TRAI's data must wake up cellcos, rise of compact phones and Apple's beta season

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

There's winter, spring, summer, autumn, winter and sometime around late summer, there's the Apple beta software season for those of us who care. The more enthusiastic and the risk takers would have probably already downloaded the public betas for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. There is an iteration of the Liquid Glass interface at this point in time, which I feel, is yet to undergo many tweaks before the final release at some point in September (that'll coincide with the next iPhone release). It may be too soon for you to make any opinion on it, for now. My suggestion here is, the more you'll interface with it, the more you'll appreciate the nuanced visual take. As always, any conversation about test versions of any software, come with the mandatory caveat — avoid installing this on your primary device, because there can be inconsistencies and performance issues, that may or may not hamper primary usage. For iOS 26, I'm quite excited about possible changes for the CarPlay interface. On iPadOS 26, that has to be the multi-tasking updates which are expected to bring usability closer than ever to a Mac. And speaking of which, macOS 26 will be exciting for improved Continuity, such as replicating an iPhone's Live Activities to your Mac. Let's see how this goes, as more public betas arrive. India's mobile subscriber numbers grew by just 2 million in June 2025, and there's a negative trajectory in rural areas.(TRAI)
Last week on Wired Wisdom: Grok in trouble, Excitel unbundles the unnecessary, and reviewing OnePlus Buds 4
COMPACT FOOTPRINT
COMPACT FOOTPRINT
This week, I wrote about a trend that has become clear(er) as this summer passed. Not everyone wants a big screen phone, and phone makers are increasingly beginning to realise it. A return to the past (yes, compact phones were a thing a few years ago, before 'phablets' became mainstream) is effectively unfolding, albeit in the more expensive premium smartphone space at this time. The Xiaomi 14 remained the only one of its kind in the market for a while, before the OnePlus 13s and the Vivo X200 FE joined in to make it a rather interesting troika for Android preferring buyers to choose from. Each has its own advantages, as is often the case, in such shortlists. Alongside, is the Apple iPhone 16e.
The analysts I spoke with are largely confident that compact flagship phones are steadily gaining popularity, but the question still is, how far will that stretch in terms of a share of total sales. Something I've often wondered about when using compact phones, can actually be structured into a two-part question — why did compact screen sizes lose traction in the first place, and would you be comfortable using anything less than a 6.5-inch display size as you grow older (or should I say wiser)? There are some standout elements already clear as this space is developing…
The 6.1-inch to 6.3-inch screen size range is being considered 'compact'. There is no top-spec Android phone sub 6-inch, at this time.
Apple may well be credited with making this category cool again, with the iPhone 16e; their reason for this phone wasn't the form factor alone, but a more affordable price point in the same generation, for the sake of Apple Intelligence.
Xiaomi 15 retains the Leica tuning for the camera, while Vivo holds the Zeiss optimisations close to the X200 FE; it is nevertheless perplexing why OnePlus forgo the possible Hasselblad advantage for the 13s camera.
A question for you to ponder — would you be comfortable with a 6.3-inch screen or thereabouts, or is a 6.7-inch or 6.9-inch screen that is now par for the course in terms of comfort and usability?
CARE AND CONCERN
My Tech Tonic column this week was about a conversation that has become very commonplace in the world we live in — AI will take everyone's job. It is a noisy assertion that's top-down in its percolation. The AI bosses started it, and the social media creatures enthusiastically amplified it without an iota of critical analysis. Have you encountered AI hallucinating to even the simplest of prodding, around the most uncomplicated of requests? Nevertheless, back to the jobs in question. What prompted me to write about something that's been on my mind for a while now, were the comments of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Why is it that tech CEOs get a bit agitated and flustered when someone queries about the specifics of the alternate jobs they claim will rise like a bumper crop in a field of harvest?
I wrote drawing on my formal and informal conversations with many a tech executive in the past 12 months, and while most of them want us to believe (perhaps they do too, difficult to assess) that alternative job profiles will open up for the jobs that AI takes over. But every time I heard that, I pressed them with a simple question — what do you estimate these new profiles will be? Say, a customer care executive loses their job because a company thinks an AI bot's haphazard and confused answers are okay as a reflection on their brand, what alternate job profile awaits that human being? Zero clue. That's the sad reality. Deeper existential consequences, don't exactly fit well in a pitch to sell AI to every company that exists on earth. Who cares about the humans? I'd love for you to read my take on why we are potentially hurtling toward a humanitarian catastrophe, why the levels of hallucination are astounding, and hear your opinions on this.
CONNECT
India's telecom numbers for the month of June are out now, and I'll summarise the key takeaways for you, before we look at the bigger, stagnant picture.
Wireless growth remains modest: Mobile subscribers grew by just 2 million (0.17% monthly growth compared to May's 1,161 million) to 1,163 million, with urban areas gaining 2.72 million subscribers while rural areas lost 0.72 million, indicating continued urban usage trends.
Mobile subscribers grew by just 2 million (0.17% monthly growth compared to May's 1,161 million) to 1,163 million, with urban areas gaining 2.72 million subscribers while rural areas lost 0.72 million, indicating continued urban usage trends. 5G FWA shows strong momentum: 5G Fixed Wireless Access subscribers increased by 6.15% monthly to 7.85 million (up from 7.40 million at the end of May), with 60.27% share of subscribers from urban areas, suggesting growing adoption of 5G-based home internet services.
5G Fixed Wireless Access subscribers increased by 6.15% monthly to 7.85 million (up from 7.40 million at the end of May), with 60.27% share of subscribers from urban areas, suggesting growing adoption of 5G-based home internet services. Mobile number portability remains active: 13.58 million MNP requests were processed in June 2025, with cumulative porting requests reaching 1.16 billion since the service began, indicating continued ease for consumers wanting to switch between operators due to aspects such as quality of network coverage, service support and subscription plans.
13.58 million MNP requests were processed in June 2025, with cumulative porting requests reaching 1.16 billion since the service began, indicating continued ease for consumers wanting to switch between operators due to aspects such as quality of network coverage, service support and subscription plans. Jio maintains market dominance: Reliance Jio leads with 41.02% of wireless subscribers and 50.74% of broadband subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (33.62% wireless, 31.06% broadband), while Vodafone Idea holds 17.56% of the wireless market.
I've been pointing out for a while now, that India's mobile subscriber additions have almost plateaued, which the latest numbers also testify to, while the wired and wireless broadband growth simply isn't as fast as it should be for a country as large and vibrant as India. TRAI's efforts over time have definitely made things better for consumers, case in point being making it mandatory for telecom operators to offer voice and SMS plans only — a cost effective recharge for those who still use feature phones, or simply don't want to pay for 3G/4G/5G data. Even there, the intent to rake in the moolah meant operators tried to play smart with the redesigned recharge options. What do you think will happen — will operators attempt to chase faster growth by reducing subscription cost (which went up a year ago, mind you), or are they happy with the state of affairs?