In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has lowered his iPhone shipment forecast by 10% to 36-40 million units in the first quarter of 2020, noting that the Coronavirus outbreak is affecting the iPhone supply in China.
He added that smartphone shipments in the Chinese market declined by 50-60% year-over-year during the Chinese New Year holiday period, possibly due to declining consumer confidence in the country stemming from the Coronavirus outbreak.
Apple has temporarily shut down all its retail stores in mainland China through Feb. 9 due to the Coronavirus, according to CNBC. It’s online store will remain open.
All of China’s provinces and territories have now been touched by the outbreak of the Coronavirus. There have been 300 deaths with more than 14,000 infections confirmed.
