Coronavirus Outbreak May Halve China's Smartphone Sales in First Quarter

Smartphone sales in China could be reduced by as much as 50 percent in the first quarter of 2020 because of the impact the coronavirus outbreak is having on the retail and manufacturing sectors, according to new research.

foxconn iphone production
Speaking to Reuters, research firm Canalys said that the closure of production facilities and retail stores by Apple and other tech companies will not only hit smartphone sales, but also impact product launches scheduled to take place in the first quarter of this year.

"Vendors' planned product launches will be canceled or delayed, given that large public events are not allowed in China," said Canalys researchers. "It will take time for vendors to change their product launch roadmaps in China, which is likely to dampen 5G shipments."

Apple isn't expected to unveil a 5G phone until September, when the "iPhone 12" series is expected to be announced, but other vendors like Huawei reportedly hoped to see a boost in sales on the back of China's 5G network rollout.

Apple in early February closed all of its corporate offices, stores, and contact centers in China due to the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan. The stores aren't expected to reopen as planned on February 10 because of ongoing concerns.

Meanwhile, Foxconn's Zhengzhou site, which is the most critical production site for the iPhone 11 and the upcoming low-cost ‌iPhone‌, is seeing significant delays. The plant originally planned to resume work on February 2, but that has been postponed by at least one week.

There have already been multiple reports suggesting these closures will have an impact on Apple device production, and we could see dwindling device supplies and lengthening shipping times in the near future.

According to one report, Apple's ability to meet supply/demand balance of AirPods and AirPods Pro is in jeopardy due to the outbreak. The delays may also affect the upcoming low-cost ‌iPhone‌ that Apple is expected to launch as early as this March.

In his most recent report, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo declined to provide new shipment forecasts in light of the coronavirus outbreak because "there are still many uncertainties" but last week he lowered his iPhone shipment forecast by 10 percent to 36 to 40 million units during Q1 2020 due to the coronavirus.

Top Rated Comments

lunarworks Avatar
41 months ago

Seems strange to be concerned about smartphone sales during an epidemic but okay
Business research firm does research on how an epidemic might affect business. Shocking.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
victorm1 Avatar
41 months ago
Seems strange to be concerned about smartphone sales during an epidemic but okay
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nicho Avatar
41 months ago

I’m not referring to the original research, I’m referring to this very article. Just because some analyst somewhere did some BI study, doesn’t mean it needs to be trumpeted by the press. I should know, I work in the consulting industry.
Apple-focused news and rumors website reports on matters relating to said company. Shocking.


Instead of screaming how I can't buy a new iPhone, I'll be glad that there are no infections happening in the UK so far (there are four infected people, and over 100 people coming from China under quarantine, but there are no known infections in the UK so far, and that would be the thing that would worry me).
You jinxed it.

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-coronavirus-cases-double-as-four-more-test-positive-11930618
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smirking Avatar
41 months ago
Can none of you see the pattern? the Wolf has cried so many times I've stopped paying attention.
It's interesting you should use that example. You do remember what happened at the end of that story, don't you?

The wolf eventually shows up. Just like all of those Category 4/5 hurricanes are going to miss major population centers and fizzle out so that everyone who takes advice to evacuate are mere lemming fools... until a Hurricane Katrina hits and they're drowning their attics.

Enjoy your superiority.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smirking Avatar
41 months ago
Ebola has been prominent in Africa for all these years and people barely talk about it anymore.
[LIST=1]
* Ebola is bad, but we know exactly what it can do and the things that can be done to limit its transmission.
* There is a vaccine for Ebola ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_vaccine').

We have neither of these conditions for the Novel Coronavirus. The part of not knowing exactly what it can do is the part that's most alarming because we simply do not know if it's just a pest or a killer.

Even if early indications are that it's just a pest that gives you the sniffles, until we have a chance to do more research on it, there's a fear that it could mutate into a killer. That fear is especially founded if you consider that a couple other coronaviruses had a much higher fatality rate. SARS killed about 10% of the people that got it and MERS killed 35% of its victims.

That's why health agencies around the world are freaking out. The spread of the latest coronavirus has already far exceeded the spread of the other ones before it and we just don't know what the long term implications are. So far it doesn't appear to be highly lethal, but even that's not entirely certain. It's possible that people who get it develop elevated risks for cancer or heart disease... you name it.

That's the problem with not knowing what we're fighting so it's a far better idea to possibly overreact than to try and push back on the ocean when the town is already underwater.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
480951 Avatar
41 months ago

I actually think it's funny that anyone takes these pandemic scares seriously. it's that time of the year folks! Time for the CDC to come up with a new disease that's gonna kill us all! It's every February too. Let's look at the list shall we, and none of it's complete or in order but here we go:

1. The SARS epidemic
2. Killer Bees going to come to the USA
3. Hanta Virus
4. Bird Flu
5. Pig Flu
6. Zika Virus
7. Ebola Virus
8. Mad Cow Disease
9. Should I even add Y2K???

Meanwhile I enjoy sitting back, munching some popcorn and watching the lemmings...
This is so dumb. You realize nearly all of those didn’t escalate because of the precautions and attention given by governments, the CDC/WHO etc right? Even with Y2K months of work was put into preventing anything from happening.

So you’re essentially complaining that people did their jobs too well and contained these things.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Now Available for Your iPhone With These 8 New Features

Friday March 31, 2023 8:55 am PDT by
Following six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 was released to the public this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and changes added with iOS 16.4,...
CarPlay Phone Call

General Motors to Phase Out Apple CarPlay Starting This Year in EV Transition

Friday March 31, 2023 8:43 am PDT by
General Motors (GM) will phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its vehicles starting this year, shifting to a built-in infotainment system co-developed with Google (via Reuters). GM owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC in the United States. It will stop offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, which goes on sale this summer. The company plans ...
iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Three New iOS Features Coming to Your iPhone Following Apple Music Classical

Thursday March 30, 2023 7:13 am PDT by
With the Apple Music Classical app and an Apple Pay Later early access program now available, the list of previously-announced iOS features that have yet to launch is beginning to shrink. However, there are still a few features we are waiting for. Below, we have recapped three more iOS features that are expected to launch in 2023, including an Apple Card savings account for Daily Cash,...
wwdc 2023

Three Products We Might See at WWDC 2023

Friday March 31, 2023 3:37 pm PDT by
Apple this week announced the official dates for the 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference, with the annual WWDC keynote event set to take place on Monday, June 5. The keynote is where Apple unveils new versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and sometimes, we get hardware announcements. Rumors this year suggest there are at least three new devices that are set to be unveiled in the ...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Solid-State Button Sensitivity Can Be Customized to Cater for Cases and Gloves

Thursday March 30, 2023 11:36 pm PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users will be able to customize the sensitivity of the solid-state buttons on their device, thanks to a new sensitivity toggle in Settings. That's according to details provided by a hitherto reliable source that shared additional details on the MacRumors forums. Earlier this week, the same anonymous tipster revealed that the iPhone 15 Pro models will use...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again

Thursday March 30, 2023 4:50 am PDT by
Apple has again pushed back mass production of its mixed-reality headset and the device may not appear at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane In a tweet, Kuo explained that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about whether the headset will be able to create an "iPhone moment." As a result,...
iPhone 15 Pro Periscope Mock Feature

Periscope Camera Lens Exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro Max Will Be Supplied by Largan

Thursday March 30, 2023 1:18 am PDT by
The periscope camera lens that will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be solely supplied by Largan, according to the 相機鏡頭中獲利-apple-camera-lens-suppliers-face-two-risks-high-53db8da990b2">latest no by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Rumors about the iPhone getting a periscope lens have been circulating since early 2020, when Kuo first mentioned the possibility. The analyst...