Technologies

US Smartphone Market Continues to Grow, but Expect Shifts

The market is up by 12% year over year, but tariffs could change that.

The smartphone market is in for a big shift for the rest of 2025. The latest Canalys findings show that the global smartphone market increased by 0.2% last quarter. That’s a slight increase, but a drop compared to previous growth numbers. The latest data marks the third consecutive quarter that market growth has slowed.

«Markets that had shown strong momentum over the past year, such as India, Latin America, and the Middle East, are now experiencing notable declines in Q1 2025, indicating saturation in replacement demand for mass-market products,» said Toby Zhu, principal analyst at Canalys.

Among the smartphone carriers, Samsung shipped the most — 60.5 million units. Canalys cited the launch of a few of Samsung’s popular models and new A-series prices as reasons for leading growth last quarter.

Canalys pointed out that most Android brands adjusted inventory levels in the first quarter to avoid new product disruptions and to channel pricing of products.

The US smartphone market grew by 12% year over year in the first quarter. Apple drove these results with its iPhone line while being the second-leading carrier globally — selling 55 million units. However, things are expected to change due to the Trump administration’s tariff policy.

«Apple proactively built up inventory ahead of anticipated tariff policies,» said Le Xuan Chiew, research manager at Canalys. «While iPhones produced in Mainland China still account for the majority of US shipments, production in India ramped up toward the end of the quarter, covering standard models of the iPhone 15 and 16 series, alongside accelerating production of the 16 Pro series,»

Tariffs could change the smartphone market in the US. Chiew already expects the US market to be volatile for the next two to three quarters. Pending what happens with tariffs, Apple may shift production from China to India.

Tariffs could also lead to limited availability of cheaper models and higher prices, and could bring uncertainty for Android products, too.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 27, #992

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 27 #992.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle features a mix of difficulties. For me, the purple category was easy today, but the blue and green ones were tougher. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Like a double agent.

Green group hint: Ambiance that surrounds you.

Blue group hint: Ripple is another word that could be in this category.

Purple group hint: Freedom of the ____.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Backstabber.

Green group: Aura.

Blue group: Kinds of chain reaction «effects.»

Purple group: ____ press.

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is backstabber. The four answers are Judas, snake, traitor and turncoat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is aura. The four answers are air, impression, manner and quality.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of chain reaction «effects.» The four answers are butterfly, domino, ripple and snowball.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ press. The four answers are bench, drill, French and printing.

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.

Technologies

A Hacker Threat Is Hiding in Your Car’s Tire Pressure System

A new study reveals that a car’s tire pressure monitoring system can be easily accessed by hackers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Feb. 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 27.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Was today’s Mini Crossword too short for you? The New York Times now has a Midi Crossword, which is not as big as the original NYT Crossword, but longer than the Mini. Read on for the answers to today’s Mini Crossword. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.