Apple sold fewer than half a million iPhones in China in February, government data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for smartphones, reported Reuters.
In total, mobile phone brands sold a total of 6.34 million devices in February in China, down 54.7% from 14 million in the same month last year, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed (CAICT). It was also the lowest level for February since at least 2012, when CAICT started publishing data.
Shares of the iPhone maker fell about 6% amid a broader slump in Wall Street on rising fears of a recession due to a steep fall in oil prices and the fast-spreading virus.
Android brands, which include devices made by Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, accounted for most of the drop, as they collectively saw shipments decline from 12.72 million units in February 2019 to 5.85 million, the data showed.