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The Coronavirus is wreaking havoc in China and in many other countries right now, and it may wreak havoc on the Galaxy S20 too.
Mobile Fun has reached out to tell us that many of its partners are having delays with manufacturing products for the Galaxy S20 due to the Coronavirus.
Though, it’s not just smartphone accessories that are being delayed. We’ve heard from some smartphone OEMs that their smartphones are being delayed because of the Coronavirus too. Which means that Mobile World Congress is going to be very interesting this year.
And it comes right after the Chinese New Year
Having a big Samsung event right after the Chinese New Year is always a struggle for case makers. And that’s because the entire country essentially shuts down for two weeks, during the Chinese New Year, which happens at the end of January normally. And where Samsung is announcing the Galaxy S20 on February 11, that’s not a big window to get these cases and other accessories made.
Now, you toss in the Coronavirus, which is currently shutting down public transit in many big Chinese cities (we’re talking cities with over 50 million people), it makes it even tougher.
This means that when the Galaxy S20 goes up for pre-order, likely on February 12, finding cases for these new devices could be pretty difficult. And most will likely be out of stock for a few weeks.
Though, Samsung’s own cases likely won’t be any issue, seeing as Samsung manufacturers most of those in South Korea itself. Which is not yet affected by the Coronavirus.
The downside to everything being made in China
Wondering what the downside is to having everything made in China? Well this is it. A virus spreads through the world’s largest country and essentially shuts it down.
The Chinese government has already extended the Chinese New Year holiday to February 9. But it could be extended longer, depending on how the Coronavirus situation changes by then. But that means that no one in the country is working. And that also means nothing is being made.
The Galaxy S20 shouldn’t be affected too much, seeing as most of Samsung’s products are manufactured in South Korea. The issue here is with Galaxy S20 cases, screen protectors, and other accessories. Most of those are made in China, and with the country-wide shut down right now, it means that the products are going to be delayed.