The Top 10 most notable tech events of 2018

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Ngày cập nhật gần nhất: 15/4/2026

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1. Huawei overtakes Apple to become the world’s second-largest smartphone maker

2. Alibaba’s Jack Ma unexpectedly announces early retirement

3. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos becomes the richest person in history with a $150 billion fortune

4. Huawei's CFO arrested unexpectedly

5. Apple becomes the first company in history to reach a $1 trillion valuation

6. Critical security vulnerabilities discovered in billions of computers and mobile devices

7. The rise of artificial intelligence

8. Facebook and its series of scandals

9. Major Tech Companies Hit by the US-China Trade War

10. The Cryptocurrency Market Crashes Dramatically

1. Huawei overtakes Apple to become the world’s second-largest smartphone maker

In Q3 of 2018, Huawei sold 54 million smartphones, surpassing Apple to claim the spot as the world’s second-largest smartphone maker. This marks the first time a Chinese mobile company has outpaced Apple in smartphone sales. A promising sign for Huawei is not just the success of their budget models, but the high-end P20 series also saw positive reception, with around 7 million units sold. Looking at the year as a whole, Huawei sold 95 million smartphones, a 30% increase compared to the previous year. Recently, the company achieved its goal of selling 200 million smartphones globally in 2018, and has set its sights on challenging Samsung for the top spot in the smartphone market. This sets the stage for an exciting competition between Huawei and Samsung in 2019, with tech enthusiasts eagerly watching to see if Huawei can dethrone Samsung. Other Chinese smartphone makers, such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Lenovo, also showed strong growth this year. However, penetrating the U.S. market, one of the largest smartphone markets, remains a significant challenge. Huawei’s recent growth has largely been fueled by success in Asian and European markets.

Huawei has surpassed Apple, leaving only Samsung as its top rival

2. Alibaba’s Jack Ma unexpectedly announces early retirement

On September 10, 2018, Jack Ma, the CEO of Alibaba, announced that he would retire early to focus on philanthropic work, particularly in education. He will step down from leading the $420 billion giant Alibaba and pass the leadership baton to someone else. Once an English teacher before venturing into business, Ma founded Alibaba in 1999 and transformed it into one of the world's leading e-commerce and online payment giants, revolutionizing how people in China shop and make payments. This journey also propelled Jack Ma's net worth to over $40 billion, making him the wealthiest person in China. He is revered by many in China, with some even worshipping his image as if he were a deity. Ma will be the first of China’s internet entrepreneur generation to retire. In recent years, companies like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and JD.com have grown strong enough to compete with U.S. giants like Amazon and Google in both scale and ambition. It is rare in China for entrepreneurs to retire in their mid-50s. Ma's decision to step down comes amid a tougher business environment in China. Under President Xi Jinping, the internet industry has expanded and become more influential, but with that, it has also come under tighter regulation. Moreover, China’s economy is facing headwinds such as slower growth, rising debt, and an escalating trade war with the U.S.

Jack Ma retires at 54

3. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos becomes the richest person in history with a $150 billion fortune

Jeff Bezos, the founder of the e-commerce giant Amazon, has made history by becoming the richest person in modern times. As of July 16, his net worth hit $150 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This fortune is $55 billion more than that of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, who currently holds the second spot on the world's wealthiest list.

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 in New York while working in finance. According to the book *The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon*, he launched Amazon as an online bookstore in 1995. Today, Amazon is one of the world’s leading retailers. Business Insider reports that Amazon's scale now exceeds the combined size of 12 major traditional U.S. retailers, including Walmart and Best Buy.

In addition, the company is expanding into other business areas, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud computing service for businesses. In 2017, AWS generated $20 billion in revenue. Amazon’s advertising revenue has also surged, reaching $2 billion by the end of Q1 2018, a significant increase from $945 million in Q2 2017.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos becomes the world's richest person

4. Huawei's CFO arrested unexpectedly

On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, was arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S. government on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. The arrest sent shockwaves through China, with nearly 30 million posts about the incident flooding China’s social media platform, Weibo, just hours after the news broke. The incident also raised concerns about the fragile trade truce between the U.S. and China. Huawei, one of China’s largest tech giants, was already facing significant impacts from the trade war between the two superpowers. In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning U.S. government use of Huawei products, citing national security concerns. Court documents revealed personal details about Meng’s life and pointed to accusations that she deliberately violated Washington's sanctions against Iran. China has strongly opposed the actions of the U.S. and Canada, creating increased tensions between the two countries and adding another layer of uncertainty to the U.S.-China trade war. According to Canadian court sources, in 2013, Reuters reported that Huawei used its Hong Kong-based subsidiary, Skycom Tech, to conduct business with Iran despite U.S. and EU sanctions, which led to the investigation. Huawei initially denied any wrongdoing. Meng faces potential extradition to the U.S., where if convicted, she could face up to 30 years in prison.

Meng Wanzhou - Huawei's CFO, arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S.

5. Apple becomes the first company in history to reach a $1 trillion valuation

Apple became the first publicly traded company in the world to reach a market capitalization of $1 trillion. This milestone represents the financial success of the cutting-edge technology Apple has introduced, shaping society ever since Steve Jobs co-founded the company 42 years ago. On Thursday, August 2, the company achieved a new height that seemed unimaginable in 1997 when it was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy with stock prices below $1. Apple not only became the first U.S. tech company to hit the $1 trillion mark but also the first globally to achieve this feat. The only company to have reached a trillion-dollar valuation before was China’s PetroChina, which briefly surpassed this figure in November 2007, although it couldn’t maintain the level for long. However, 2018 wasn't entirely smooth sailing for Apple. Following the launch of three new iPhone models – the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR – with significantly higher prices, signs began to emerge that iPhone sales were not meeting Apple's lofty expectations. In response, Apple took steps indicating a decline in sales, such as offering trade-in deals for iPhone upgrades and ceasing to disclose iPhone sales numbers in its quarterly earnings reports. As a result, Apple’s stock price fell below its $1 trillion valuation. Not only did Apple lose its $1 trillion valuation, but it also lost its position as the most valuable company in the world, overtaken by Microsoft. The gap between the two companies continues to widen. Heading into 2019, Apple will likely face significant challenges in boosting iPhone sales or reducing its heavy reliance on iPhone-driven profits.

Apple hit the $1 trillion mark in 2018

6. Critical security vulnerabilities discovered in billions of computers and mobile devices

On January 3, security researchers issued a warning about a serious vulnerability that could expose sensitive information across almost all computing devices that use processors from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and ARM. The newly discovered flaws could affect a wide range of devices, including laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, and even internet servers. One of the flaws specifically targets Intel chips, while the other impacts a broader spectrum of processors, including those from Intel, AMD, and ARM. Both Intel and ARM confirmed that the issue isn’t considered a “security hole” but would require users to download patches and update their operating systems to mitigate the risks. Intel’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, acknowledged in an interview with CNBC that “Mobile phones, personal computers, everything is affected to some degree, but the impact will vary across different products.” The two vulnerabilities were uncovered by researchers from Alphabet (Google’s parent company), in collaboration with experts from multiple countries. The first vulnerability, called Meltdown, affects Intel chips. Hackers could exploit this flaw to bypass hardware barriers between the applications users are running and the computer’s memory, potentially reading sensitive data from memory and stealing passwords. The second vulnerability, called Spectre, affects processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM, allowing hackers to trick applications into revealing secret information. Security experts noted that these flaws are related to the core memory in x86-64 processors that Intel has been manufacturing for over a decade. The Register reported that some anonymous programmers revealed that this flaw allows users of common applications to view content from protected regions of the processor. Cybercriminals could use this vulnerability to extract confidential data like passwords, potentially compromising not just individual computers but even entire server networks.

Two major security vulnerabilities discovered in Intel chips

7. The rise of artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI), or machine intelligence, is not a new concept, but 2018 marked a surge in its adoption across technology devices. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking had warned that the rise of AI could spell the end of humanity, while entrepreneur Elon Musk expressed concerns that AI could become the greatest threat to human existence.

Today, AI has become powerful enough to make significant impacts on daily life. Computers can now outplay humans in chess, with the world’s best player, Garry Kasparov, referring to AI as ‘Cyborgs’—a blend of human intelligence and algorithms. These hybrids are emerging in many fields: AI-assisted doctors are making more accurate cancer diagnoses from medical images; speech recognition algorithms in smartphones are helping illiterate people in developing countries access the internet; and digital assistants hold promise for advancing scientific research.

However, AI also raises serious concerns. Imagine the power it gives to national security systems: the ability to monitor billions of conversations and identify individuals in crowds using voice or facial recognition. This is a real threat to personal freedom.

2018 was undeniably the year of AI, and it’s likely that by 2019, AI will continue to evolve and become even more widespread and accessible to users worldwide.

AI - Artificial Intelligence is growing at an extraordinary pace

8. Facebook and its series of scandals

2018 was a year Facebook would like to forget, as the platform saw a dramatic decline in user trust following a series of scandals and the handling of those issues by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Zuckerberg remained silent for days before finally addressing the public. He tried to explain the situation, calling it ‘a serious breach,’ but his delayed response did little to calm the growing outrage.

From July onwards, Facebook faced harsh criticism for its careless management of a platform with over two billion users. The company lost six high-ranking executives, saw its stock price drop 18%, and was hit by a historic security breach that affected 90 million accounts. This followed reports that 3 million users in Europe had abandoned the platform, alongside disappointing financial results.

On August 17, Facebook’s Chief Security Officer, Alex Stamos, resigned to pursue academic work at Stanford University. Facebook has not yet replaced him, instead opting to integrate security engineers throughout various departments of the company.

Facebook’s troubles continued as it was revealed that the platform had allowed third-party companies, including Netflix and Spotify, to access private messages of millions of users globally. Though Facebook claimed no evidence of malicious use by these companies, the disclosure caused widespread anger among users.

2018 was a turbulent year for Facebook. Not only did it lose user trust, but the company also faced internal turmoil, with increasing calls for Zuckerberg to step down as CEO. In response, Zuckerberg stated he would remain CEO to help the company navigate through its current crises.

Facebook’s Scandal-Filled Year of 2018

9. Major Tech Companies Hit by the US-China Trade War

Last year, China’s tech industry experienced significant growth, particularly in e-commerce and gaming. Companies like Alibaba and Tencent announced that they had doubled their revenues, investing billions of dollars into cloud technology to enhance their services.

However, according to the New York Times, China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, showed signs of slowing down, and the tech market in China began to decline. The ongoing trade war with the US has impacted many Chinese companies, with fewer people entering the tech industry as a result.

According to CNBC, the tech giants Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent are facing severe repercussions. Investors, who were once their most loyal supporters, have started selling off their shares, causing stock prices to plummet. Furthermore, these three companies have collectively lost $165 billion in market value since the beginning of the year for various reasons.

One of the most shocking events of 2018 occurred when the US government forced ZTE, a Chinese electronics company, to halt its “core business operations” after President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a ban on American companies from selling components or providing services to ZTE until 2025.

On the flip side, American tech companies like Apple and its partners also found themselves in a difficult situation as President Trump proposed a 10% tariff on mobile products such as iPhones and MacBooks imported from China.

These developments are expected to escalate the already tense US-China trade war into 2019.

How the US-China Trade War Affects Big Tech Companies

10. The Cryptocurrency Market Crashes Dramatically

In December of the previous year, Bitcoin saw a massive surge of 40%, continuously pushing toward the $20,000 mark, sparking a global frenzy. However, since the beginning of 2018, Bitcoin has fallen back into a decline. Its value has plummeted by 73%, with daily trading volumes dropping by 56%. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has crashed by 80%.

Since the start of the year, Bitcoin's value has consistently dropped, now trading at around $3,700 per Bitcoin after briefly falling below $4,000 last week. In November alone, Bitcoin lost over 30% of its value. On December 3, 2018, its price was more than 60% lower than the same time in 2017, hitting a low of $3,790.96. This stark contrast paints a very different picture from the booming cryptocurrency market last year. On November 26, Bitcoin even dipped to its lowest in 14 months, reaching $3,462.57.

Bitcoin wasn't the only cryptocurrency to suffer. Ripple, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, dropped by 5%, while Ethereum, the third-largest, fell more than 6%.

Experts attribute the sharp decline in Bitcoin’s value to a range of factors, particularly tighter US regulations on cryptocurrencies. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already issued its first civil penalties against several crypto companies. This action is part of a broader effort to curb fraud within the cryptocurrency space. The US Department of Justice is also investigating whether last year’s massive Bitcoin price surge was the result of market manipulation.

In addition, a sluggish market and the inability of digital currencies to become an officially recognized method of payment have intensified selling pressure. Furthermore, Bitcoin is still not traded on major global banking platforms, partly due to concerns that it may be associated with illegal activities. A report in August 2018 revealed that 70% of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) were either fraudulent or failed, further eroding investor confidence in the cryptocurrency market. This has been reflected in the continuous decline in trading volume and market value.

2018: The Year Cryptocurrency Plunged

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Huawei become the second-largest smartphone maker in the world?

Yes, Huawei surpassed Apple in Q3 of 2018, selling 54 million smartphones and claiming the spot as the world’s second-largest smartphone maker. The company saw impressive growth with its budget models and the P20 series, which sold around 7 million units. Huawei achieved a goal of selling 200 million smartphones globally in 2018.

What led Jack Ma to announce his early retirement from Alibaba?

Yes, Jack Ma announced his early retirement in September 2018 at age 54 to focus on philanthropy, especially in education. After building Alibaba into a $420 billion e-commerce giant, Ma's retirement was influenced by a tougher business environment in China, including rising debt and an escalating trade war with the U.S.

How did Jeff Bezos become the richest person in history?

Yes, Jeff Bezos became the richest person in modern history in 2018, reaching a net worth of $150 billion, surpassing Bill Gates. As the founder of Amazon, Bezos expanded beyond e-commerce into cloud computing with AWS, which contributed significantly to Amazon's revenue and his wealth.

What was the impact of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest?

Yes, the arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada in December 2018 shocked China and raised tensions with the U.S. It added complexity to the U.S.-China trade war, with allegations of violating sanctions against Iran. The arrest sparked widespread outrage and concerns over Huawei's future in international markets.

What caused Apple to lose its $1 trillion valuation?

Yes, Apple briefly reached a $1 trillion market valuation in 2018 but later saw a decline due to disappointing iPhone sales. Despite the launch of the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, Apple faced challenges in maintaining its dominance, leading to a drop in stock price and the loss of its top position as the world’s most valuable company.

What critical security vulnerabilities were discovered in 2018 affecting billions of devices?

Yes, in 2018, security researchers discovered two major vulnerabilities, Meltdown and Spectre, that affected devices using Intel, AMD, and ARM processors. These flaws exposed sensitive information across laptops, smartphones, and servers, requiring software patches to mitigate potential data breaches and cyberattacks.

How has artificial intelligence evolved in 2018?

Yes, 2018 saw a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, from AI-assisted medical diagnoses to digital assistants. While AI proved beneficial in improving daily life, it also raised concerns about privacy, national security, and the future of work. Experts warned about the ethical implications of widespread AI integration.

What controversies surrounded Facebook in 2018?

Yes, Facebook faced a series of scandals in 2018, including the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which damaged user trust. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s delayed response worsened the crisis. The company also faced a security breach, causing 90 million accounts to be compromised, and saw a decline in its stock value and user base.

How has the US-China trade war impacted major tech companies?

Yes, the US-China trade war had significant repercussions for both Chinese and American tech giants. Chinese companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu saw their stock prices plummet, while American firms, including Apple, faced potential tariffs on Chinese imports. This trade conflict escalated into 2019, affecting global tech markets.

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