Apple overtakes Android phones in the US, and could gain in other markets too; Amazon said to lag Flipkart in India

For the first time, there are more iPhones in use in the US than Android-based smartphones. Apple has overtaken Android devices to account for more than half of smartphones used in the US. And Amazon is lagging rival Flipkart in India on several important metrics, according to investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein. Notes: For the first time, there are more iPhones in use in the US than Android-based smartphones. Apple has overtaken Android devices to account for more than half of smartphones used in the US, Financial Times reported on September 2, citing data on the installed user base of iPhones from market researcher Counterpoint. The increased market share gives Apple an edge over Google as it pushes into sectors including finance and healthcare, according to the Times. “Over the past four years the flow has consistently been Android to iOS,” Jeff Fieldhack, Counterpoint’s research director, told Financial Times. “This is a big milestone that we could see replicated in other affluent countries across the globe,” Fieldhack added. Amazon is lagging rival Flipkart in India on several important metrics and struggling to make inroads in smaller Indian cities and towns, according to a report by investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein, TechCrunch reported on September 2. Amazon’s 2021 gross merchandise value in the country, where it has invested over $6.5 billion, stood between $18 billion and $20 billion, compared with Flipkart’s $23 billion, the analysts said in a report on August 30 that was obtained by TechCrunch. India’s ecommerce market is expected to double in size to more than $130 billion by 2025. Amazon has more than 85 percent of its customers from Tier 2/3 cities/towns, shopping India’s largest selection across electronics, grocery, fashion and beauty, everyday essentials, and more, the e-commerce giant told TechCrunch in a statement. A large number of small businesses and local stores rely on it to go online, Amazon said. Around 50 percent of Amazon’s one million sellers come from Tier 2/3 cities/towns, and more than 100,000 exporters sell to its customers worldwide. And the company is committed to digitising 10 million MSMEs, generating 2 million jobs and enabling $20 billion in cumulative exports by 2025, Amazon said, according to TechCrunch. After calling off its Artemis I launch attempt on September 3 when engineers could not overcome a hydrogen leak, the US space agency NASA has decided to not try again, for now, it said in a blog post. This was the second time NASA scrubbed the launch. The leak was detected in an interface between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line and the Space Launch System rocket, developed by Boeing. Mission managers met and decided they will forego additional launch attempts in early September. Artemis is Nasa’s attempt to return humans to Moon and then establish a sustainable presence there to prepare for missions to Mars. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds