Global Smartphone Shipments See Biggest Fall Ever in February 2020
Global smartphone shipments dropped an estimated 38 percent in February 2020, marking the biggest ever fall in the history of the worldwide smartphone market, according to new data shared today by Strategy Analytics.

Smartphone companies shipped an estimated 61.8 million units in February 2020, down from 99.2 million units in February 2019.
Smartphone demand in Asia dropped heavily in February, leading to a significant collapse in sales as lower demand in Asia dragged down shipments across the world. Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones due to quarantines and travel restrictions and customers were unable or unwilling to leave their homes to visit retail stores and buy new devices.
"February 2020 saw the biggest fall ever in the history of the worldwide smartphone market. Supply and demand of smartphones plunged in China, slumped across Asia, and slowed in the rest of the world. It is a period the smartphone industry will want to forget."
Strategy Analytics Senior Analyst Yiwen Wu said that though there are now signs of recovery in China, global smartphone shipments are expected to remain weak throughout March 2020 as many countries are still struggling with the coronavirus.
Apple Stores in several countries including the United States are closed for the time being, and millions of consumers are in lockdown or unable to shop for new devices.
Yiwen Wu, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, "Despite tentative signs of recovery in China, we expect global smartphone shipments overall to remain weak throughout March, 2020. The coronavirus scare has spread to Europe, North America and elsewhere, and hundreds of millions of affluent consumers are in lockdown, unable or unwilling to shop for new devices. The smartphone industry will have to work harder than ever to lift sales in the coming weeks, such as online flash sales or generous discounts on bundling with hot products like smartwatches."
Apple in February said that its March quarter revenue will not meet its revenue goals, though we won't know how far below target Apple lands until its April earnings call.
Popular Stories
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how functions. As noted by The Washington Post,...
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...
Top Rated Comments
When financial uncertainty is ahead, the last purchase on someone's mind is buying another smartphone
Article header should be..
Global (Goods) Shipments See Biggest Fall Ever in February 2020
March: hold my beer...