COVID-19 Hits Smartphones Too... January Shipments Down 7%

Huawei and Apple with High Market Share in China Take Direct Hit
January Smartphone Shipments Down 16% Month-on-Month

On the 11th (local time), Samsung Electronics held the Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, USA, unveiling its strategic smartphones, the 'Galaxy S20 series' and the second foldable phone, the 'Galaxy Z Flip.' On the 12th, citizens are experiencing the related products at the KT Plaza Gwanghwamun branch in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), companies producing smartphones in China have been hit hard. Smartphone shipments in January decreased compared to last year or the previous month. It is expected to affect the sales of new smartphones released in the first quarter.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics on the 24th, global smartphone shipments in January 2020 were 105 million units, down 7% from January last year (107.9 million units). Compared to the previous month (119 million units), it decreased by about 16%.

Chinese manufacturers Huawei and Apple, which produce smartphones in China and have large local sales, were directly impacted. Huawei's smartphone shipments in January were 12.2 million units, down 39% from the same period last year (19.9 million units). Compared to December last year (14.2 million units), it also decreased by 14%.

Apple's shipments last month were 16 million units, slightly higher than January last year (15.6 million units), when iPhone XS series sales slowed. However, compared to December 2019 (25.6 million units), it dropped by about 38%. Since a significant portion of Apple's production facilities are concentrated in China, the spread of COVID-19 led to a lowered performance forecast for the first quarter.

SA explained in the report, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, demand within China decreased, resulting in a decline in smartphone shipments in January."

Relatively, Samsung Electronics recorded stable shipment volumes. Samsung's smartphone shipments in January were 20.1 million units, a 1-2% decrease compared to the same period last year (20.5 million units) and the previous month (20.3 million units). This is interpreted as the impact of COVID-19 being minimal because Samsung has no smartphone production facilities in China and sales within China are not large.

However, as confirmed COVID-19 cases surged domestically this month, variables increased in some smartphone production and new product marketing plans. At Samsung Electronics' Gumi plant, which produces the Galaxy Z Flip and Fold, a staff member in the smartphone production department tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the closure of the Gumi plant until the afternoon of the 24th. Samsung Electronics changed its strategy by minimizing the originally planned offline experience marketing for the Galaxy S20 launch and strengthening rental services and online marketing.

With the cancellation of MWC2020, where global manufacturers and mobile carriers gather, there were disruptions in new product announcements and release schedules. Huawei decided to hold a global new product launch event online. Sony also unveiled its new smartphone products through YouTube.