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Apple is on track to overtake Samsung in worldwide smartphone shipments next year, positioning the company at the top of the global rankings for the first time in well over ten years, according to a newly released assessment.

Counterpoint Research’s latest outlook anticipates a 3.3% rise in smartphone shipments across the industry in 2025, with Apple responsible for a significant portion of that upward trend.

Demand for the next-generation iPhone 17 lineup is expected to drive a double-digit increase in Apple’s shipments, with projections showing a 10% year-over-year surge across major markets.

If those expectations hold, Counterpoint says Apple’s global share will reach 19.4% in 2025—high enough to reclaim the title of the world’s top smartphone maker for the first time since 2011.

Samsung, by contrast, is expected to see its shipments grow by 4.6% next year. Even with that increase, its share is projected to settle at 18.7%, marking the end of a long run in the No. 1 slot.

Senior analyst Yang Wang noted that more than just strong interest in the upcoming iPhone lineup is at play. “Beyond the highly positive market reception for the iPhone 17 series, the key driver behind the upgraded shipment outlook lies in the replacement cycle reaching its inflection point,” he explained.

Wang added that many customers who purchased devices during the pandemic buying boom are now ready to shift to newer models. “Consumers who purchased smartphones during the COVID-19 boom are now entering their upgrade phase. Furthermore, 358 million second-hand iPhones were sold between 2023 and Q2 2025. These users are also likely to upgrade to a new iPhone in the coming years.”

Counterpoint’s report suggests that the momentum behind Apple’s customer base will likely allow the company to maintain its regained lead throughout the remainder of the decade.

The analysis also highlights Samsung’s evolving strategy. In developing regions, the company is leaning heavily on its A series, which provides stronger specs at competitive prices. In more established markets, Samsung is focusing on strengthening its premium offerings to prevent additional market-share erosion.

As for Chinese smartphone makers, analysts expect them to push further into international markets to maintain growth. By expanding into more expensive tiers and adding higher-end capabilities, these companies hope to increase their profit margins.

Counterpoint concludes that such diversification should bolster the financial performance of Chinese brands, while their current global shipment rankings are projected to remain largely unchanged through 2029.

{Matzav.com}

New York is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its driver penalty system in what state officials say is the most significant change to traffic enforcement in more than two decades, with tougher rules that could make it easier for motorists to lose their licenses. Beginning in January 2026, the Department of Motor Vehicles will extend […]

POTUS: “The suspect is an Afghan national flown here by the previous Administration… We have no greater national security priority than ensuring that we have full control over the people that enter and remain in our country. For the most part, WE DON’T WANT THEM.”

A high-profile media conference hosted this week in Doha is openly dismissing the documented atrocities of October 7, calling accounts of Hamas’ massacre “false reports” manufactured by Israel. The event, backed and promoted by Al Jazeera and Qatari state academic institutions, is positioning itself as a counter-narrative to global coverage of Hamas’ crimes. The two-day […]

The father of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last fallen Israeli hostage still held inside Gaza, voiced his dread on Thursday that his son may never be brought home. “We pray of course that he will not be another Ron Arad or [Hadar] Goldin,” Itzik Gvili told Kan news. “That we don’t drag it out for many more years.”

Gvili’s reference to Goldin and Arad underscores the haunting parallels he fears. Goldin, who fell in 2014 and whose remains were hidden in Gaza for more than ten years, was recently brought back to Israel. Arad, an IAF navigator captured in Lebanon in 1988 after ejecting from his plane, vanished without a trace and has never been recovered.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili was killed while heroically confronting Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023. His body was taken into Gaza by the attackers. Only two murdered hostages remain unreturned: Gvili and Thai agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was slain in Kibbutz Be’eri the same day.

Despite the anguish, the family pushes forward. “We’re moving forward because we have to,” Gvili’s father said. “Hamas says they’re looking for his body, but we don’t see any progress.”

He voiced frustration at the terror group’s claims. “They probably know where he is. They are playing games and deceiving us,” he remarked, though he provided no further detail.

Of the Israeli authorities, he added, “I know that they don’t know much” about where his son’s remains are located.

On Thursday, Al Jazeera reported renewed searches for a hostage’s body in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood. The report was later confirmed to Kan by an Israeli military source.

Itzik Gvili worries that as nearly all other hostages have now been returned, public and governmental focus may drift. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has already announced that it will significantly scale down operations. “As far as I am concerned, until Ran comes back, he is alive,” he said. “I have nothing else to hope for. Perhaps there will be a miracle, and he will still be alive.”

Israel declared Ran Gvili dead in January 2024, based on intelligence assessments and collected evidence.

Having largely avoided the spotlight until now, his father said he intends to speak out more forcefully to ensure that his son’s case doesn’t fade from view. Calling Ran a “hero” for continuing to fight even after being wounded, he added, “Just like Ran didn’t forget the nation on that day, I don’t want the nation to forget him.”

Ran’s mother, Talik Gvili, told Ynet that this period was “an unsettling time” for the family. At the same time, she acknowledged being “happy that hostages returned and families are getting closure and can begin breathing again as much as possible.”

Talik said the family receives daily briefings from officials and knows that searches are taking place in the exact area where Ran’s body was taken. “We hope that they will find him,” she said, adding that she still prays for “a miracle” and imagines her son returning alive. “From the first day, I have been imagining him returning on his own two feet. It is hard, not easy to imagine something like that.”

She appealed for media attention to continue: she hopes journalists will “remain with us until everyone comes back.”

The ordeal continues even as other cases reach closure. On Tuesday, Hamas returned the body of Dror Or, whose identity was verified by forensic experts the following day.

Ran and the other hostages were among 251 people kidnapped when Hamas stormed Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 people and igniting the war in Gaza.

Following a ceasefire agreement reached last month, Hamas and allied terror groups freed all surviving captives and subsequently released most of the bodies of the murdered—except for Gvili and Rinthalak.

Under the ceasefire deal, all deceased hostages must be returned. The terror groups now claim they cannot find the final two bodies despite repeated searches.

{Matzav.com}

WATCH: President Trump announces that U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, one of the National Guardsmen savagely attacked yesterday in Washington, D.C., has just passed away.

Angry crowd of migrants march through Dearborn, Michigan calling for “Intifada and revolution”. America has a big problem brewing.

BREAKING: West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has died after being shot by an Afghan national in Washington, D.C.

ICE is deporting a prominent Muslim leader from Dallas, Texas, after he allegedly sent “donations” to a nonprofit linked to Hamas.

Newly released footage shows the Afghan gunman’s assault on National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. Rahmanullah Lakanwal is seen rounding a corner with a revolver before opening fire in a brazen ambush. National Guard members immediately returned fire, stopping the attacker and then rushing to render aid to the two critically wounded soldiers.

According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, Iran has restored and expanded its financial lifeline to Hezbollah in Lebanon, channeling hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year through elaborate money-laundering routes centered in Dubai.

The report says that proceeds from Iranian oil sales are routed through an array of exchange houses, front companies, couriers, and aligned businessmen. These funds ultimately reach Lebanon through the Hawala method — a traditional system in which trusted individuals, not banks, serve as intermediaries for transferring money. The practice remains common across the Muslim world.

A senior official in the United Arab Emirates told the paper that the UAE is attempting to shut down such activity within its borders and is coordinating with global partners to curb the illicit networks.

Before the most recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran had routinely funneled large cash shipments directly into Lebanon through the Beirut airport. That approach was curtailed as part of the November 2024 ceasefire terms, which were implemented exactly one year ago today.

Arab officials quoted in the report say Tehran has since adapted by sending more individual travelers into Lebanon, each carrying smaller sums or compact valuables that can be concealed easily. They also emphasized that Hezbollah continues to draw money from a variety of global revenue streams, including the drug trade and diamond smuggling.

The Journal also cites a senior US official who warned that Washington is increasingly troubled by the flow of Hezbollah-bound funds routed through Turkey and Iraq.

{Matzav.com}

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the premier of Canada’s oil rich province of Alberta agreed Thursday to work toward building a pipeline to the Pacific Coast to diversify the country’s oil exports beyond the United States, in a move that has caused turmoil in Carney’s inner circle. The memorandum of understanding includes an adjustment […]

Gazan nurse Tasneem al-Hams walked out of Israeli custody today, according to the Hamas-linked Prisoners’ Affairs Office, which announced her release and immediately framed it as part of a larger pressure campaign involving her father, senior Hamas health official Dr. Marwan al-Hams.

The Palestinian Center for Prisoner Advocacy had charged on Monday that Israel sought to leverage her detention to influence her father. Israel confirmed last week that Dr. al-Hams had been held since July as part of efforts to extract information on the fate of fallen IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, whose remains were brought back earlier this month under the Gaza ceasefire after more than a decade in Hamas hands.

Speaking after her release with Gaza City photographer Ahmed Marwan, Tasneem al-Hams described being seized last month by “the Israeli-backed, anti-Hamas Abu Shabab gang,” after which she said she was turned over to Israeli forces east of Khan Younis.

She detailed a month of transfers through several Israeli facilities — Ashkelon, Ramleh, Damon, and Megiddo — saying she was kept alone in a cell in Ashkelon and held among about fifty women during her time in Damon.

The Hamas-affiliated prisoners’ office had originally announced on October 2 that the young nurse, said to be in her twenties, was taken by a “five-member armed force” from what they described as a “medical point south of Khan Younis.”

Some Palestinian outlets previously claimed that she had already been freed earlier this month, but the prisoners’ office — quoting her brother — maintained that although Israel issued a November 16 release order, it was never carried out, and she remained in custody until today.

Her father, meanwhile, remains in Israeli detention. Dr. al-Hams, who oversees the field hospital division of the Hamas-run health ministry, was not included among the detainees Israel agreed to release under the temporary truce, a Hamas source said. His current whereabouts have not been disclosed.

{Matzav.com}

Members of the Yamas counterterror unit said they were compelled to shoot two suspects who appeared to be surrendering, insisting that the pair’s actions created a clear danger and violated the instructions given to them. The officers have maintained that the scene unfolded under rapidly changing circumstances that left little room for hesitation.

Military reporter Doron Kadosh of Galei Tzahal revealed details from the officers’ initial account, quoting them as saying: “When the terrorists came out, we began carrying out security clearance procedures on them (to ensure they did not pose a threat). We did not know if they were armed with a weapon or an explosive device. We began to give them orders to perform the clearance, and the terrorists acted contrary to what they were told. At a certain point, one of the terrorists decided to reenter the building, contrary to orders, and the other terrorist followed, and therefore they were both shot.”

The officers’ helmet-camera footage, which captured the event from multiple angles, is currently being reviewed. For now, the inquiry remains an internal operational investigation, led by unit commanders. Oversight of the case is expected to fall under the newly appointed Military Advocate General, Itai Ofir, once the preliminary review concludes.

Meanwhile, video recorded in Jenin spread quickly online, showing the two men stepping out of a building surrounded by Israeli forces, raising their arms, kneeling on the ground, and then being fired upon. The clip has fueled public debate about the sequence of events and the claims made by the soldiers.

The IDF issued a statement explaining the background of the operation: “Earlier this evening (Thursday), during an Israel Border Police and IDF operation in the area of Jenin, the forces operated to apprehend wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces. The wanted individuals were affiliated with a terror network in the area of Jenin.”

According to the military’s description of the raid, “The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited. Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.”

The army added that “the incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”

{Matzav.com}

The NYPD has announced the well-deserved promotion of Community Affairs Officer Nick Skomina to the rank of Detective, recognizing his years of dedicated service and exceptional commitment to strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Detective Skomina has long been a familiar and respected figure across New York City, known for […]

A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo. The airline expects it will be several months before its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet returns to service as […]

BREAKING VIDEO: The moment of the accident that sent two vehicles careening onto the sidewalk in front of Town Appliance – including one on its side.

BREAKING IN LAKEWOOD: A vehicle has overturned in an MVA directly in front of Town Appliance on Clifton Avenue. Police have shut down the area.

A request filed by activists from Pelegh Yerushalmi was dismissed this week by the Bnei Brak Bais Din after the group sought to block elected officials from filing police complaints over recent incitement and threats.

The bais din’s senior dayanim made it clear in a written response that issues involving violence fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of state authorities—not a bais din.

The petition had been submitted to the Badatz of Bnei Brak, headed by Raavad Rav Yehuda Silman and Gaavad Rav Sariel Rosenberg. Activists demanded that the court prevent chareidi public representatives from going to civil courts and police over what they described as “incitement” against Members of Knesset in the lead-up to the draft law’s advancement.

In a formal letter released by the dayanim, the court firmly rejected the appeal.

“In regard to the recent rise in incidents of violence—both physical and verbal—directed at public representatives, and in response to questions as to why the bais din is not intervening, we clarify that the bais din does not deal with matters of violence, for which the proper avenue of response is through the authorities,” the letter stated.

A brief review of past rulings shows that the court based its response on a precedent issued by the bais din once led by Rav Nissim Karelitz zt”l. In that ruling, Rav Karelitz wrote unequivocally that when individuals engage in ongoing degradation of Gedolei Yisroel and the chareidi community, their conduct places them in the halachic category described in Choshen Mishpat 388:12—those who “cause distress to the public.” In such cases, Rav Karelitz ruled, it is permissible “to hand them over, imprison them, or fine them,” and therefore permitted bringing claims against them in civil courts.

Among the signatories to that earlier ruling are Rav Nissim Karelitz zt”l and Rav Dovid Zvi Ordentlich zt”l. A third signature stands out sharply in today’s context: that of Rav Zvi Friedman, a prominent figure within the Peleg Yerushalmi. He signed the ruling permitting recourse to civil courts—contradicting the faction’s present claim that the bais din must intervene to block such complaints.

Just yesterday, Shas and United Torah Judaism filed a police complaint against a senior Peleg Yerushalmi activist, Tzvi Roth, accusing him of grave incitement to violence and even hints of murder against chareidi Members of Knesset.

According to the complaint, harsh statements were broadcast on faction-affiliated phone hotlines, including comparisons to Nazis and references to physical harm and arson. Rot allegedly urged listeners “to view elected officials as enemies from within,” while discussing scenarios of attacks against them.

Chareidi parties say these statements reflect a dangerous escalation. “Recently we saw attempted lynching incidents and break-ins at the homes of MKs,” they said. “The line between protest and violence has been dangerously blurred.”

{Matzav.com}