February Smartphone Shipments Fell 38%... Largest Decline Ever Recorded

Sharp Decline from 99.2 Million Units in February Last Year to 61.8 Million Units
Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo Shipments Halved Compared to January
Apple Also Sees 6 Million Unit Drop in Shipments Compared to January

Beijing Apple Store, which was closed due to COVID-19 (Photo by AP Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread globally, smartphone shipments in February dropped by 38%. In particular, smartphone shipments from Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo were halved compared to January.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics on the 20th (local time), February smartphone shipments were recorded at 61.8 million units, a 38% decrease compared to the same month last year (99.2 million units).

Samsung Electronics ranked first in February smartphone shipments. Samsung's shipments were 18.2 million units, down 1.9 million units from January. Especially notable was the sharp decline in shipments from manufacturers with a large sales share in China, such as Apple and Huawei. Apple, ranked second, shipped 10.2 million units, a decrease of 5.8 million units compared to the previous month (16 million units). Xiaomi's shipments were 6 million units, down 4 million units from the previous month (10 million units), rising to third place, surpassing the struggling Huawei. Huawei recorded 5.5 million units, down 6.7 million units from January (12.2 million units), a 70% decrease compared to the previous month. Oppo also shipped only 4 million units, down 4.1 million units, and Vivo shipped 3.6 million units, down 3.7 million units.

As COVID-19 started in China and rapidly spread through Asia to Europe and North America, the global smartphone market has been shaken. Recently, some regions in China have lifted movement restrictions and production facilities have begun to resume operations, and Apple Stores have reopened; however, all Apple Stores outside the Greater China region remain temporarily closed. Forty percent of AT&T stores in the United States have also closed. With self-quarantine measures spreading in the US and Europe and consumers reluctant to purchase new devices, the decline in shipments is expected to continue through March.

Niall Morten, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, explained, "February 2020 smartphone shipments saw the largest decline in history," adding, "Both demand and supply of smartphones in China plummeted, and with slowdowns in other regions, this period will be remembered by the smartphone industry as a 'time to forget.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.