Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company MediaTek has announced that it is reducing the projected 5G smartphone sales from over 200 million to between 170-200 million in 2020 due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis in China. China is a major market where it expects most 5G smartphones to be shipped. As per report, MediaTek predicts China will still ship around 100-120 million 5G smartphones this year, accounting for a global market share of 60 per cent, news portal GizmoChina reported on Monday.
Earlier, US based investment banking and financial service company Goldman Sachs is forecasting a hefty 200 million 5G smartphone shipments globally in the coming year. The predicted value is about 20 times more than the sales figure of 2019. According to estimates, there will be about one million new 5G base stations in China this year. This is higher than the original 600,000 prediction by Goldman Sachs.
Additionally, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun announced the company is planning to pump $7 billion in 5G, AI and IoT over the next five years. Last month, Chinese local research agencies suggests that 20 per cent of all mid range smartphones will support 5G, thanks to the expansion of the network in the country. An estimated five million 5G capable smartphones were sold in December 2019 alone it is expected that more than 20 per cent of the smartphones under $290 will be 5G enabled this year.
The revised shipment estimates truly highlight the impact that Coronavirus has had on all fronts. With a rising count of deaths due to the virus, major provinces in China, which heavily contribute to the manufacturing and assembly of electronics, have been put in lockdown to prevent the spreading of the virus and protect new individuals from being affected. This has led to factories being closed as well, hence taking a toll on the estimated number of devices that may be sold through the year.
(With inputs from IANS)
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