Goldman Sachs Predicts 36% Drop in iPhone Shipments

Goldman Sachs said this week that it predicts iPhone shipments will drop by 36 percent during the third quarter due to Chinese virus lockdowns around the world, advising shareholders to sell their shares of Apple stock.

Reuters reports that Goldman Sachs stated on Friday that it expects shipments of Apple iPhones to drop by 36 percent during the third quarter due to global lockdowns as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus, downgrading Apple stock to “sell.”

Goldman Sachs noted that the average selling prices for consumer devices are likely to decline and will remain weak for some time. Analysts said in a note: “We do not assume that this downturn results in Apple losing users from its installed base. We simply assume that existing users will keep devices longer and choose less expensive Apple options when they do buy a new device.”

Apple released a smaller iPhone earlier this week priced at $399, which lowers the starting price for the company’s smartphone line in an attempt to broaden its appeal to buyers shopping on a budget. Goldman said that it does not expect Apple to launch the upcoming iPhone models until early November as travel restrictions could impede the company’s final production process.

For the past month, Apple and Google have been working together on a new smartphone-based system for notifying people if they were in contact with someone that tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.

While other agencies and countries have begun working on their own technologies to track those that have been in contact with coronavirus victims, Apple and Google stated that they wanted to create a system that would offer the maximum public health benefit while continuing to protect individual privacy.

Apple and Google allege that unlike other systems, theirs will not collect location information or identifying information about those that test positive for the coronavirus. They also require that a person consent to the data that the companies do collect on them. The companies claim that health authorities will be able to include a way to verify that someone tested positive such as a QR code from a health care provider, addressing concerns that people could falsely claim that they tested positive.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com