Samsung’s gamble to set up its production facilities in Vietnam is paying off big time, as it's being largely unaffected by the current manufacturing issues affecting China due to the coronavirus. The coronavirus outbreak is being felt globally, but nowhere more so than in China where the disease originated from and it’s having a knock-on effect on manufacturing as plants are being closed to prevent the spread of the virus. Samsung produces some of the best smartphones in the world, with half of those handsets originating from Vietnamese production facilities.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s main competitor, Apple, hasn’t been having a great time, with the tech giant coming out to say that it won’t meet it’s quarterly guidance for March due to the coronavirus' effect on sales and manufacturing in China, where the vast majority of iPhones are produced.
Samsung is also unlikely to see the same hit to its sales as other smartphone producers, as the Korean smartphone producer doesn’t have a huge share of the Chinese phone market - most of its sales come from America and Europe. According to a report by industry analysis firm Counterpoint, Samsung accounted for less than 1% of the smartphone share in China during by the end of Q3 2019, compared to Apple’s 6% and Huawei’s 40%.
Coronavirus hurting smartphone industry
Huawei itself hasn’t announced any drop in profit expectations, but between its ongoing battle with the Trump administration and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China, they’re almost certain to take a big hit this quarter.
This great news for Samsung comes off the back of its announcement of a new foldable smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Z flip, along with its new flagship line of S20 smartphones. It’s not all good news for Samsung though, as it also sells a lot of microchips and display technology to other smartphone producers including Apple and Huawei, which means their misfortunes will become Samsung’s misfortunes in the long run.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z flip will be launching later this year with an eye-watering price tag of $1379.99. If that’s too much cash for you to drop in one go, check out our round up of the best cell phone providers and see if you can get one on a great plan. We also have cell phone coverage maps to help you choose the best provider for your area.
