Apple Shipments Declined By 60%, Says CAICT
Apple is facing more than a 60% drop in iPhone shipments as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).
The tech heavyweight already announced in mid-February that it wouldn’t meet its revenue guidance for this quarter because of planned cuts in production in order to protect employees and contain the virus.
However, it would seem that the deadly virus is taking a bigger-than-predicted toll on the company. Reports indicate that iPhone shipments plunged to 494,000 units in February 2020 from over 1.2 million units in February 2019 – resulting in a 60% year on year drop.
While the company is in the process of resuming production, progress has been slower than excepted. Only 29 of its 42 stores have been reopened.
“Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” reads a statement from Apple.
“This is the double-edged sword of being in China,” says Apple analyst, Gene Munster. “They’re the only big company with China exposure, so they are working through the pain of what has largely been a success for the company over the past decade.”
Apple isn’t the only one
Apple is not the only manufacturer feeling the impact. According to TechWeez, “On Android, there was a similar huge drop in shipments. Collectively, Android brands show shipments decline from 12.72 million units in February 2019 to 5.85 million in February 2020, which represents a 54% drop”.
China only managed to ship 6.4 million mobile phone units in February – an overall dip in the market of 56% year on year.
Source: itnewsafrica
