Chinese smartphone makers have once again lowered their plans for mobile phone shipments for 2021. According to DigiTimes, we are talking about major brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme and Honor, which already lowered their supply forecast for the year in early May.
There are several factors that are causing Chinese smartphone makers to lower their supply outlook, including material supply issues and a global chip shortage that has affected virtually every industry around the world. The shortage of semiconductor products has greatly affected the automotive industry, the segments of smartphones, PCs, home appliances and so on.
Another factor in this strong adjustment was the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic that swept through India and other key markets. The smartphone market in India has just begun to recover, but now sales have fallen again.
Kiranjit Kaur, Senior Research Lead at IDC, commented on the situation in India: «People don’t leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Online stores only offer the essentials, and smartphones don’t fall into that category.»
India has been an important very important market for all smartphone vendors, so a drop in sales in this region will have a negative impact on the overall sales of all companies. Xiaomi is the leading smartphone brand in the region, shipping 41 million smartphones last year.