According to Reuters, Apple sold less than 500,000 iPhones in China last month as compared to February 2019. The report also said that in 2019 Apple sold 1.27 million devices, and this year only 494,000. It is almost 60 percent less than February 2019, because of coronavirus impact.
According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, there was only a total shipment of 6.34 million devices in February. It was almost 55 percent less as compared to the sale of 14 million devices in February 2019. Also, Android brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei suffered the worst. Both these devices saw a decline from 12.72 million units in February 2019 to 5.85 million this year.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Apple closed all of its 42 retail stores in China in February this year. However, now most of Apple’s retail stores are open with fewer operating hours.
Apple also announced in mid-February that the financial guidance for the March quarter would fall short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Back in January, Apple expected to generate revenue of $63 to $67 billion in the March quarter. However, due to the restrictions on employees and the closing of several factories in China, the company may not meet its revenue goals.