More blue numbers confirm what we are already aware of: Q1 2020 was tough for an already struggling smartphone division. Gartner’s latest report sets the global market at a 20.2% slide as compared to the same time last year, thanks in large portion to fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Every single one of the global top-five productions saw significant drops for the quarter, save for Xiaomi, which saw a small uptick of 1.4%. The Chinese smartphone maker got a surprise bump, courtesy of international sales. Samsung and Huawei and Oppo all observed double-digit drop-offs at 22.7%, 27.3%, and 19.1%, while Apple declined 8.2%. Other companies consolidated for a sizable 24.2% loss for Q1.
The reasons are ones we’ve gone over several times before, nearly all about the global pandemic. Chief among them are comprehensive stay at home orders and general economic uncertainly. Issues with the worldwide supply chain have no doubt been a factor, as well, as Asia was the first to get hit with the virus.
All of this comes in addition to an already plateauing/declining smartphone market. Analysts had expected that the arrival of 5G would help stem the tide a bit — but, well, some stuff happened in there. Notably, Apple’s slide wasn’t as bad as it might have been thanks to a strong start to the year.
“If COVID-19 did not happen, the vendor would have likely seen its iPhone sales reached a record level in the quarter. Supply chain disruptions and declining consumer spending put a halt to this positive trend in February,” Gartner’s Annette Zimmermann said in a release. “Apple’s ability to serve clients via its online stores and its production returning to near normal levels at the end of March helped recover some of the early positive momenta.”
Overall, I suspect that recovery won’t be instantaneous for the market. The future of COVID-19 still feels largely uncertain as countries have begun the process of reopening, and a pricey investment always may not be in the cards for many who are struggling to make ends meet.
