Smartphone shipments in China have dropped by 38.9% if a new report is to be believed, and Coronavirus is the reason behind that. This information comes from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).
Those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it’s a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The information that got shared is from January 2020.
Smartphone shipments in China dropped by 38.9% YoY in January
According to this info, the smartphone shipments in China dropped by 38.9% in January, year-on-year (YoY). Shipments from domestic brands, on the other hand, fell by 42.9%.
Interestingly enough, 34 new smartphone models were launched to the market in January in China. This stat shows a 6.3% increase YoY, so not everything is that bleak. Eight of those models were 2G handsets, 18 were 4G units, while 8 were 5G smartphones.
Coronavirus is highlighted as the main reason why smartphone shipments dropped that much in China. It’s not the only reason, though. The Lunar New Year holiday in China is also highlighted.
Coronavirus remains the main reason, though, of course. The Covid-19 outbreak actually forced companies to close several manufacturing plants in China. The same goes for some retail stores.
Both IDC and Strategy Analytics expect China’s smartphone shipments to drop significantly
The International Data Corporation (IDC) and Strategy Analytics said that they expect China’s smartphone shipments to suffer a year-on-year drop of over 30% in the first quarter of the year.
Apple also pitched in recently, by saying that it is reducing its revenue targets this quarter. The situation in China is probably the reason why.
On top of that, quite a few companies have restricted employee travel to China, including Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft. The companies want to minimize risk, and avoid spreading of Coronavirus.
It remains to be seen what will IDC and Strategy Analytics report, but the numbers are expected to be similar to the ones from CAICT. The Chinese smartphone market is marking significant drops in shipments due to Coronavirus.
Coronavirus has spread all over the world, pretty much. A ton of countries have reported cases of Coronavirus infection, and it remains to be seen how long will that last.
Countries are doing their best to prevent it from spreading, and thus avoiding a pandemic. The virus will hopefully be contained in the near future, and allow everyone to continue their normal lives.