Global smartphone sales increased modestly in the third quarter, the first growth for the segment after a two-year slump, a market tracker said.

Data from Strategy Analytics late Wednesday showed handset shipments up two percent from a year earlier at 366 million units, the first rise since the third quarter of 2017.

South Korean-based Samsung remained the top vendor and China's Huawei held its number two spot despite US sanctions, ahead of third-place Apple, the research group said.

"Worldwide demand for smartphones is recovering, due to strong pricing competition among vendors and new innovations such as larger screens and 5G connectivity," said Linda Sui, an analyst with the group.

Samsung extended its lead in the market by boosting sales by eight percent in the quarter to 78 million units, representing a 21.3 percent share.

Huawei was the biggest surprise, showing a gain of 29 percent with 66 million units sold, giving it an 18.2 percent market share despite sanctions imposed by Washington that could make it harder to obtain key technology and components.

The Chinese firm, which launched its latest high-end smartphone in September without popular Google apps, picked up gains in its home market, according to Strategy Analytics.

It said Huawei's gains were largely in its home market.

The report said Apple's sales of iPhones fell three percent from a year ago to 45.6 million units, giving it 12.4 percent of the market.

Apple, which released its quarterly update Wednesday, did not disclose iPhone unit sales but said revenue from its iPhones was down nine percent.

"Despite the slight decline, this was actually Apple's best growth performance since last year," said analyst Woody Oh.

"We believe Apple is stabilizing, due to cheaper iPhone 11 pricing and healthier demand across Asia and the United States."

The report showed China-based Xiaomi maintaining fourth place with a nine percent market share, followed by another Chinese firm Oppo, at eight percent.

Other unspecified vendors captured the remaining 31 percent of the market, according to the report.

Watchdog sues FBI over facial recognition secrecy
Washington (AFP) Oct 31, 2019 - A civil liberties watchdog Thursday sued the FBI and other federal agencies claiming the government is improperly withholding information on how it uses a facial recognition database of millions of Americans.

"Because of the FBI's secrecy, little is known about how the agency is supercharging its surveillance activities with face recognition technology," said Kade Crockford of the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement.

"The public has a right to know when, where, and how law enforcement agencies are using face recognition technology, and what safeguards, if any, are in place to protect our rights."

The ACLU lawsuit naming the FBI, Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration said the agencies "failed to produce any responsive documents" in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Activists believe the FBI is currently collecting biometric data on people's faces, irises, walking patterns, and voices, and has a database of at least 640 million images of adults in the United States.

"Face and other biometric surveillance technologies can enable undetectable, persistent, and suspicionless surveillance on an unprecedented scale," Crockford said.

"This dystopian surveillance technology threatens to fundamentally alter our free society into one where we're treated as suspects to be tracked and monitored by the government 24/7."

Backers of facial recognition say it is a useful tool that can make it easier to catch criminals and ensure safety at airports and venues with large crowds.

But privacy and civil liberties activists say the technology remains flawed and could ensnare innocent people.

San Francisco has banned the use of the technology by official agencies, and some researchers have warned of errors, notably in identifying minorities, and of the creation of large databases which could be breached or hacked.

The lawsuit filed in Massachusetts asks the government to turn over information on what data it has and who can access it.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a query on the complaint.

Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

A stretchable stopwatch lights up human skin
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 31, 2019
Imagine a runner who doesn't need to carry a stopwatch or cell phone to check her time: She could just gaze at the glowing stopwatch display on the back of her hand. Such human-machine interfaces are no longer science fiction, but they still have a way to go before becoming mainstream. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Materials Letters have developed a stretchable light-emitting device that operates at low voltages and is safe for human skin. Recently, scientists have developed stretchable ... read more