Who can fill the Note 7 vacuum?

Apple, Google, Huawei and LG are going all-out for a bigger slice of the global smartphone market in the peak Christmas season this year, emboldened by the disaster surrounding Samsung's Galaxy Note 7.

Apple has started shipping its latest iPhone to 100 countries, while third-ranked Huawei is rushing to roll out a new flagship phone and Google is expanding online sales of its Pixel smartphone which comes with proto-AI software.

Taiwanese industry watcher TrendForce said Samsung's smartphone output this year will fall 1.6 percent to 310 million units, but Huawei's output will rise 3.4 percent to 123 million and Apple's 1.5 percent to 280 million units.

Pundits expect Apple to be the biggest beneficiary. Despite being slammed as a damp squib whose only remarkable feature is the inconvenient lack of an earphone jack, the iPhone 7 has been selling well, with sales surpassing 77 million units this month alone.

Apple has stepped up marketing by launching the iPhone 7 in emerging markets this month.

Huawei plans to unveil its Mate 9 on Nov. 3 in Germany, and LG has started selling its audiophile V20 in North America, Latin America, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Samsung, meanwhile, has gone into crisis management mode. The company is now trying to boost sales of the Galaxy S7 and Edge smartphones in the fourth quarter. An upgraded S7 is in the works as well.

(THE CHOSUNILBO)