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Europe's Fairphone enters U.S. market tapping right-to-repair demand: By Nathan Vifflin (Reuters) Dutch ethical‑electronics maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market with its repairable headphones, preparing the ground for a phone launch, chief executive Raymond van #Fairphone #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #EthicalElectronics #RepairableDevices

Europe's Fairphone enters U.S. market tapping right-to-repair demand: By Nathan Vifflin (Reuters) Dutch ethical‑electronics maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market with its repairable headphones, preparing the ground for a phone launch, chief executive Raymond van #Fairphone #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #EthicalElectronics #RepairableDevices

Europe's Fairphone enters U.S. market tapping right-to-repair demand: By Nathan Vifflin (Reuters) Dutch ethical‑electronics maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market with its repairable headphones, preparing the ground for a phone launch, chief executive Raymond van #Fairphone #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #EthicalElectronics #RepairableDevices

Europe's Fairphone enters U.S. market tapping right-to-repair demand: By Nathan Vifflin (Reuters) Dutch ethical‑electronics maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market with its repairable headphones, preparing the ground for a phone launch, chief executive Raymond van #Fairphone #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #EthicalElectronics #RepairableDevices

Europe's Fairphone enters U.S. market tapping right-to-repair demand: By Nathan Vifflin (Reuters) Dutch ethical‑electronics maker Fairphone is entering the U.S. market with its repairable headphones, preparing the ground for a phone launch, chief executive Raymond van #Fairphone #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #EthicalElectronics #RepairableDevices

Fairphone, known for its sustainability and modular design, is entering the US market to capitalize on growing consumer demand for repairable and eco-friendly devices. The company’s approach emphasizes longevity, ethical sourcing, and the right-to-repair movement, positioning itself as an alternative to mainstream brands that often rely on closed ecosystems and frequent upgrades. This expansion reflects a broader trend toward sustainable tech and consumer empowerment in electronics. #Fairphone #Smartphones #RightToRepair #SustainableTech #CircularEconomy #EthicalElectronics #Tech #Innovation #EcoFriendly #ConsumerEmpowerment #USMarketEntry #GreenTechnology #ConsumerElectronics #MobileTechnology #MobileTechnologyNews https://lnkd.in/dbWGcj9H

Fairphone is incredibly proud to announce a defining moment for the company: We’re officially expanding into the United States 🇺🇸 For over a decade, we’ve been showing that it’s possible to build a company that values people and the planet, and makes great, modular consumer electronics. This move builds on a strong financial foundation and momentum that Fairphone has been experiencing: 📈 Record 2025 Performance: We've just closed our strongest quarter to date. Q3 2025 revenue grew by a massive 61% compared to Q3 2024, with growth across all our product lines, including a 95% jump in accessories and 41% in spare parts. The Netherlands, our home base, has grown the most with a whopping 96%, followed by France with 87%, the UK with 48%, and Germany with 42%. 📈 A Resilient 2024: This record growth is built on a solid foundation. In 2024, we successfully returned the company to profitability, achieving a positive EBITDA of €1.7 million and a 36% increase in gross profit. This marks a new phase of financial resilience for Fairphone. 🇺🇸 Our First Step into the US We are entering the US market at a time when consumers are demanding change. With 84% of Americans supporting the Right to Repair and new legislation advancing quickly, the demand for sustainable, long-lasting technology has never been higher. 🎧 We will begin our US journey by launching our award-winning, modular Fairbuds XL over-ear headphones,e made with responsibly sourced materials, designed for easy self-repair, and offer a premium sound experience. Launching a phone in the US is a complex and ongoing process, and these headphones are our "first step" and lower entry-barrier for new users to join our mission. I’m extremely proud of our team for turning our vision into a sustainable, scalable, and profitable reality. We're ready to show the US market that a new kind of electronics industry is possible. More to come soon. Check out the full story on Reuters: https://lnkd.in/e_WXNSzR

https://lnkd.in/eH5KxNgC Excellent, detailed research on Xiaomi reinvention comeback. 1. Lei Jun had mistaken a brilliant strategy for a niche segment to be a universal law in business. The market had moved, rendering their founding position of online-only, low-margin — a fatal constraint  2. Xiaomi assembled an ecosystem of over 210 partner companies (Huami, Ninebot, etc.), where they provided capital, brand, and supply chain muscle. This “planting a garden” strategy ensured customers had multiple, low-friction reasons to return beyond the phone 3. The split of Redmi (value/online) from Mi (premium/retail) allowed Xiaomi to pursue higher selling price and shed the budget-brand perception, while still capturing wallet share 4. The US blacklisting of Huawei in May 2019 created a massive market opportunity globally, particularly in Europe. Xiaomi, having built its capacity ( global supply chain, R&D), was positioned to quickly land and expand in Europe capturing market share and reaching #1 by mid-2021 5. The SU7 car is not a separate product; it is a cool entry point into the unified HyperOS ecosystem. This move locks customers into an ecosystem (similar to Apple) where leaving their phone, smart home, and car means a significant "loss" of convenience. A "rolling Xiaomi device" might be a vulnerability if HyperOS or overall UX lags behind best-in-class, dedicated systems. It is a constant challenge maintaining excellence across Smartphone, AIoT, and EV simultaneously 5. Xiaomi’s reinvention speed was not primarily down to its superior managerial foresight but was only possible because of pre-existing, hyper-efficient supply chain built by Apple and Tesla. It is a high-level case study of success in location-dependent competitive advantage. The ability to pivot across hardware categories (rice cookers to cars) were enabled by this unique, dense, and Apple-trained manufacturing ecosystem. This advantage is non-transferable to Western-market competitors. Their global expansion plans will face escalating risks tied to China's geopolitical standing Consequence of all of this - By Q2 2025, 60.8% of revenue came from non-smartphone businesses, proving the “Triathlon” model was working : low-margin hardware (including cars) driving high-margin internet services.

On 13 Nov 2025, the Tribunal allowed Oppo’s appeal by setting aside demands on microphones and receivers imported for use in PCBA manufacturing. Oppo India had claimed exemption under Notification 57/2017-Cus., while the department argued that amendments in Feb and Apr 2018 made these parts duty-liable. CESTAT clarified that the amendments did not alter Serial No. 6 of the notification applicable to PCBA parts—so the exemption continued from 02.02.2018 to 06.07.2019. It further held that:Serial No. 18 (Feb 2018) applied only to standalone mobile parts, not PCBA components.The 2019 amendment excluding microphones and receivers was prospective, supported by Section 25(4). The department relied on web sources without expert evidence, whereas Oppo’s Chartered Engineer certificate was decisive.Consistent with earlier rulings (like Vivo Mobile). Result: Demand, interest, penalty, and confiscation—all set aside. Exemption restored for the disputed period. A strong reminder that classification disputes must rest on solid technical evidence and legislative clarity, not assumptions. #CESTAT #Customs #IndirectTax #TaxLitigation #MakeInIndia #TradeCompliance #IndiaTax #CACommunity #TaxLaw

Posted From Mid Atlantic Consulting Blog - U.S. ITC scrutinizes redesigned Apple Watch blood oxygen feature In August 2025, Apple reintroduced a redesigned version of the Blood Oxygen monitoring feature on the Apple Watch in the U.S., shifting data processing from the device to users’ iPhones to circumvent an ongoing patent dispute with health tech firm Masimo. This move came 18 months after Apple began selling certain Apple Watch models without the feature, following a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that found the original implementation infringed Masimo’s pulse oximetry patents. Th .... (Click link to read entire article) https://lnkd.in/ekkC3nv2