Apple sold fewer than half a million iPhones in China during February, as the outbreak of coronavirus saw demand for smartphones plummet.
Chinese government data released on Monday found that mobile brands sold a total of 6.34 million devices in February, dropping 54.7 per cent from the 14 million achieved in the same month of last year.
READ MORE: Apple issues financial alert as outbreak hits supply chain
According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, it was the lowest level of sales since at least 2012, when CAICT started publishing data.
In late January China introduced curbs on travel and asked residents to avoid public places, just before the onset of the Lunar New Year festival.
Shipments of Apple devices slumped to 494,000, from 1.27 million in February 2019. In January, its shipments had held fast at just over 2 million.
The reports come after Apple chief executive Tim Cook warned investors that the tech giant would not meet its initial revenue guidance for the current quarter due to weak demand.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
