The outbreak of coronavirus might impact Apple’s iPhone shipments. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the epidemic outbreak could cause the shipments to plummet by 10 percent in the first quarter of this year. Kuo’s latest prediction is based on the sale of iPhones during the Chinese New Year holidays. During the holiday period, Apple’s iPhone’s sales saw a decline of 50-60 percent year-over-year basis.
With the latest estimate, Apple could be staring at only 36-40 million units in the first quarter, Macrumors.com reported quoting the analyst’s research note. However, the shipment forecast for the second quarter was not revealed in the note. Kuo had claimed earlier that Apple would sell between 80 to 85 million iPhone units.
The coronavirus outbreak has forced the Cupertino-based tech giant to close all its retail stores and corporate offices in mainland China till February 9. The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first detected in Wuhan city in China’s Hubei province. It has so far infected more than 17,000 people in China alone and has claimed the lives of around 361 people. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it a global health emergency. The virus has spread to several countries including India, where two people have been infected with the dangerous virus so far.
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