China sees signs of smartphone rebound

Government figures showed China’s smartphone shipments in March continued to be significantly lower than figures for early 2019, but highlighted the easing of efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus) were beginning to have an effect, with the rate of decline lower than February.

Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed shipments in March fell 21.9 percent year-on-year to 21 million units, far less than the 54.7 percent drop recorded in February.

Over the first three months of the year, shipments slipped 34.7 percent to 47.7 million units, CAICT’s numbers revealed. The number of new smartphones released fell 24.5 percent to 74 models.

The data showed multinational brands accounted for 13.2 percent of total shipments last month, with Apple estimated to have shipped about 2.5 million iPhones, down 20 percent, after falling 61 percent in February.

Apple announced in mid-March it reopened all 42 stores in China after closing them in early February.

On a recent earnings call, Xiaomi president Wang Xiang said it was also getting back to normality, with production at between 80 percent and 90 percent of its regular capacity by 31 March, after hits to manufacturing and demand in February caused by lockdowns.

―Mobile World Live