials on its higher-end devices.
Various other vendors have been attempting to ride the phablet wave since the Note's introduction in 2011. HTC, Huawei and Nokia have all tried getting a piece of the action, although none has done much to trouble the Note's dominance of the territory.
But as Android and Windows Phone devices kept getting bigger, where was Apple?
In 2012, Apple finally roused itself to action. Following calls for a larger-screen phone to do battle with the other flagship devices available on the market, Apple released the iPhone 5, complete with 4” screen. This might have been a big step for Apple but it was still some way off the Android and Windows phone devices of the day in terms of size. Apple was holding firm in its belief that the iPhone should be comfortable and easy to use with just one hand, and the sales figures didn’t disappoint.
At the same time, the global trend has been for ever-larger screens. In the GCC alone, shipments of handsets with 5” to 6” screens have grown more than 40 per cent year- on-year. With such developments proving increasingly difficult to ignore, it has become clear to Apple that changing times and circumstances require a new formula.
In September, Apple unveiled not one but two new models of the iPhone – the iPhone 6 with a 4.7” display and the iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5” display, both of which are a considerable step up from the 4” screen of last year’s iPhone5s.
With the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple’s King Kong device, the colossus of Cupertino is going straight after the phablet market where significant growth, demand and potential lie.
The bigger picture is that Apple and Samsung now find themselves in very different places to where they were just a few years ago. The market is crammed full of new entrants, with brands and models arriving left, right and centre, and both of the traditional giants need to do all they can to remain at the top of the food chain.
Still, the signs look promising for Apple following its latest move. Many consumers had previously conveyed a willingness and desire to switch back from Android to iOS if the iPhone’s screen was enlarged. Well, that day has finally arrived, and Apple’s King Kong can now thrash it out with Samsung’s Godzilla in the phablet arena.
Initial figures from Apple were very impressive. In the US, the company broke iPhone sales records, shifting more than 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices in the opening weekend of sales. And Apple has a head start in the GCC region, with both of its iPhone 6 devices available in shops ahead of the Galaxy Note 4.
This early lead will leave Samsung feeling the heat. But regardless of which giant ultimately succeeds, one clear winner in all of this is the consumer, who can now add another valiant monster contender to their options in the phablet segment.
And just as in the 1962 movie King Kong vs Godzilla, in which the two behemoths went several rounds before a winner emerged, so it is likely to be in the phablet market. And even after that, new releases will keep providing fresh plot lines for years to come.
Saad ElKhadem is a research analyst at IDC MEA
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
