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Chinese don't believe in "an Apple a day" any more

by on10 March 2020


iPhone demand halves in China and Apple blames Kung Flu

Apple sold fewer than half a million iPhones in China in February, government data showed as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for smartphones.

China placed curbs on travel and asked residents to avoid public places in late January, just ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, a major gift-giving holiday. Those restrictions stayed largely in place through most of February.

In total, mobile phone brands sold a total of 6.34 million devices in February in China, down 54.7 percent from 14 million in the same month last year, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed (CAICT).

It was also the lowest level for February since at least 2012, when CAICT started publishing data.

Shares of the iPhone maker fell about six percemt amid a broader slump in Wall Street on rising fears of a recession due to a steep fall in oil prices and the fast-spreading virus.

Android brands, which include devices made by Huawei and Xiaomi, accounted for most of the drop, as they collectively saw shipments decline from 12.72 million units in February 2019 to 5.85 million, the data showed.

Shipments of Apple devices slumped to 494,000, from 1.27 million in February 2019. In January, its shipments had held steady at just over two million.

Research firms IDC and Canalys previously forecast that overall smartphone shipments would drop by about 40 percent in the first quarter as the virus outbreak hit demand and disrupted supply chains.

Apple’s branded stores in China were shut for at least two weeks in February as fears over the epidemic mounted.

The company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, wrote a letter to investors that month warning it would not meet its initial revenue guidance for the current quarter due to weak demand.

Last modified on 10 March 2020
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