Chinese smartphone market declines 45% in February, likely a COVID-19 consequence

Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi suffered a massive drop in sales during February in China. The Cupertino-based firm sold less than 500M smartphones. The company's slumped from 1.27 million in February, which is a 60% decline YoY. The monthly comparison is even worse, with 2 million iPhones pushed right before the Lunar New Year takes place in the last days of January. The Chinese smartphone market decline is a direct consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Apple shipped only 494,000 units, Chinese companies dropped from 12.72 million in February 2019 to 5.85 million twelve months later. The drop, reported by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, is due to the closing of multiple factories across China. This is combined with the state curbing travel and asking residents to stay at home to avoid further spread of the COVID-19.

Popular research companies like IDC and Canalys are expecting a 40% drop in shipments in Q1 2020. It's a result of the virus outbreak which is hurting both demand and the supply chain. Moreover, the first two weeks of February were critical for the Chinese smartphone market. Apple closed its stores that now are open even if not at full capacity. The company is revisiting its revenue guidance due to slumping sales.

The threat of a global recession is imminent, and of course, the smartphone market will be affected by it.