As we now well know the COVID-19 - better known as Coronavirus - has arrived and is creating disorder in almost all of our beloved peninsula. We all know, or rather everyone is assumed to know, that Coronavirus has a high contagious rate but luckily it also has a low mortality rate but, as it should be, finding ourselves in front of a new enemy, prevention is a must above all to significantly reduce the number of infected people. But if COVID-19 is not totally lethal for our health, it is still dangerous for the Hi-Tech sector. The large companies, both manufacturers and assemblers of Hardware and Hi-Tech compounds are in fact located in China, which is the country from where the Coronavirus spread and which counts most of the infected. Many companies have found themselves with little staff and forced to close some production lines, such as success for Samsung and its new Galaxy Z Flip.
COVID-19 has not only brought the population and the Hi-Tech sector to their knees but also the transport sector, making it difficult for Chinese industries to both recover the raw materials necessary for the creation of their components and making the distribution of these components difficult. finished their assembly process. This health crisis is leading to a significant delay in the procurement of technology products and therefore to a lesser presence - or even total absence - of these within the various global markets, causing an inevitable rise in prices.
Let's see in detail which products will be most affected by the Coronavirus.
One of the Hi-Tech sectors that will suffer the greatest impact due to the Coronavirus is certainly that of telecommunications. Wuhan, in addition to being the epicenter of this epidemic, it is also the largest producer of optical fiber. 25% of world production resides in this region. With the advent of 5G, the demand for this new communication technology is very high, but due to COVID-19 we will have to wait before we can use it. In the Marche region a regional decree has been passed to prevent the construction of these new networks until there is certain data that they are not harmful to human health and animal species, but also in the regions where the new technology could be operated it will take a long time to be implemented.
Another sector that should suffer a significant slowdown in its production cycle is that of notebooks and smartwatches. It is estimated in fact a slowing down by about 16%. On balance, large Chinese factories have declared that their stocks of PCBs, plastics, cardboard, metal parts and cables are extremely at risk. They also reiterated that until a product is 100% complete it will not be able to leave the factory and, given the limited stocks, we will see very few come out.
As well as notebooks and smartwatches, the smartphone market will also suffer considerably. The slowdown is estimated to be around 10%, so if you intend to change your smartphone, wait for the end of this epidemic. As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, Samsung was forced to temporarily interrupt the production line of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, the first phone of the Korean house with a clamshell design and folding screen. Apple also had to bow to the Corona Virus, sending a letter to its shareholders explaining that they will not be able to meet the demand for bitten apple products and that they will not be able to reach the expected turnover.
A sector that will probably not slow down, because it is highly automated and therefore with very little manpower, is that of DRAM and NAND FLASH memories., then ram and ssd, and that of semiconductors. As already explained, they are automated sectors and a possible shortage of human workforce will not lead to any slowdown. In addition, China, as regards memories and semiconductors, has a license that allows it to ship these items even in the event of quarantine.
Another sector that could suffer slowdowns - but we will hardly realize it - will be that of home consoles, so PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in all their forms. Now the next generation is upon us and the demand for current consoles is in sharp decline. In addition, the launch of PlayStation 5 e Xbox Series X is scheduled for the 2020 Christmas holidays and it is assumed that this epidemic will be eradicated by then and that therefore the marketing should take place in the times and ways already set, but to know this we will have to go ahead and hope that everything will be resolved in the best possible way. TSMC, the company that has relied on AMD for the production of the chips that we will find on board in the next gen consoles, has declared that the production is proceeding according to the established times.
We just have to wait for the situation to evolve, hoping that this epidemic will be resolved as soon as possible. In the meantime we leave you the information issued by the Ministry of Health.
For any update regarding COVID-19 and the Hi-Tech world, keep following us.
