TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #23 - Honor, Huawei, realme, Digi, Maxis, Xiaomi, OPPO, LG and more

Welcome back TechNavers and NewsByters, in this issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #23, HONOR sees 62% YoY increase in wearable sell-outs, while Huawei offers up 4 reasons to shop for Huawei devices during the 9.9 Super Sale on the HUAWEI Store.

As usual, realme can’t stop announcing their own achievements with 5546% sales during their Lazada 8.28 Super Brand Day and how they’re not in the Top 3 for Malaysia. Digi on the other hand is focusing on Malaysians with their #Kita initiative. Continuing that focus on Malaysians, Maxis are now offering 3 new scholarships for young leaders.

Xiaomi announced their 1H 2020 growth, revenue and profits and OPPO also announced that they’ve achieved the No.1 spot in Southeast Asia for 2nd Quarter 2020. LG announced their new Explorer Project with their LG WING phone, their IFA 2020 Online booth along with their new LG PuriCare 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier. TikTok and MDEC partnered to co-launch #YoungCreators.

HONOR recently announced its business achievements for the first half of the financial year 2020 as part of the Huawei Consumer Business Group’s (CBG) dual-brand strategy. The company also revealed its plans for the second half in the local market.

In China, smartphone sales fell by 22% year-on-year in the first quarter, with an exception of Huawei, which saw a 7% increase compared to the same period last year.

Huawei’s overall net profit grew by 13.1% year-on-year in first half of the financial year 2020 – elevating the brand’s ranking in the Fortune Global 500 2020 to 49th place. As for HONOR, the brand ranked 21st in brand equity researcher BrandZ™’s “Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders 2020” list and saw a 34% increase in its brand score comparing to 2019.

In Malaysia, HONOR saw a 62% year-on-year increase in its wearables being sold out in in the first half of the financial year 2020 – an impressive feat, considering that it has only been less than two years since the company launched its Intelligent Lifestyle range. This achievement is largely attributed to its “1+8+N” All-Scenario Strategy and earned the brand second place in the wearables category in Malaysia in the first quarter of the year.

The company also saw a significant increase of 38% in smartphone sell-outs in the second quarter of the year.

In August, HONOR Malaysia welcomed its new Country Head Mr. Daniel Guo. In his role, Mr. Guo oversees all business strategy implementations and operations across all departments.

Mr. Guo has 19 years of experience in the technology industry, in both corporate and consumer divisions. During this time, he gained a wide breadth of experience in multiple markets, including Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Mr. Guo has also held a number of senior management positions within the CBG, both in China and globally. Most recently, he was Director of HONOR International Business – a role he held since November 2015 where he led international sales operations and oversaw the go-to markets for HONOR.

For the second half of the year, HONOR will continue leveraging Huawei’s latest innovations to offer local consumers accessible products that features the brand’s latest technology, superior quality, and a youthful personality.

The following are HONOR’s highlights consumers can look forward to in the second half of year 2020:

For more information, visit HONOR’s official e-commerce website and information portal.

HUAWEI recently announced the launch of its Shop 9.9 super sale campaign across Malaysia. HUAWEI fans will be able to indulge themselves with incredible deals up to 90% off on HUAWEI Store, Lazada and Shopee. This one-day only sale will feature flash deals, must buy items and new arrival products. Most excitingly, Malaysians can grab an online discount voucher worth RM199 for selected products from 2nd to 9th September. All they need to do is visit HUAWEI Store or Lazada and redeem the voucher. The limited quantity voucher is only applicable for use upon checkout on 9th September. So, don’t miss out on this opportunity!

Whether it’s levelling up your photography game with HUAWEI P40 Pro+ or staying productive with the HUAWEI MateBook D 15 or MateBook 13, consumers will be spoilt with amazing deals by staying connected and entertained with the latest technologies.

Look below for the four reasons why the Shop 9.9 super sale should not be missed!

Explore HUAWEI devices on AppGallery here as it offers more security, more storage and more rewards for Malaysians. Most of the frequently used Apps in Malaysia are available on HUAWEI mobile devices too.

So wait no more, visit their site to claim the RM199 online voucher and grab the deals, while stocks last.

realme Malaysia celebrates its second year anniversary by achieving few achievements in its e-commerce sale recently.

On top of that it managed to achieve a 5546% uplift in sales for the year of 2020 (in terms of units sold). Other than that, the realme 6 was acknowledged as the ‘Best 4GB+128GB Mobile in 2020’ with the same model selling more than 3400 units in JUST ONE DAY.

We are also very pleased to achieve more than 100,000 followers on our realme Lazada Flagship store.

According to the latest fact-finding from Counterpoint Research Market Monitor service, realme continued to be the fastest-growing brand by achieving another milestone in ranking Top 3 in Malaysia’s smartphone market. realme Malaysia continues its growing streak with a YoY growth reaching up to 700% and has a total of 15% market share in Q2 2020.

In Malaysia, realme surpassed Apple, Xiaomi, and Oppo to reach the third place in the market. realme Malaysia also achieved amazing results thanks to its local fans as well as its e-commerce partners, Lazada and Shopee. For example, a total of 1,139 units of realme 6 were sold in just 4 minutes in conjunction with Lazada 7.7 Mid-Year Super Sale. As for Shopee, realme Malaysia was recognised as the No.1 Best-Selling Wearable Brand (from January till June 2020).

With these growth figures, realme also has been successful in entering the top 5 brands in all key SEA markets (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). Apart from key SEA markets, realme performed well in other Asia Pacific markets like Bangladesh, Australia, Taiwan, and Pakistan.

realme is committed to bringing the most advanced technology within corresponding price bands to its consumers. In addition to creating and implementing a future-orientated 5G expansion strategy; it is one of the first brands to bring 5G devices to the mass market price bands. It also introduced innovations such as “125W UltraDart Charge” fast charging technology and is one of the first brands to launch smartphones with the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765G chipsets.

In conjunction with the nation’s 63rd year of independence, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) celebrates the spirits embodied and shared by all Malaysians, and at the same time inspires patriotism with ‘Kita Buatan Malaysia’ campaign. Despite coming from different backgrounds, cultures and upbringing, Malaysians share similar fabric of values and traits that have been passed on for generations. The determination, resilience, diversity, passion to win and to never to give up that exist in each of us who are ‘made in Malaysia’ are the trademark of being a Malaysian.

These traits that make Malaysians stronger when we come together as one are clearly demonstrated by our local businesses as they fight to survive in these challenging times. To this end, Digi through its ‘Kita Buatan Malaysia’ campaign aims to instill national pride and rally Malaysians to support these homegrown businesses by leveraging on digital technology. Digi is assisting these local brands to extend their reach to more potential customers by giving their businesses an online presence. This is made possible through MyDigi app, Digi’s own digital hub that will connect small businesses to Digi’s 10.6 million strong subscriber base and on Malaysia’s no. 1 e-commerce platform, Shopee’s Buatan Malaysia dedicated microsite.

This campaign will culminate with the Shopee x KPDNHEP x Digi Buatan Kita online sale, the largest local products sale in Malaysia featuring local brands on 16 September 2020. The sale which features curated homegrown brands will offer exclusive discounts and free shipping vouchers throughout the campaign period starting today to 16 September 2020 to help Malaysians get more value with every Ringgit that they spent.

To further support this initiative, Digi has also released its #Kita video to highlight local craftsmen who embody the ‘Kita Buatan Malaysia’ can-do spirit and have weaved the diversity and passion of Malaysia into their products and services. The video showcases how these Malaysians with different field of businesses  such as goldsmiths, batik artists and craft jewellers have displayed the same values and persevered, all through the same love and passion for Malaysian-made craft and the desire to share their homegrown products beyond local borders and extend the Malaysian heritage globally.

In line with the upcoming Merdeka and Malaysia Day festivities, Digi is also rewarding its customers through Digi Gemilang sales which offers exclusive deals and specially curated offerings to ignite the Semangat Malaysia in all Malaysians. As Malaysians rally together with a united front during this difficult season, these deals enable customers to stretch their ringgit, all while staying connected to what matters most to them even when they may be physically apart during this Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations.

Some of the offers include extra bonus of 63GB when Digi Prepaid customers purchase the RM5 internet pass that comes with all-day 5GB of high-speed internet, video subscription at only RM1/month for Digi Postpaid customers from September 1, an exciting line-up of popular brands on MyDigi Rewards from as low as RM3.31, extra rewards points when customers purchase gaming credits at Republic GG and more.

More information on Kita Buatan Malaysia is available at their site.

In its commitment to building tech-savvy and forward-thinking leaders, Maxis has launched three new scholarships to support the aspirations of bright and deserving young individuals. Candidates can apply for the Maxis Women in Tech Undergraduate 2020 Scholarship, Maxis Tech Undergraduate 2020 Scholarship and the Maxis Young Leaders Undergraduate 2020 Scholarship. Due to the overwhelming response received from applicants, the initial submission deadline of 31 August has now been extended to 14 September to allow more students to apply.

Successful Maxis’ scholars will have access to the best learning experiences at top universities approved by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

Successful candidates will also benefit from internship placements at Maxis to springboard their career paths to the next level, ultimately benefitting the growing need for a technology and innovation talent pool in the ICT and business sectors.

To ensure our people are future-ready, Maxis’ scholarship and management trainee programmes focus on young talents with the right skills and attitude. In July 2019, Maxis organised its first Career Fair that is unlike any other. Designed with participation and an immersive experience in mind, it comprised "speed-dating" type interviews as well as various showcases, such as IoT, NB-IoT and AI, to demonstrate what the company is all about. The Career Fair also gave young job seekers the opportunity to meet the telco as a potential employer.

For more information or to apply for Maxis Scholarships 2020, go to their site.

Xiaomi Corporation (“Xiaomi” or the “Group”; stock code:1810), an internet company with smartphone and smart hardware connected by an Internet of Things (“IoT”) platform at its core, today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three and six months ended 30 June 2020 ("1H2020” or “the Period”).

Amid the challenges brought by COVID-19 on the global smartphone market, Xiaomi adhered to three guiding principles – “never cease to explore and innovate, continue to offer products with the price-to-performance ratio”. Revenue from the smartphones segment was RMB61.952 billion (MYR37.46 billion) and RMB31.628 billion (MYR19.125 billion) in the first half and second quarter of 2020 respectively, and the smartphone shipments reached 28.3 million units.

According to Canalys, in the second quarter of 2020, Xiaomi ranked 4th globally in terms of smartphone shipments, and its market share stood at 10.1%. In overseas markets, shipments of its premium smartphones, with retail price of €300 (MYR1,473) or more, went up by 99.2% YoY in the second quarter of 2020. Driven by the higher proportion of sales from mid- to high-end smartphones, the average selling price (“ASP”) of the Group’s smartphones increased by 11.8% YoY and 7.5% QoQ.

The Group insisted on implementing the dual-brand strategy and yielded significant results. Xiaomi’s 5G flagship smartphones, Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, were launched in February 2020, the shipments have exceeded one million units within only two months. In August 2020, Xiaomi launched the Mi 10 Ultra, which achieved a DXOMARK score of 130 for overall camera performance, once again ranking 1st globally at the time of launch. The sales have exceeded RMB400 million (MYR241.85 million) after 10 minutes of its debut.

The Redmi brand continued to make 5G technology accessible to the mass market. In June 2020, the Group launched the Redmi 9A series which priced from only RMB499 (MYR301). It then launched the Redmi K30 Ultra in August, sporting all-around premium features with prices starting from only RMB1,999 (MYR1,208).

It is worth mentioning that Xiaomi also launched its smart factory recently with a total investment amount of RMB600 million (MYR362.77 million), opening up an era of smart and manufacturing at Xiaomi’s factories. The Mi 10 Ultra is the first mass-produced ultra-high-end model of the Xiaomi Smart Factory.

Revenue from the IoT and lifestyle products segment was RMB28.237 billion (MYR17.072 billion) and RMB15.253 billion (MYR9.222 billion) in the first half and second quarter of 2020, respectively. Xiaomi’s global TV shipments still amounted to 2.8 million units, achieving YoY growth despite a decline in the overall TV market. According to All View Cloud (“AVC”), in the second quarter of 2020, the Group’s TV shipments in mainland China ranked 1st for the 6th consecutive quarter and ranked among the top five globally.

In the second quarter, Xiaomi introduced two flagship products under the new Mi TV Master Series, further expanding its footprint in the premium market. In July 2020, the Group introduced its first OLED TV, Mi TV Lux 65” OLED. In August 2020, it launched the second ultra high-end TV within the Mi TV Master Series-Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition, which is the world’s first mass-produced transparent TV.

To fulfill the various demands of the consumer worldwide, Xiaomi’s smart TVs entered more markets, including Poland, France and Italy during the second quarter. In July 2020, Xiaomi held its first global Xiaomi Ecosystem Product Launch and released a series of new products, including the Mi Smart Band 5 and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic.

As of June 30, 2020, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi’s IoT platform reached approximately 271.0 million units, representing a YoY increase of 38.3%. The number of users who have five or more devices connected to Xiaomi’s IoT platform (excluding smartphones and laptops) increased to over 5.1 million, representing a YoY growth of 63.9%. Meanwhile, the Mi Home App had 40.8 million MAU, representing a YoY increase of 34.1%, in which non-Xiaomi smartphone users accounted for 67.9%. In June 2020, our AI Assistant (“小愛同學”) had 78.4 million MAU, an increase of 57.1% YoY.

Xiaomi continued to strengthen the interconnectivity across products with the “Xiaomi Share” initiative. “Xiaomi Share” supports always-on access to music, video and voice calls when switching across multiple devices. In addition, the Group developed the multi-screen collaboration function, which supports cross-device photographing and document editing. Going forward, the Group will continue to enhance the connectivity between smart devices, and offer more intelligent user experiences and application scenarios, thereby bringing global Xiaomi users to the forefront of future smart living.

Revenue of the internet services segment amounted to RMB11.808 billion (MYR7.139 billion) and RMB5.908 billion (MYR3.572 billion) in the first half and second quarter of 2020 respectively. In the second quarter of 2020, the MAU of MIUI increased by 23.3% year-over-year to 343.5 million, while the mainland China MAU of MIUI was 109.7 million.

In the second quarter of 2020, advertising revenue increased by 23.2% YoY to RMB3.1 billion (MYR1.874 billion), driven by the rapid growth in overseas advertising revenue, as well as the gradual recovery in advertising budgets in mainland China. Internet services revenue outside of advertising and gaming from mainland China smartphones, including those generated from the Youpin e-commerce platform, fintech business, TV internet services and overseas internet services, increased by 39.5% YoY, accounting for 39% of its total internet services revenue.

In June 2020, MAU of Xiaomi smart TVs and Mi Box reached 32.0 million, an increase of 41.8% YoY. As of June 30, 2020, the number of paid subscribers increased by 33.1% YoY to 4.0 million.

Revenue from overseas markets was RMB48.861 billion (MYR29.544 billion) and RMB24.029 billion (MYR14.529 billion) in the first half and second quarter of 2020 respectively. According to Canalys, in the second quarter of 2020, Xiaomi’s market shares in terms of smartphone shipments ranked among the top five in 50 countries and regions and reached the top three in 25 of these markets.

In the second quarter of 2020, according to Canalys, Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments grew by 64.9% YoY in Europe, achieving a total market share of 16.8%, ranking it in the top three for the first time. In Western Europe, the Group’s smartphone shipments grew 115.9% YoY, accounting for a 12.4% market share. The Group’s smartphone shipments in Spain grew by 150.6% YoY, ranking 1st for two consecutive quarters with a 36.8% market share. During the quarter, Xiaomi ranked 2nd in France and 4th in Germany and Italy, in terms of smartphone shipments.

In Eastern Europe, Xiaomi became the No.1 smartphone company in Ukraine and Poland in terms of smartphone shipments, with respective market shares of 37.1% and 27.5%. In addition, in the second quarter of 2020, the Group captured a market share of 30.7% by shipments in the Indian smartphone market. According to IDC, it retained the No.1 position in the Indian smartphone market for the 12th consecutive quarter.

In the second quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected Xiaomi’s global operations to varying degrees. In April and May 2020, several of the Group’s key markets implemented strict lockdown measures and the sales were greatly impacted. As business restrictions were gradually lifted, sales have recovered tangibly.

In India, strict lockdown measures were imposed starting in late March and our sales were significantly impacted during the lockdown period. As India gradually lifted the restrictions during the second quarter of 2020, consumer demand started to rebound. In July 2020, the average daily number of smartphone activations in India returned to 72% of the pre-pandemic level recorded in January. In July 2020, excluding India, the average daily number of overseas smartphone activations had reached 120% of the pre-pandemic level recorded in January.

For more information about the company, please visit their site.

OPPO is getting wider recognition in the global scene, especially in the Southeast Asian region. With industry leading technologies and competitive pricing, the demand for the brand is soaring after achieving the highest market share in Q2 2020 for Southeast Asia.

According to a report published by Counterpoint Research, OPPO became the top vendor in Southeast Asia with a market share of 20.3%.

OPPO and América Móvil announced that they have signed a strategic cooperation agreement. OPPO smartphones will be available in the Mexican and Latin American market through América Móvil's subsidiaries in the region, Telcel and Claro. This represents an important achievement for OPPO in its development in Latin American and global markets.

Establishing and developing partnerships with important global network operators has always been one of OPPO's strategies to develop its brand in the global market. Currently, OPPO has formed partnerships with over 80 network operators around the world. Since 2020, a series of partnerships between OPPO and network operators have been established. This has helped OPPO achieve important achievements in mature markets such as Europe and Japan. In the next 1-2 years, OPPO also plans to form partnerships with more major carriers in order to reach more consumers across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

LG Electronics (LG) is kicking off the Explorer Project with a 30-second invitation video hinting at the first smartphone under this new lineup. Explorer Project is both an initiative and a category and will include devices that deliver distinctive and yet unexplored usability experiences, a strategy that tackles uncharted territory in the industry. Details of the Explorer Project will be officially announced September 14 at 10:00 (EDT) on LG Mobile’s official YouTube channel and Facebook page.

LG created the Explorer Project in response to the diverse usage needs of today’s smartphone customers and to deliver much-needed curiosity and excitement to the mobile sector. The initiative aims to “explore” and inject new life into untapped areas and reshape and expand the current user experience, with assistance from its trusted platform partners.

The Explorer Project also marks a new direction in the alignment strategy of LG’s smartphones. The Explorer Project will focus solely on new usability that is discovered with innovative designs while LG’s new Universal Line will be the company’s lineup of competitive devices that focus on consumer lifestyles, such as LG VELVET.

LG is collaborating with industry partners Rave, Ficto, Tubi and NAVER to develop unique features that will elevate the mobile viewing experience on Explorer Project devices. Qualcomm Technologies is again contributing its industry-leading processing technology and knowhow to drive the outstanding performance of LG’s differentiated lineup.

Rave gives users wherever they may be the ability to communicate and enjoy streaming content together while Ficto, which pioneered revenue sharing for mobile content, aligned the global launch of its streaming service with the Explorer Project. Tubi, the largest ad-supported free streaming service is also an early partner of the Explorer Project. South Korean search leader NAVER, which worked in close partnership with LG on the LG Dual Screen, is developing a version of its Whale browser with unique browsing features for Explorer Project devices.

In related news, LG Electronics (LG) confirms LG WING will be the first product to be launched under the Explorer Project, LG’s new mobile category aimed at discovering new ways to interact with mobile devices, focusing on the evolving and ever-changing needs of today’s consumers and challenging established user norms. LG’s boldest, newest smartphone will deliver a new and different form factor and mobile experience that would be impossible to create with conventional smartphones.

LG Electronics (LG) is sharing its vision for the home of the future at IFA 2020, taking place virtually for the first time in its 96-year history. Under the banner Life’s Good from Home, LG’s online exhibition booth will allow visitors to explore the company’s latest innovations from the comfort of their homes and mobile devices. LG’s IFA 2020 press conference will take place in Messe Berlin on September 3 at 11:00 CEST and livestreamed on the LG Global YouTube channel.

Under the banner of Life’s Good from Home, Dr. I.P. Park, CTO of LG Electronics, will present the future vision for consumers to enjoy a safer and more convenient home living as people world over settle into new lifestyle habits. LG ThinQ Home Solution, making its world debut at IFA 2020, is the company’s innovative response to the new normal and exciting vision for how our life will look in the future.

With the cancellation of IFA’s exhibition in Berlin this year, LG created its own physical smart home showroom in Korea to demonstrate how LG products work seamlessly together to deliver the best home experience possible. For its IFA unveiling, K-pop star Henry Lau will take visitors on a virtual tour of the four story home highlighting all the ways the home contributes to comfort and maximum sustainability using LG technology. The home tour will be accompanied by an interactive video of a family residing in an LG home, which viewers can customize based on their choices.

In addition to its smart home showroom and interactive video content, LG’s virtual IFA booth will provide a compelling interactive experience of how the company is making home living more relaxing, efficient and rewarding.

Visitors to LG’s IFA 2020 virtual booth will learn all about the benefits of the company’s comprehensive range of smart home appliances and integrated services by making their way through a variety of different zones.

Just one year after LG Electronics Malaysia’s (LG) foray into the water purifier business in Malaysia, the leading home appliances manufacturer today introduced the LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier, the newest member of the LG PuriCare™ family.

LG’s cutting-edge ‘tankless’ technology is always innovating to meet the ever-changing environment and consumer needs. The introduction of the 4-WARD feature signals a shift in the way LG caters to consumer demands for convenience, safety and hygiene. Now consumers do not need to worry as water is contained while dispensing, avoiding splashes and reducing the likelihood of burns with hot water, thanks to the 4-WARD feature, which includes the 3-Stage Filtration System, the Up & Down Auto Moving Tap, and the Left & Right Moving Tap and Tray.

LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier consists of 3-Stage Filtration System, eliminating microorganism and 7 types of heavy metals including mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, iron, copper and aluminium contained in water.

The Up & Down Auto Moving Tap will detect the cup placed on the tray and automatically adjust the height, dispensing the right amount of water while Left & Right Moving Tap and Tray enables the product to be installed vertically or horizontally and consumers to access the water purifier from 180-degree direction.

As the first global home appliance brand to introduce the ‘tankless’ concept for water purifiers in Malaysia, the LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier continues its predecessor’s goal to provide consumers with unlimited, fresh-tasting water every time. The ‘tankless’ technology directly filters water without the need of a tank, where potentially dangerous microorganisms form, ensuring heighten hygiene for consumers. LG PuriCare™ water purifier incorporates Inverter Compressor and Induction Heating (IH) System, allowing consumers to enjoy hot, cold or room temperature water while saving energy by getting rid of the need to reboil water. With a quick touch, hot water is supplied at three different temperatures for your daily household usage: 85° for all coffee lovers, 75° for all tea enthusiasts and 40° for the perfect milk for babies.

Consumers can also remain assured as LG PuriCare™ water purifier is supported by Total Service Care 1.2.3, a comprehensive service plan by qualified LG professionals. The three parts consists of:

Consumers can download the LG ThinQ™ application on their smartphone to monitor water consumption and use the Diagnosis mode to detect any product error. The LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier also comes with Filter Change Alert, where consumers can easily monitor the water purifier’s filter condition via an indication lamp to ensure performance is always optimised.

The all-new LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier comes in three variations: White, Silver and Shiny Rose. From September onwards, consumers can get equip their homes with the newest LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier at the following prices:

Consumers can enjoy three-year free service with outright purchase or up to five-year free service with product rental. The free service includes annual internal pipe change and service visits for product sanitation and/or filter change for every 3 months.

For more information regarding LG PuriCare™ 4-WARD Tankless Water Purifier and other award-winning products by LG Electronics  please visit their site.

TikTok has partnered with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to co-launch the #YoungCreators campaign on TikTok. The campaign, an initiative under the MDEC’s #SayaDigital movement will provide an opportunity for young and budding content creators to learn how to leverage digital platforms as a means to upskill, empower their creativity and generate income.

To participate in this campaign, all Malaysian TikTok users aged 16 and over are encouraged to upload original informative and educational videos using the hashtags #YoungCreators and #TikTokGuru from 22nd to 31st August. Each video must be at least 10 seconds long and the themes include general knowledge, technology, health and fitness, beauty, culture and life hacks.

Those who participate stand a chance to win prizes worth up to RM60,000 and a chance to join the coveted creators incubation program by CastingAsia Creators Network, a 12 month incubation program aimed at expanding and nurturing young minds with up-to-date digital and social media knowledge. Eligible winners will then receive an in-app notification on 4 September of the results and steps for claiming their respective prizes and certificates.

Already, many TikTok creators have uploaded their videos to lend support to the said campaign include the likes Dr. Sylvia Lim (a certified dentist), Ong Siew Ling (a math teacher by profession), Wing Keh & Keifth (power dance couple) and DJ Mushroom (DJ & Entertainer).

So what are you waiting for? Download or open the TikTok app now to learn more about the #YoungCreators campaign

Yoodo had gamers and esports fans buzzing with new announcements all tied to the hugely popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). These announcements were the introduction of a new data add-on product, the sponsorship of a new season of the MLBB Professional League (MPL) MY/SG as well as the sponsorship of a top Malaysian MLBB esports team.

Yoodo announced a brand new data add-on for MLBB that will give warriors 20GB of dedicated 4G LTE mobile data for the game. This will allow them to battle the hordes of creeps and heroes in their chase for more victories and MVP medals.

From 26 August until 25 October 2020, the new MLBB data add-on is available at a discounted rate of just RM1 for 20GB of data. As a special bonus for users who purchased the add-on, five weekly winners will receive 1,000 in-game diamonds during the same period. Following this, the add-on will be priced at RM5 per 20GB of data.

Continuing its momentum as the nation’s most supportive telco for esports, Yoodo has stepped up once again by sponsoring the MPL MY/SG Season 6 as the Official Digital Telco. This marks the second season in a row that Yoodo is sponsoring the nation’s premier MLBB tournament, following the immense success of last season which garnered over 9.5 million views across the season.

The battle begins on 28 August and rages on until 25 October 2020. MPL MY/SG Season 6 will feature six teams from Malaysia and four teams from Singapore crossing swords and slinging spells to walk away with a portion of a USD100,000 prize pool.

One of the hot favourites for the upcoming MPL MY/SG Season 6 is the ever-popular Geek Fam MLBB esports team. There is good cause for this optimism as the team is now powered by Yoodo.

The team is made-up of team Captain – Dominus (Nik Aqieff); the versatile Xorn (Muhammad Zul Hisham) and OzoraVeki (Poon Kok Sing); Fighter - Artz (Muhammad Nazmie) and Marksman/Assassin – Feekz (Amirul Shafiq); Tank/Support – Rumpel (Tai Ming Hong).

This marks Yoodo’s third team sponsorship in the past two years. It began in 2019 with the highly successful establishment of Yoodo Gank – which has gone on to become Malaysia’s most popular Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) MOBILE esports team. Earlier this year, Yoodo forayed into the competitive fighting games scene with the introduction of Yoodo FV which sports a roster of some of the nation’s most accomplished fighting game players.

With organizations transitioning towards remote or hybrid work arrangements, new employee experience technologies (EXTech) are fast transforming workplaces, bringing together employee experience and technology to enhance productivity and organizational culture. In line with this evolution, SelfDrvn recently announced the integration of Microsoft Teams into its employee engagement platform, as part of the company’s continuing innovation to make remote work more productive, rewarding and engaging with technology.

SelfDrvn is an interactive Service-as-a-Solution platform that uses gamification, social collaboration and data-driven positive psychology to enhance engagement within a company. The platform provides users with data-driven and actionable insights to encourage talent recognition, rewards positive behavior and achievement with appreciation badges, rewards points, and various levels.

With the integration of Microsoft Teams into the platform, users will be able to use SelfDrvn as the main hub for employees. In addition to SelfDrvn’s innovative features, users can now leverage Microsoft Teams’ productivity and engagement tools such as video conferencing, audio calls, file sharing and collaboration. These are crucial solutions particularly as organizations adapt to new ways to build trust with its workforce while keeping employees engaged in the face of social isolation.

SelfDrvn which is integrated with Microsoft Teams uses gamification, social collaboration, and data-driven positive psychology to drive employee productivity and engagement.

SelfDrvn was founded in 2015 and has since been gaining market traction with regional enterprise clients in professional services, telco, financial services and the retail industry across Malaysia and Southeast Asia. In the Gartner Hype Cycle for Human Capital Management Technology, 2020, SelfDrvn was recognized as a leader within the Employee Experience Technologies category, for its track record in improving employee productivity, customer satisfaction and revenue generation, as well as reducing employee turnover.

With SelfDrvn’s Co-Sell Ready status and full suite of products integrated with Microsoft Teams, the company aims to make remote work more social, engaging, rewarding and productive. With highly customized partnership strategies underway, SelfDrvn is ready to leverage Microsoft’s partner channel and world-class products to increase reach, security, collaboration, and innovation capabilities.

NTT Ltd., the official technology partner to A.S.O., announced it will bring the Tour de France 2020 to fans through innovative technology, which will allow them to watch the race from their homes in a unique way and be part of a ‘global stadium’ experience. Due to the impact of Covid-19, 70 remote NTT employees will operate from five continents to support the three-week long race that takes place from 29 August to 20 September 2020.

NTT has developed a ‘Virtual Zone Technique’ that brings together different technologies to deliver its Tour de France services remotely for the first time. This will keep staff safe while supporting the running of the race and providing an enhanced experience for fans.

To create a digital ‘global stadium’ for fans who can’t be at the roadside this year, NTT and A.S.O. have made use of their advanced, real-time, data analytics capabilities. Live data and analytics will be featured across multiple channels including:

NTT’s managed services will safeguard the operational success of the race. Managed collaboration services will enable the global technology support team to communicate and a secure-by-design approach will enable real-time threat management, ensuring security.

For its 40,000 employees, NTT Ltd. has also launched its Tour de France Hackfest – a competition where anyone from across the business can suggest future innovations for the race in support of creating the largest connected stadium in the world. The initiative encourages employees to think differently and celebrates the company’s innovation culture.

Find out more at their 2020 Tour de France microsite.

Recently, Shippit announced its expansion into Malaysia, as well as new partnerships with regional-serving courier Ninja Van. Shippit’s latest announcement marks its second Southeast Asian market expansion in just 2 months as it continues its growth in the region.

Founded in 2014 in Australia, the logistics Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company has raised almost US$10 million, led by Asian investment firm Aura Group. By using automation and machine learning to simplify the order fulfilment process, Shippit serves more than 6,000 customers a month across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, powering delivery for Sephora and CottonOn, among thousands of other leading retailers. It recently announced the launch of its Southeast Asian headquarters in Singapore, partnering with Shopify regionally and SingPost in Singapore.

With 83% of its population making purchases online, Malaysia has the highest percentage of digital customers in the region, and an e-Commerce market valued at approximately US$4 billion in 2020. This figure is expected to more than double to US$8.1 billion in 4 years, making Malaysia one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia.

Through Shippit’s expansion into Malaysia, the logistics tech startup plans to tap into Malaysia’s e-Commerce market, focusing on improving delivery experiences for end customers and helping local online businesses grow by offering more delivery options to customers at the check-out whilst streamlining how they fulfil their orders. Shippit’s platform makes Ninja Van’s Cash on Delivery capabilities easily accessible to online businesses of all sizes, allowing them to drive their growth amongst unbanked and underbanked populations in Malaysia and throughout Southeast Asia.

Shippit’s new partnership will enable the regional courier to expand its market reach with Small to Medium business in Malaysia, deepening Ninja Van’s e-Commerce presence. As Shippit aims to support e-Commerce growth across the region, simplifying access to Ninja Van’s delivery services and Cash On Delivery capability through Shippit’s platform will be hugely beneficial to growing online businesses.

Although Malaysians are generally digitally-savvy with an internet penetration of 80.1% and mobile commerce accounting for 47% of the total e-Commerce market, only 45% of the population is fully banked. There are currently a total of 12 million people in Malaysia that are underbanked and unbanked, with a preference for cash payments.

As a fast-growing startup taking on Asia, Shippit has its eyes set on improving retail logistics in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. To accelerate its growth ambitions across Southeast Asia during the e-Commerce boom, Shippit is evaluating a potential capital raise before the end of 2020, where it would look to raise in excess of RM$30 million.

Shippit is a scalable shipping platform that can be used by enterprise-level firms, fast-growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as e-Commerce businesses just starting out. From multi-channel, international retailers to homegrown sellers, Shippit unifies order fulfilment across sales channels and leverages its proprietary allocation algorithm to connect retailers to the best delivery partner for every single order.

For more info, please visit: their site.

Thanks for reading TechNavers and TechNave NewsByters. As always, stay tuned to TechNave.com and if you think your brand or PR should be in our latest issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020, let us know.


TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #24 - Huawei, realme, Maxis, LG and more

Welcome back TechNavers and NewsByters, in this issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #24, Huawei announced their AirPON solution while realme held a 2020 brand conference at IFA revealing their Dare-to-Leap plans and devices. Maxis IoT Challenge is back and LG revealed their 8K Ultra Large OLED TVs.

Together with HKT Hong Kong and Globe Philippines, Huawei held an online commercial release conference on Monday to launch the AirPON solution and share its innovative applications. This solution reuses existing wireless sites to build full-fiber access networks for mobile operators quickly and at a low cost.

As mobile operators transform from mobile to full-service operations, they face huge challenges in FTTH network construction. Traditionally, operators had to deploy centralized OLTs in central office equipment rooms and lay out massive optical cables to reach users. This required large-scale initial investment and the resolution of complex problems such as ROW acquisition. As a result, network construction has always been time-consuming, expensive, while services have been slow to provision.

Huawei AirPON solution specifically addresses these challenges. "The AirPON solution shortens the optical cables between OLTs and users from over 3 km to below 300 m, greatly improves the efficiency of optical cable deployment, and reduces the ROI period to less than 3 years. With it, operators can reap benefits faster when building full-fiber access networks," said Gary Lu, President of Huawei Network Marketing & Solution Sales Department.

"HKT would like to replicate the solution to village area or low rise building in urban area to extend our Ultra Broadband coverage. AirPON allows installation of PON equipment on roof top which can be suitable for PON deployment in low rise old buildings in HK," said Peter Lam, Managing Director of HKT Engineering Dept Hong Kong.

"Huawei's AirPON solution helps us to efficiently roll out FTTH networks with simple ROW permitting and site acquisition and enables us to quickly provision fiber broadband services," said Joel Agustin, Vice President of Globe Philippines.

Following Huawei's first release of the AirPON solution in London in February 2020, 45 operators around the world adopted it in network construction. This solution consists of Huawei's OptiXaccess series Blade OLTs, Digital QuickODN (DQ ODN), and OptiXstar series eAI ONTs. It reuses existing mobile sites to build full-fiber access networks and has the following benefits:

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is the common trend, and fixed networks are the cornerstone of full-service operations. In the meanwhile, full-fiber access network construction is ramping up around the world. As such, Huawei will continue to innovate in full-fiber access technologies and deliver sustainable and evolvable solutions to help operators achieve business successes.

realme recently held its ‘2020 Brand Conference’ at IFA. With its first attendance at IFA, realme looked back at the 2-year amazing growth and its great efforts to achieve “Dare to Expand” and “Dare to Thrive”. And, realme also shared its upcoming brand strategy and product planning for future global deployment.

realme Malaysia continues its growing streak with a YoY growth reaching up to 700% and has a total of 15% market share in Q2 2020. According to Counterpoint Research Market Monitor service, realme continued to be the fastest-growing brand by achieving another milestone in ranking Top 3 in Malaysia’s smartphone market.

realme insists on building high-quality smartphone and AIoT products with leap-forward performance and trendsetting design for the young at a more affordable price. With the strategy of ‘Smartphone + AIoT’, realme has launched a full-set of product portfolio covering each price segment, from entry-level to flagship in 2 years. And realme will keep applying high-end technology into more price segments for leap-forward performance.

For the 4G products, realme is committed to popularizing advanced tech, for example, realme was the first to adopt the pop-up camera at $200 price segment, and debuted the world’s first 64MP Quad Camera. With the launch of realme 7 Series, realme again became the first to apply 65W SuperDart Charge into the medium smartphone.

Thus, the 3 product range of realme 4G smartphone could meet different demands of the different audience:

Since 2020, realme is positioned to be a Popularizer of 5G and launches a series of leap forward 5G smartphone. In 2-3 years, realme plans to upgrade 5G product planning and make 5G deployment globally, being a Popularizer of 5G:

Apart from the smartphone, realme also provides high-end AIoT products for the young and launch the product strategy of “1+4+N” to create trendsetting smart life:

To build trendsetting smart life, realme focuses on “1+4+N” product strategy to launch over 50 AIoT products in 2020 and 100 in 2021 to make AIoT become a part of our lives in a more easy and affordable way. What’s more, in 2020 Q4, realme will launch more amazing AIoT products to improve its smart trendsetting AIoT ecosystem, including its first 55” TV with wide color gamut, wireless and TWS ANC earphone to popularize ANC tech, medium and high-end smartphone, and smart camera and smart bulb.

Close on the heels of the immensely successful and popular Maxis IoT Challenge last year, Maxis brings its second installation to the public with exciting, new industry-driven challenges to inspire the most innovative minds in Malaysia. The Maxis IoT Challenge is part of a continuing partnership with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and industry collaborators to promote the IoT ecosystem development of 5G-enabled solutions among companies to spur the digital economy. It is part of the many joint initiatives that Maxis is undertaking to foster innovation for all Malaysians.

This year’s Maxis IoT Challenge, themed “Transforming Industry Challenges Today into Business Opportunities Tomorrow”, invites the public to solve real business problems by collaborating with Maxis in the following categories:

The top three winners of the Maxis IoT Challenge this year stand a chance to take home cash prizes of RM15,000, RM10,000 and RM5,000 respectively, as well the opportunity to become some of the first developers in the country to trial and commercialise their 5G-enabled solutions and accelerate them to market.

The final round will be held in November, where finalists will pitch their prototypes to a panel of judges. Stay tuned!

To participate, candidates simply need to follow these 3 steps:

The top 15 ideas will be shortlisted by a panel of judges to proceed to the online development stage where candidates will be on a journey to turn their ideas into reality.

LG Electronics (LG), the first TV manufacturer to commercialize 8K OLED TVs, again set an industry benchmark with the world’s first 8K TVs to support the powerful new NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 30 Series GPU.1 Powered by the company’s α (Alpha) 9 Gen 3 AI processor capable of delivering 8K full bandwidth support, LG’s 8K OLED TV steps up its game to offer avid gamers across the globe the most compelling and mesmerizing gameplay on glorious displays with over 33 million self-lit pixels.

LG OLED TVs have long been considered among the most advanced gaming TVs in the world because of their self-lit pixel technology and support for the latest HDMI specifications such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), ultra-fast response rate and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM). Because LG OLED TVs are NVIDIA G-SYNC® Compatible, LG customers have been able to enjoy their favorite games with GeForce RTX 20 Series and GTX 16 Series GPUs for a smooth, immersive gaming experience without the flicker, tearing or stuttering common to most common displays.

The α (Alpha) 9 Gen 3 AI processor in LG’s OLED and NanoCell 8K TVs take real-time ray-tracing performance to a new level and set a new standard for gaming-optimized picture and performance. With LG 8K OLED TVs able to deliver 8K content at 60 frames per second and handling staggering 48Gbps speeds, playing 8K games on LG OLED TVs and a NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 30 Series GPU has never looked so good.

To heighten gamers’ sense of immersion, LG 8K OLED TVs also support Dolby Atmos and LG’s deep learning-based AI Acoustic Tuning, which measures the acoustic environment and adjusts the sound for greater accuracy. The TVs are also BT Surround ready to allow two LG Bluetooth speakers to be connected simultaneously, up-mixing 2.0 channel sound to virtual 4.0 surround sound for more immersion in favorite games. And with LG ThinQ capability built-in, hands-free voice control is possible for those moments when reaching for the remote is not an option.

Schneider Electric, is offering special deals on Lazada and Shopee for its range of APC by Schneider Electric solutions, in conjunction with the most awaited annual 9.9 sales.

The APC by Schneider Electric are must-have solutions that provide protection to devices against downtime, data loss and hardware damage that happens due to power problems. It sets the standard in its industry for premium quality and advanced innovation. Its comprehensive solutions, which are designed for both home and corporate environments, improve the manageability, availability and performance of sensitive electronic, network, communications and industrial equipment of all sizes.

Get these amazing deals from the official Schneider Electric store on Lazada and Shopee available to you until 10 September!

For more information on Schneider Electric and its latest innovative products, please visit Schneider Electric’s official website and information portal.

Yoodo is now more accessible with Yoodo SIM cards now available at 99 Speedmart stores. Now Telco users looking to switch to Yoodo can head to any of 99 Speedmarts’ 1,690 stores nationwide. SIM cards will be available for purchase at just RM2 and will come with 5GB of data for free upon SIM activation.

Previously through the App, new Yoodo subscribers were able to register and order a SIM card which would either be delivered to their doorstep for free within three working days or in just two hours with the paid express delivery option. Alternatively, they could also opt for the eSIM that only takes minutes to activate. Now, new users will also have the choice of instantly obtaining a SIM card at any 99 Speedmart store.

On top of the free 5GB new users will get upon activating their Yoodo SIM card, they can also enjoy even more lighting fast 4G LTE data with Yoodo’s 20GB for RM20 promotion.

CAPBAY has became the first and only fintech selected to be part of national telecommunications giant Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) Vendor Financing Programme known as PERINTIS. CapBay will provide fast, affordable and fair access to supply chain finance solutions, bridging the cash flow gap for all levels and sizes of vendors throughout TM’s supply chain, including its SME subcontractors.

The MOU was signed recently by Imri Mokhtar, Group Chief Executive Officer of TM and CapBay’s CEO, Ang Xing Xian alongside other representatives from a panel of distinguished banks. The signing ceremony was witnessed by YB Dato’ Sri Dr Hj Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives, accompanied by Tan Sri Dato' Seri Mohd Bakke Salleh, Chairman of TM.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd is the latest blue-chip corporate to implement CapBay’s flagship Supply Chain Finance platform. With this latest initiative, CapBay’s P2P investors can now expand and diversify their investment portfolio backed by government and large corporate receivables while earning healthier returns. CapBay differentiates itself by offering lower risk investment notes in a bid to enhance investor trust and confidence especially during these times of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through CapBay’s proprietary credit-decisioning model, CapBay is able to provide flexible and cost-effective financing to SMEs and at the same time contain credit risks with a good track record of low financing losses, making it an overall safer alternative investment. CapBay launched their P2P financing pilot programme in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has since achieved over RM20 million of financing over 150 notes while maintaining zero defaults and financing losses for their investors. Their tech solution has also been recognised and they were recently lauded as the “Fintech Startup of the Year” at The Asset Triple A Awards 2020.

To learn more about how Supply Chain Finance programmes can strengthen your value chain, please visit their site.

vivo has just announced “VISION+”, a global initiative that will build a visual content ecosystem, reaffirming the brand’s long-term commitment to user-centric design and leadership in mobile photography technology. The VISION+ ecosystem is composed of the vivo VISION+ Mobile Photography Awards, launched jointly with National Geographic, along with the vivo VISION+ Mobile Photography Academy, the vivo VISION+ Master Class, the vivo VISION+ Youth Program, and the vivo VISION+ Photographers Federation.

vivo VISION+ centers around “JOY IMAGE” as its core foundation and will form a new visual content ecosystem through initiatives including content co-creation, education and cultural exchanges. The strategy fuses vivo’s product innovation leadership with the evolving needs of smartphone users who view mobile photography as an important part of culture and everyday life.

In related news, vivo is ready to explore the premium region in getting into the hearts of the elites with its latest flagship, X50 Pro – highlighting the industry-leading hardware features, a built-in Gimbal Camera System.

“My go-to smartphone” – vivo has engaged with three prominent Malaysian figures and entrepreneurs Kavita Sidhu, Robert Guiati, and Coach KarFei to share about their exclusive hands-on experience with vivo X50 Pro and how vivo X50 Pro is taking a significant role in their day-to-day conduct, while seamlessly integrating itself into their daily lifestyle.

A sneak peek of the upcoming unique and premium videos featuring the influential Malaysian figures is now available on their facebook page.

Boost is continuing to incentivize its users to spend and support local online businesses with more savings, cashbacks and Boost Coins through the Government’s ongoing PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative. As part of Boost’s larger #KasiTambah campaign, this month, each user will be able to enjoy up to RM400 in rewards from a choice of thousands of Boosted local online partners.

PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online, a Government initiative implemented through Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), is one of three PENJANA initiatives, including ePENJANA and MSME E-Commerce Campaign, in which Boost was selected as an official partner.

Boost’s latest offers in the PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative are in-line with the company’s ambition to help Micro & SMEs weather the storm brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and help boost the local economy through the collective support of all Malaysians.

As a start, the homegrown e-wallet is having their biggest ‘Online Boost Day’ on 7th – 9th September. For a minimum spend of RM50 in a single transaction, Boost is giving up to 30 times (30X) in additional Boost Coins when users spend at any of the 7,000 Boosted online partners such as Potboy, PrestoMall, HappyFresh, Watsons Online, Lelong, Poplook and SenHeng plus an additional RM5 Surprise Shake in ‘Partner Wallet’ of a participating merchant under the PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative.

A ‘Partner Wallet’ is a sub-wallet within a user’s Boost account that automatically stores cashback for individual merchants and each user can have multiple Partner Wallets. This helps ensure users don’t miss any savings and is especially useful for when users shop at their favourite or go-to places. Any cashback a user has in a Partner Wallet will be automatically deducted in the next transaction made at the respective merchant.

Participating ‘Partner Wallet’ merchants for the PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative include PrestoMall, Potboy, Hungry, Jobbie, DurianBear, HappyFresh, Watsons Online, Diineout, Photobook and Drinkies. This means that on top of the additional coins, users who shop at the participating merchants will be able enjoy 20% cashback up to RM100 for each transaction, up to 3x transaction per user per merchant.

Users have the opportunity to participate in a special PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online ‘Boost Mission’ where users can earn additional 500 Boost coins upon completing the mission with a cumulative spend of RM500 in any local boosted online partners that accept Boost as a payment method.

Users will also enjoy up to 20% exclusive discounts on deals and vouchers from partners such as Hermo, Vouk Hotel Penang, Vivatel KL, Kinta Riverfront Ipoh, Tanjung Inn Cherating, Berrykinn, Perromart, Oxwhite, Vettons, Createtec, Cosyfans, Jaya Shopping Centre partners and Cytron.

The Government through MDEC and e-commerce partners’ PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative will run until 30 September 2020. The last day to utilize any cashback earned through Partner Wallets and Boost Coins is on 30 September 2020, after that, it will expire and automatically removed from the user’s Boost account.

In related news, to assist Malaysians on the road to recovery and continue safeguarding their health and well-being or even ensuring that daily essentials are protected, homegrown e-wallet Boost has introduced a comprehensive suite of affordable and accessible micro-insurance/takaful coverage under ‘Boost Protect’. This new feature available under the ‘Insurance’ tile in the app marks Boost’s foray into expanding the use of its e-wallet beyond just payments and into digital financial services.

Exclusive to Boost users, ‘Boost Protect’ offers a variety of coverages underwritten by Great Eastern General Insurance (Malaysia) Berhad, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad and Great Eastern Takaful Berhad and powered by Aspirasi. These can be easily viewed and purchased on the app. Among the seven types of coverage currently offered under Boost Protect include:

As a value-added benefit, every Boost Protect insurance/takaful package comes with COVID-19 Assist, an additional financial assistance program in the event of being infected with the COVID-19, Boost Protect insurance/takaful holders will receive RM200 daily hospitalisation cash assistance upon diagnosis up to 60 days and RM20,000 financial assistance upon death due to the COVID-19.

Users can conveniently browse to find out more information on the coverage plans and seamlessly purchase their preferred protection plan via the ‘Insurance’ tile in just a few clicks.

Boost is an official partner of three Government PENJANA initiatives – ePENJANA, MSME E-Commerce Campaign and Shop Malaysia Online, and has an aim to contribute towards a collective effort in rebuilding the economy, especially through enabling MSME merchants rebound and recover by helping bring their businesses online.

As an added incentive, Boost will #KasiTambah a RM5 cashback on Great Eastern insurance plans in its Partner Wallet to kickstart users’ protection journey when users claim and spend using the RM50 ePENJANA credit. This is part of the e-wallet’s larger #KasiTambah campaign that is also carried out in the MSME E-Commerce campaign and Shop Malaysia Online initiative.

For more information, users can stay tuned to their site.

TCL Electronics (1070.HK), has reaffirmed at IFA2020 its commitment to AI x IoT strategy with AiPQ EngineTM Gen 2, smart multi-categories and latest FIBA sponsorship. TCL has enjoyed strong growth in the early 2020. Despite unsettled economies, TCL has maintained impressive TV sales figures worldwide. In Q1 2020 alone, 4.27 million TCL brand TVs were sold with TCL QLED TV sales increasing 217.1% YoY.

In US retail market share, TCL brand TV ranked No.2* in Q1 2020. In Australian market, TCL ranked No.1 in March.  TCL has also enjoyed sale volume increase in Italy of 16%, Germany 15%, Czech 100%, Poland 38%, UK 100%, and in France ranked No. 3 in terms of market share.

Driven by machine-learning algorithms matched with vast knowledge in human visual perception, TCL’s AiPQ Engine Gen 2 switches on the full potential of TCL’s big screen TVs with real-time audiovisual optimization according to various entertainment content genres and ambient watching environments. The advanced technology also allows global customization of the audiovisual performance for the unique applications of individual regions.

TCL’s AiPQ Engine Gen 2 optimizes color, contrast and clarity for an unrivaled 4K HDR experience. When combined with TCL’s continuous endeavor to drive QLED and Mini-LED technology, AiPQ Engine Gen 2 enables customers to enjoy upscaled non-4K TV content with TCL’s leading 4K display capacities as well as powerful color and contrast performance.

TCL showcased its 2020 QLED TV lineups, such as IMAX Enhanced and 8K Association certified X915 and EISA Award winner C815. TCL also presented the IF and EISA Award winner TCL TS9030 Dolby Atmos Ray·Danz soundbar and the TS8111 soundbar to further strengthen audio lineup. TCL has also launched air conditioner Ocarina and T-Smart, portable air conditioner models; washing machine X Series, P series, C Series refrigerator.

For mobile devices, TCL launches its latest tablets TCL 10 TABMAX and TABMID, TCL MOVETIME Family Watch MT43A and true wireless headphones TCL MOVEAUDIO S200. TCL also unveils the TCL NXTPAPER technology designed to combine the benefits of both screen and paper.

At IFA 2020, TCL has announced the reinforced collaboration with FIBA and will continue to attribute to international basketball community as FIBA Global Partner.

Tune Protect Group Berhad  recently launched its mobile application (“Tune Protect App”, “App”). Aimed at enhancing customer experience, the App comes with purchase and claims functions for customers on-the-go, providing them with a differentiated and seamless experience to self-manage their insurances digitally, anytime, anywhere. The App launch is timely especially with the lifestyle shift in the New Normal making it easy for the customers to perform and manage their insurance transactions online.

Mobile applications play a key role in consumers ‘I-want-to-know’, ‘I-want-to-go’, ‘I-want-to-do’ and ‘I-want-to-buy’ moments[ii]. With the new App, Tune Protect wishes to deepen its relationship with customers by capturing these daily micro moments while building greater brand loyalty and affinity.

Innovative features on the App include among others ‘Buy Online Insurance’, ‘Policy Management’, ‘Claims Submission & Status’, ‘Secure User Authentication & Profile Management’, ‘Knowledge Base’ and ‘Contact Customer Support’.

What`s more through the App, customers can easily get access to Tune Protect’s lifestyle and on-demand online products such as Travel Easy, Motor Easy, PA Easy (Personal accident), Dental Easy, Ride Easy (Passenger protection), EasyCare PA (Disabled protection), Sports+ (Extreme Sports protection) and Guard Easy (Snatch Theft protection). The policy management feature further offers customers fast access to all existing and past policies for better self-management and transparency. To this end, the App allows customers to take charge and be in control of their insurance policies with just a few clicks on their mobile devices.

Submission of claims is made simpler and quicker in just a few easy steps. The claims status is also updated and made visible to customers as it is trackable via the App.

Aside from protection, customers can also enjoy the convenience of capturing their odometer reading through the App if they opt in for the Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) benefit when purchasing Tune Protect’s Motor Easy (motor insurance). This benefit rewards customers with up to 20% refund on insurance premium for driving less.

Tune Protect Mobile App is available now for download via Apple App Store for iOS devices and Google Play Store for Android devices. For more information on the App, please visit Tune Protect’s website.

HP Inc. Malaysia has launched HP for Business, a platform dedicated to small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) in support of the future of the nation. To support local SMBs digitization needs as they move from survival to revival, HP for Business is offering monthly technology installment plans from just RM85.50 over 36-months this September* . The bundle from HP will help Malaysian SMBs elevate their security, productivity, and mobility with HP’s range of business PCs. It also includes a 12-month free integrated cloud-based software service from Deskera to help SMBs manage business operations including invoicing, accounting,  financial reporting, sales and lead generation and tracking, as well as employee payroll, leave and expenses.

SMBs are a key driver of economic growth and employment in Malaysia, making up 98.5% of business establishments in Malaysia , providing jobs to 70% of the Malaysian workforce . According to the HP Asia Pacific (APAC) SMB Outlook Report, 46% of SMBs surveyed are expecting less growth post-COVID. Despite this, over 50% of SMBs expecting not just to survive but thrive, post pandemic , and are looking for critical support and guidance to move past survival to revive their businesses longevity through digital adoption and a transformation of existing business models.

HP Malaysia continues to support SMBs’ digital transformation through HP for Business, a platform providing resources, capabilities and knowledge, as well as technology innovation with flexible financing. In addition, HP for Business also offers free business webinars where local SMBs and industry experts offer advice on topics including business resilience, cost efficiency, digital economy, and security.

In this age of digital transformation, nearly 60% of SMBs across APAC view digital adoption as an essential skill to not just survive but thrive in post-pandemic. In Malaysia, over 65% of SMBs  echo this statement to enhance business productivity, efficiency, security, and mobility to support long run finance flexibility and business growth.

Today’s SMB workforce demands powerful, secure, and collaborative technology that can enhance their business productivity and upskill their business capabilities. They also want an ecosystem of products and services coupled with the knowledge and expertise that can address their wider business needs beyond technology. At HP, we remain committed to support Malaysia’s digital transformation through initiatives such as HP for Business that offers guidance, resources and capabilities including the HP for Business Installment Plan to offer SMBs financial flexibility as they go digital.

HP Technology Installment Plans is powered by HP’s range of business laptops and desktops including the HP ProBook 440 G7, HP ProBook 445R G6 and HP ProDesk 400 G6.

NVIDIA held an online event yesterday to announce its new GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards based on the Ampere architecture. Our 3DMark benchmark includes a range of tests to help you measure and compare the performance of these new GPUs with existing models.

Run the 3DMark Port Royal benchmark to test the real-time ray tracing performance of the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series cards and compare them with existing GeForce RTX 20 series cards and other RTX models. Run 3DMark Time Spy Extreme to test and compare the DirectX 12 performance of the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs against other graphics cards. Use 3DMark Stress Tests to check the stability and cooling performance of the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 GPUs over longer durations of heavy load. Run the 3DMark NVIDIA DLSS feature test to compare performance and image quality with and without DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) processing on NVIDIA graphics cards.

When the new GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs go on sale in a couple of weeks' time, we’ll be updating the 3DMark NVIDIA DLSS feature test to use the new features in the latest version of DLSS including Ultra Performance mode for accelerating performance at 8K.

Carousell, recently announced its partnership with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to jointly rolled-out the Government’s Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) e-commerce initiative called the PENJANA Micro and SMEs (MSMEs) E-commerce Campaign. The collaboration is part of its continuous effort to support Malaysian micro-sellers and small-medium enterprises (SMEs). As more businesses turn to online selling in the new normal, Carousell is well-positioned to offer local businesses greater access to an established, local community of millions of active users through its free, safe and easy-to-use platform.

Carousell’s initial incentives included free Advertising Credits worth RM100 for 2,000 micro-sellers and SMEs, and attractive seller monetary incentives from various campaigns. Under the PENJANA eCommerce Initiative, Buyer Discount Vouchers are subsidised by Carousell and PENJANA for online transactions via Carousell Protection. Through this collaboration, MSMEs can benefit from advertising credits, seller incentives, buyer discount vouchers and various marketing assets. Applications can be submitted at https://carousell.app.link/CarousellPenjana.

Homegrown e-wallet Boost recorded an 85% increase in user spending at its merchants in the Micro and SME (MSME) business segments in July 2020 compared to April during the MCO. The Boost Payment Link, a contactless payment solution developed for MSME merchants introduced at the start of the MCO has also seen an increase in transactions by 21 times (21X) to-date. These trends place Boost in a strong position to bring merchants and users together on one platform by leveraging an ecosystem that fulfils their business and lifestyle needs in a sustainable manner.

In demonstrating the spirit of Malaysia, the rakyat has taken it upon themselves to support each other, showing strength through unity and reinforcing the importance of rebuilding the economy together. From shopping at online Ramadan bazaars to mom and pop shops, the country continues to benefit from the rakyat producing and spending within our borders as much of the world remains in a state of lockdown.

This is apparent in Boost’s total monthly Gross Transaction Value (GTV) showing a strong 70% increase after the MCO period. Boost currently has 8.5 million users. During this time, many homegrown businesses, including MSMEs in the F&B, services and retail sector, took the opportunity to digitally transform their businesses for long term resilience. The support for MSMEs continues to grow as they journey towards digitisation by adopting e-wallets like Boost, as a safe, convenient and seamless payment method.

If the last few months of the movement control period has shown us anything, it is the fact that we are able to overcome any obstacle when we come together in solidarity as a nation. In the same spirit and in conjunction with Merdeka, Grab launched the ‘Grab ❤ Local Heroes’ initiative, offering RM2.5 million in advertising space to help up to 500 small and independent businesses increase their visibility on the Grab platform to boost their business. With the additional exposure, these businesses have seen an increase in sales of up to 43% since the launch of the initiative.

The different merchants cut across GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabPay and showcase Malaysia’s diverse and thriving local business scene, ranging from hawkers and neighbourhood cafes to fishmongers, spice sellers and much more. As part of the initiative, Grab also sponsored the cost incurred to produce the personalised ads.

In addition, Grab has introduced several other efforts to support small and independent businesses on the platform this Merdeka celebration:

Grab is featuring 14 personal stories from among the 500 merchants to showcase the wide range of businesses on the platform while shedding light on what inspired them to keep their business going, the impact the pandemic has had on them as well as what makes them proud to serve Malaysians.

Get to know some of these inspiring local heroes, from John Woo who resigned from his job in IT to help preserve his family’s heritage of authentic Nyonya kuihs, to Roseline Ong whose 30 year old spice shop has truly stood the test of time to showcase Malaysia’s diverse flavours and thrift store owners, Zamir and Kira, who are inspired by the creativity of the community around them.

Grab is rallying users to share on social media their own story about their favourite local business. Apart from spreading the love for local to help them further, the top 20 most creative stories will receive RM120 worth of Grab vouchers. See more info about the contest, HERE.

Grab is offering an exclusive promotion to encourage Malaysians to support humble home sellers. Users in Klang Valley may use the promo code SAPOT31 to enjoy 31% off GrabExpress deliveries from a curated list of sellers, from home-cooked meals to desserts, books and more. Malaysians outside of Klang Valley can also enjoy 31% off on their deliveries by using the promo code DELIVER31.

In conjunction with Merdeka, Grab is introducing a series of special edition gift cards so you can share your love for local businesses with friends and family. These can be used for Grab rides, GrabFood, GrabMart or GrabExpress and come in a variety of designs too!

In related news, Grab and Klook, recently announced a partnership that will allow Grab users to discover and book a world of experiences via the newly launched “Attractions” tile on the Grab app, powered by Klook.

As movement restrictions ease, Grab and Klook aim to help Southeast Asians explore a new normal of travel, beginning with local exploration and domestic travel in their countries. With Klook’s extensive catalogue offering over 100,000 attractions, tours, F&B outlets, local activities, and offers from exclusive partners such as Disneyland and Legoland, the new “Attractions” tile will help explorers discover new experiences right in their home countries - some of which they may not even be aware of.

Grab also announced their latest round of expansion to rural cities and townships in the Southern and Northern regions including Mersing, Segamat, Cameron Highlands, Pantai Remis and Baling.

As part of Grab’s  ongoing journey to not only cater to daily needs of our Malaysians but also to help create further opportunities for gig workers and businesses to grow, and strike a balance to sustain the industry, GrabCar will be available in Mersing and Segamat ,Cameron Highlands, Pantai Remis and Baling from end September 2020 onwards followed by GrabFood and GrabMart services planned to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

In addition, Grab has also extended their “Pakej Pikul Bersama” initiative to include new drivers on the platform by providing a one-off reimbursement up to RM 120 for their PSV licenses and RM 70 for initial PUSPAKOM vehicle inspections as well as more benefits in the effort to protect gig economy workers and rural communities.

In support of the Government’s Short-Term National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA), MYGROSER today extends its e-commerce offerings to PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative and PENJANA Micro & SMEs E-commerce Campaign by partnering with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to help Malaysian businesses and consumers gain greater convenience, freshness and everyday value in their grocery and supermarket purchases.

MYGROSER - is offering over RM1,000,000 in discounts and vouchers to consumers; and support, listing, delivery and marketing support for Malaysian micro and small and medium sized businesses (MSME) that want to sell their products online. The campaigns will run until 30 September 2020.

Throughout the PENJANA Micro & SMEs (MSMEs) E-Commerce campaign period, local SMEs will have access to savings of up to RM10,000 per company in logistics, marketing, and administration fees when they get listed on MyGroser.

Consumers in turn stand to enjoy up to RM500 per month in discounts on their grocery and everyday essential purchases through the PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative by using the available discounts. These can be redeemed through the VOUCHER tab on the MYGROSER mobile application or website. MYGROSER (www.mygroser.com) is available online, and on the iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store) platforms.

The matching fund is part of an on-going commitment from MYGROSER to help consumers save more by buying online under the PENJANA Shop Malaysia Online initiative; and for businesses to go online, and to ensure that consumers enjoy affordable, fresh and convenient grocery delivery of the highest quality under the PENJANA Micro & SMEs (MSME) E-Commerce Campaign. Both are the Government’s on-going PENJANA e-commerce initiatives implemented through MDEC to spur  economic recovery by stimulating online consumption through high impact e-commerce promotions executed via a public-private partnership model.

Customers can choose from a wide array of local and international products - ranging from handmade Nyonya kuih, Halal sourced poultry and products, fresh vegetables direct from Cameron Highlands, and even their favourite grocery and supermarket products. All MyGroser orders also come with a ‘Freshness Guarantee’ - another unique point about the service. Any unsatisfactory fresh produce will be immediately replaced and/or refunded with no hassle, setting MyGroser apart from traditional market players and other online brands.

Additionally, as a service operating its own climate controlled cloud stores, MyGroser’s professionally trained food handlers maintain high levels of hygiene and cleanliness, prioritising customer safety in the packing and delivery of groceries. In-light of recent circumstances, this emphasis on health and hygiene is further reinforced by the implementation of temperature checkpoints for staff and visitors, as well as the frequent sanitisation of storage areas, vehicles and packaging.

To find out more about MYGROSER’s support of the Government’s PENJANA initiative please visit their site.

Thanks for reading TechNavers and TechNave NewsByters. As always, stay tuned to TechNave.com and if you think your brand or PR should be in our latest issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020, let us know.


TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #25 - Samsung, Huawei, realme 9.9, OPPO 9.9, Xiaomi 9.9, OnePlus Malaysia 9.9, Shopee 9.9 and Special: IFA Interview with realme

Welcome back TechNavers and NewsByters, in this issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020 #25, Samsung revealed their Members' All-time Favourite Galaxy Smartphone Features, while Huawei covered various topics in their recent Huawei Global Conferences : Huawei 5G Microwave Asia-Pacific Conference, 5G World 2020 Summit and 12th Annual Huawei User Group Meeting.

In the meantime, realme achieved more titles on Shopee and Lazada for 9.9 while OPPO sold 4,000 units in just 2 hours during the Lazada and Shopee 9.9 Mega Sale. Xiaomi is the No.1 best-selling smartphone brand in Malaysia during the Lazada and Shopee 9.9 campaigns while OnePlus Malaysia was also Superb on Super Shopping Day.

Shopee also revealed how they powered the new normal with 9.9 Super Shopping Day while for this issue’s Special, we have an Interview with realme about their plans and strategies for the future which was recently revealed at IFA 2020.

In the recent Huawei 5G Microwave Asia-Pacific Conference, 5G World 2020 Summit and 12th Annual Huawei User Group Meeting, Huawei introduced the audience to innovative solutions from 5G networks to cloud solutions. Huawei Executive Director and President of the Carrier Business Group, Ryan Ding also shared his keynote speech entitled "Maximize Network Value, Enable Commercial Success" for Huawei and the carriers goals in the future.

In the Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day Best-selling Brands list realme became the No. 1 Electronics Brand, No. 1 Audio Brand and No. 1 Wearables Brand on Shopee.

realme is committed to bringing the most advanced technology within corresponding price bands to its consumers. In addition to creating and implementing a future-orientated 5G expansion strategy; it is one of the first brands to bring 5G devices to the mass market price bands. It also introduced innovations such as “125W UltraDart Charge” fast charging technology and is one of the first brands to launch smartphones with the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765G chipsets.

For the Lazada 9.9 Big Brands Sale the realme 6 4+128GB variant was recorded as the No.1 90Hz Smartphone Model (in terms of unit sold and revenue) while AIoT model, realme Buds Air as No. 1 Best Selling TWS ( for price range RM199-RM299). Another sold-out record-breaker in just 5 minutes on that day was the realme 6 4+128Gb.

OPPO has made its way to the top as the preferred brand in Southeast Asia for the 2nd quarter of 2020. Seeing consistent growth throughout the quarter, OPPO has received continuous support from its users. OPPO celebrated together with Lazada and Shopee on 9.9 Crazy Brand Mega Offer which was a special one-day sale and reported over 4,000 units of products were sold in just 2hours. OPPO also achieved the top 3 in GMV and units sold on both Shopee & Lazada.

During this time, OPPO sold 1 smartphone every 2 seconds and among the popular units were from the A series, A91, A31 (6+128) & A31 (4+64). OPPO also received its top 2 bestselling accessories; the OPPO Enco W11 and OPPO Enco W31. Compared to 2019, OPPO sees a 5 times increase in sales for the same sale event. Upon achieving great success, OPPO will continue to deliver the best technology and user-friendly devices as their belief in putting the consumer first is a priority.

Xiaomi has announced that they are the number one best-selling smartphone brand, by total units sold, in Malaysia during the recently concluded 9.9 LazMall Big Brands Sale and 9.9 Shopee Super Shopping Day.

At the same time, in Southeast Asia, Xiaomi is also the best-selling brand on Lazada and Shopee under the mobile and tablets category. In Malaysia, Xiaomi tops the list as the best-selling brand in the mobile and tablets category on both Lazada and Shopee stores. Whereas in Singapore, Xiaomi is the best-selling brand in the mobile and tablets category on Shopee. POCO X3 NFC, launched exclusively with Shopee, was also announced "The Best Selling Smartphone" in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Xiaomi partnered exclusively with Shopee's cross-border platform to launch the first global release of POCO X3 NFC in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It quickly became the best-selling smartphone with more than 14,000 units of POCO X3 NFC sold in these markets  within 24 hours. In Malaysia, 1,000 units of  POCO X3 NFC were sold in just 2 minutes.

For more information, please visit their blog.

OnePlus Malaysia achieved another good news recently on Shopee’s Super Shopping Day sales on Wednesday, 9th September 2020. It was recognised by Shopee that OnePlus Malaysia has successfully achieved the superb title of Top 5 Mobile Phone Brand during the Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day.

OnePlus Nord is available in two colours, Blue Marble and Gray Onyx. It is available in two variants, 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB. The Nord’s camera is fit for a flagship that is equipped with 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 sensor and its battery supports Warp Charge 30T, that can refill its 4100 mAh battery from empty to 70% in just half an hour.

Fans are able to visit the OnePlus Official Store on Shopee to get the products such as OnePlus Nord, OnePlus Buds as well as the OnePlus Nord Sandstone Bumper Case and etc. For more updates and details on products’ availability, stay tuned to their site.

Shopee, recently concluded its most successful 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Powered by Shopee’s robust ecosystem, 9.9 Super Shopping Day delivered super entertainment and shopping deals for users and supercharged economic recovery for sellers and brand partners, with over 12 million items sold in the first hour on 9 September.

9.9 Super Shopping Day acted as a springboard for economic recovery as sellers and brand partners in the region maximised their visibility and sales on Shopee. Participating brands and sellers enjoyed strong sales growth, with 700,000 items sold in a single minute at the peak of 9 September.

Shopee’s strong ecosystem ensured buying and selling remained seamless even as shopping activity peaked during 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Sellers and brand partners leveraged Shopee’s integrated logistics network to fulfil their orders, while users enjoyed seamless transactions with a wide array of payment options on Shopee, including its mobile wallet ShopeePay.

Shopee also offered a super collection of entertainment throughout 9.9 Super Shopping Day. Users enjoyed all-day fun and earned special rewards with Shopee’s supersized range of in-app games, with 250 million water requests on the crowd favourite game, Shopee Farm.

Users actively tuned in to Shopee Live to connect with celebrities, sellers, and brands during the 9.9 Super Shopping Day period. The number of hours spent watching Shopee Live streams increased by 3 times compared to an average day, highlighted by countdown and marathon streams on 9 September that celebrated 9.9 Super Shopping Day with users across the region. Shopee Live also gave users new ways to discover and shop the latest trends, with 2.5 times more items purchased during live streams in this period compared to an average day.

9.9 Super Shopping Day was also a major success in Malaysia. Home & Living was one of the most popular product categories on 9 September as Malaysians turned to Shopee to spruce up their household.

Malaysians from all walks of life made the most of 9.9 Super Shopping Day to meet their shopping needs, in line with the increasing importance of online shopping in the new normal. In particular, men were actively shopping for smartphones while laundry detergents were a hot favourite among women.

Various baby-related products including diapers, wet wipes and children face masks were a hit among users aged 18 to 34. As for users aged 35 to 50, they mostly shopped for household products such as home storage solutions like shelves, racks, and organiser boxes as well as cleaning supplies like detergents, dishwashing liquid and sponges. Meanwhile, users of all ages regardless of gender and race were seen to be purchasing MILO, proving to be Malaysian’s all-time favourite chocolate malt drink.

Mobile and electronic brands, retailers and sellers on Shopee Malaysia all recorded strong performance on 9 September. A testament to the robust demand, the newly-launched POCO X3 NFC (6GB + 128GB) saw a sell-out of 1,000 units within the first 2 minutes of the sale, at 12.02am.

In this special we managed to get an interview with realme, revealing their plans for the future. Check it out below:

In addition to India, we are actively mobilizing resources in our 61 global markets, and we will launch more AIoT products successively. We will also release TV products in SEA and other regions (projected to be at the end of this year). Please stay tuned.

Such events are beyond our control. I hope that the conflict will end soon and that everyone will adopt a rational view of the issues. We will also keep a close eye on the developments.

Pete Lau will not be involved in the planning of any realme business or products with his new role at OPLUS. realme is an independently owned and operated brand and we have complete independence over product development and planning.

realme, OPPO and OnePlus share a common investment, which is mainly related to certain supply resources.

- Based on the “1+4+N” product strategy, we will expand realme products to three major application scenarios: personal, home and travel with smartphones as the core.

- The AIoT focus is represented by the four major groups of lifestyle devices, namely smart TVs, smart watches, smart speakers and smart earphones. We will build more smart products on these four categories to enrich the entire AIoT ecosystem and provide consumers with more choices for a tech trendsetter's lifestyle.

- At its IFA event realme introduced two lifestyle devices i.e. realme Smart Cam 360° and realme Smart Bulb, and teased several upcoming products, including realme Smart TV 55″ model, realme Buds Air Pro ANC TWS earphones, and realme Watch S Pro. Our products have been extended to home use scenarios, with a mature AIoT ecosystem already taking shape. In the future, realme will continue to explore more product offerings.

- The plan is to launch over 50 AIoT products in the second half of 2020 and more than 100 in 2021. We hope to build a mature AIoT ecosystem by the end of the year, with at least 8 million devices connected to realme Link, the brand's AIoT software platform.

- The priority of realme's smartphone offerings is to apply leap-forward technologies, such as 5G technology, to products at lower price ranges.

- realme has already led the industry by launching the world's first smartphone with a 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor, 125W UltraDart, and original Starry Mode for night photography. realme was also the first smartphone manufacturer to launch handsets powered by the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765G SoCs.

- We have adopted an "All in 5G" strategy for realme smartphone products, which means that we will build 5G products across the price segments and continue to apply the cutting-edge technologies to less expensive products so that more users can enjoy a "leap-forward" experience.

- We will also integrate more operator resources and broaden our channels to bring more 5G products to the global market.

- Tablets, laptops and other products are all within our scope of consideration to cover a wider range of application scenarios. Creating AIoT-based smart and trendsetters' lifestyles for global youth is a vision that realme upholds unceasingly. Therefore, we will gradually broaden our product range, stay tuned to consumer preferences and market trends, and promptly deliver new products that users expect.

- Due to technical constraints, the cost of 5G smartphone products today is relatively high across the board. Therefore, their prices are unlikely to drop below $100 in a short period of time, say a year.

- Nonetheless, $100 is the threshold we're trying to get down to. As a 5G popularizer, we seek to bring 5G technology to lower-priced smartphones, so that more users can enjoy a "leap-forward" experience. Currently, we have made realme 5G smartphone products available between $150 and $200. We will be releasing new handsets in India in September at a price that may further surprise you.

This is currently part of our plan, and we're also continuing to ramp up our efforts into more user-aware features, such as cameras, which we believe will soon be available to consumers in the future.

How to achieve the sales target set at the beginning of the year

Brand Strategy: realme was founded because we have observed the fact that young people need a smartphone that has both strong performance and trendsetting design. Being exposed in the world of information, young people, who will gradually become the main consumers, are inclined to experience new and personalized products. Having discovered such a large market, we launched realme for the young people, like students and whitecollar workers, to provide them more personalized products and become their first choice.

Product Strategy: leap-forward performance and trendsetting design.  By applying leapforward technology on the smartphones and AIoT applications, realme brings the most cutting-edge technology and trendsetting design to the consumers at a reasonable price.  realme has just launched the 125W UltraDart technology and cracked on a 5G ultradart age. This is the most efficient charging techonology with the record-breaking charging speed.

At present, realme has already applied 65W SuperDart charging technology on realme X50 Pro and realme X50 Pro Player Edition. This is one of the technologies with the highest charging power and the fastest charging speed of the same battery capacity among the mass-produced commercial models.

Meanwhile, realme has invited the top designers in the world to create products with trendsetting design and leap-forward performance.

Marketing Strategy: In terms of marketing model, realme adopts a light-asset, heavy ecommerce, and short-channel model, which can cut down the costs of products for consumers:

Thanks for reading TechNavers and TechNave NewsByters. As always, stay tuned to TechNave.com and if you think your brand or PR should be in our latest issue of TechNave NewsBytes 2020, let us know.