PHOTO: REUTERS

Smartphone sales nosedive amid pandemic

Smartphone shipments will continue to struggle throughout March


Tech Desk March 21, 2020
The pandemic of coronavirus has had a robust impact on the economy.

According to Strategy Analytics, a research firm, smartphone shipment fell in February fell by 38% year-on-year due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

"Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retail stores and buy new devices," said Linda Sui, report author.

Furthermore, the report suggests that smartphone shipments decreased from 99.2 million in February 2019 to 61.8 million in February 2020.

The cancellation of the annual Mobile World Congress event was also a major setback for the smartphone industry where many mobile devices were due to launch.

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This impacted the sale of many smartphones.

Samsung, which revealed its latest flagship S20 phones in February, has reportedly seen slow initial sales of the devices.

Apple also warned that it would miss its profit forecasts and said that worldwide iPhone supply would be "constrained".

"February 2020 saw the biggest-ever fall in the history of the worldwide smartphone market," said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics.

"Supply and demand of smartphones plunged in China, slumped across Asia, and slowed in the rest of the world.

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"It is a period the smartphone industry will want to forget."

The research firm also suggests that the smartphone shipments will continue to struggle throughout March, now that the virus has spread through Europe and into the United States.

With retailers offering a discount to boost sales, customers are still unwilling to make a trip down a smartphone store amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Strategy Analytics.

Despite this setback, Apple has announced via a press release that it will launch two new products this week a new iPad Pro with laser-scanning technology, and a new MacBook Air.

This article originally published on BBC Tech.

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