China Smartphone Demand Weakens Amid Covid Resurgence

Smartphone demand in China is rapidly cooling as the pandemic’s resurgence dents consumer spending, prompting warnings in recent weeks from handset makers including Apple as well as chip makers about the world’s biggest smartphone market.

Smartphone shipments in China fell 34% in April from a year ago to 17.7 million units, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed this week. For the first four months of the year, shipments declined by 30% to about 86 million units, said the academy, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.