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This article is very bad by wired standards. Things I noticed: > To find the answers to these questions, we have to go back to Xiaomi’s 2015-2016 debacle, whic

This article is very bad by wired standards. Things I noticed: > To find the answers to these questions, we have to go back to Xiaomi’s 2015-2016 debacle, which saw smartphone sales decline to a rumored 41 million in 2016, from a reported 70 million a year earlier. As if one year is enough to proclaim a company's fall and rise. Businesses run on multi year cycle and 1 down year might be a small blip. Additionally, if the lower sale numbers were just rumors, there was no "fall" of Xiaomi, was there? > Today, Xiaomi is being called a “Chinese phoenix.” What is the source? And there are so many editing mistakes: > These include hundreds of thousands of hours of movies and shows — available a la carte or via an all-you-can-eat $7.50 monthly fee Eat? > Adding the word ‘connected’ to a range of appliances doesn't a smart home make — even Apple hasn't pulled off that trick yet.

rahimnathwani 9y ago
Not sure what your issues #3 and #4 are. All-you-can-eat and a la carte are both ways of ordering food, and it's common to use the parlance to refer to subscriptions services. The slightly unusual grammar in #4 is perfectly valid.
- thisisit 9y ago
  Well, #3 references food for sure but people don't use metaphors as it is across industries. I don't "eat" movies and shows rather watch it. So, in my opinion at least, it should be all-you-can-watch. In case of #4, it's just slightly unusual grammar? It should be - range of appliances doesn't make a smart home rather than range of appliances doesn't a smart home make. English is not my native language but the article was still a painful read.
  - totalZero 9y ago
    #4 is correct. It's a figure of speech. https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/90141/a-doesnt-a-good-make https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/90141/a-doesnt-a-goo...
  - rahimnathwani 9y ago
    "English is not my native language" English *is" my native language. I assure you both #3 and #4 follow accepted usage patterns. Examples of #4: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_swallow_does_not_a_summer_make https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_swallow_does_not_a_summ... Example of #3: http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=internetapps,varset_subcat=3583,Case=obj(3833) http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command... "but people don't use metaphors as it is across industries" When I was in primary (elementary) school, I was taught that a simile is when you say 'x is like y' and a metaphor is when you say 'x is [an example of] y' even when it's not literally true. (Back then, the word 'literally' meant something like 'technically correct', although I understand that its meaning has changed now.)
jpatokal 9y ago
The initial assessment is quite accurate, since the mobile phone hardware market is brutal. The list of companies that were once great but stumbled and were unable to recover is lengthy: Motorola, Palm, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC...
- thisisit 9y ago
  Sure, but everyone of those faltered after years in the business and not after just one year in decreased sales.

rahimnathwani 9y ago

Not sure what your issues #3 and #4 are. All-you-can-eat and a la carte are both ways of ordering food, and it's common to use the parlance to refer to subscriptions services. The slightly unusual grammar in #4 is perfectly valid.

thisisit 9y ago
Well, #3 references food for sure but people don't use metaphors as it is across industries. I don't "eat" movies and shows rather watch it. So, in my opinion at least, it should be all-you-can-watch. In case of #4, it's just slightly unusual grammar? It should be - range of appliances doesn't make a smart home rather than range of appliances doesn't a smart home make. English is not my native language but the article was still a painful read.
- totalZero 9y ago
  #4 is correct. It's a figure of speech. https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/90141/a-doesnt-a-good-make https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/90141/a-doesnt-a-goo...
- rahimnathwani 9y ago
  "English is not my native language" English *is" my native language. I assure you both #3 and #4 follow accepted usage patterns. Examples of #4: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_swallow_does_not_a_summer_make https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/one_swallow_does_not_a_summ... Example of #3: http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=internetapps,varset_subcat=3583,Case=obj(3833) http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command... "but people don't use metaphors as it is across industries" When I was in primary (elementary) school, I was taught that a simile is when you say 'x is like y' and a metaphor is when you say 'x is [an example of] y' even when it's not literally true. (Back then, the word 'literally' meant something like 'technically correct', although I understand that its meaning has changed now.)

jpatokal 9y ago

The initial assessment is quite accurate, since the mobile phone hardware market is brutal. The list of companies that were once great but stumbled and were unable to recover is lengthy: Motorola, Palm, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC...

thisisit 9y ago
Sure, but everyone of those faltered after years in the business and not after just one year in decreased sales.