Smartphone deliveries in the first quarter were severely affected by the corona virus.
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The global smartphone market saw the largest decline of all time in the first quarter Corona virus Pandemic, analysts reported on Thursday. Market researcher IDC estimated that deliveries decreased 11.7% year-on-year, while Canalys estimated the decrease was 13%.
Deliveries were expected to decline as China, the pandemic’s first epicenter, is the key to the global smartphone supply chain. China, which accounts for nearly a quarter of global shipments, experienced the largest decrease at 20.3%, followed by Western Europe at 18.3% and the United States at 16.1%, IDC said.
“What started as a primary supply-side problem that was originally limited to China has developed into a global economic crisis, the impact of which on the demand side will become apparent from the end of the quarter.” Nabila Popal, Research Director at IDCs Worldwide tracker for mobile devicessaid in a statement.
The decline is a blow to mobile phone manufacturers, who expected 2020 to be a comeback year for the industry as innovations like 5G and foldable screens brought people back to shopping. Instead, financial problems and concerns about COVID-19 will limit the number of devices that businesses can make and the number of phones actually purchased.
“Demand for new devices has been curbed,” said Ben Stanton, senior analyst at Canalys, in a statement that when the virus caught fire in China in February, vendors were mainly concerned with how enough devices could be built to meet the needs To meet demand.
“Smartphone manufacturing has recovered, but sales slumped when half of the world was banned,” said Stanton. “Many customers who would have bought a new smartphone as a luxury have delayed this purchase.”
Samsung regained the global smartphone crown and delivered 58.3 million smartphones with a 21.1% market share in the quarter, despite an 18.9% decline, IDC reported. Chinese smartphone maker Huwei took second place with a 17.8% market share, although deliveries declined by 17.1%.
No. 3 Apple outperformed its competitors, delivering 36.7 million iPhones in the quarter, representing a 13.6% market share for shipments that declined 0.4% in the quarter, IDC said.
Overall, manufacturers delivered 275.8 million smartphones in the quarter, IDC reported.
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