Apple stores over in China have been grounded for several weeks now, no thanks to the novel coronavirus. However, it appears that some stores in Beijing will be resuming operations at some capacity. All five retail stores in the Beijing area will reportedly re-open on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day, something that is a good sign.
According to Reuters, Apple stores in Beijing will open on Feb. 14 but operate only between 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Normally, Apple stores are operational from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. There is no official word on when other outlets will follow. Hence, stores located over in Shanghai and Shenzhen remain shut.
Regardless, these are little steps in the right direction for Apple. The main concern is the repercussions these forced stop of operations will have on the company's products and services. The outbreak is expected to factor heavily in the overall sales of Apple which operates over 40 stores in China, Mac Rumors reported.
Apple is not the only company affected by the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn has also been affected, although there are reports that they could be resuming operations soon across China.
According to the Apple website, the company has also started working on re-opening its corporate office and support centers as early as last Feb. 8. Customers who plan on visiting any of Apple's offices have been advised to continue wearing face masks and undergo the proper temperature tests for precautionary measures.
Aside from Apple and Foxconn, Huawei has also been taking a big hit from the coronavirus outbreak. The company relies heavily on domestic sales in China for most of its shipments. Aside from that, Huawei relies on the local kiosks in China for high volume sales. Their offline phone purchases are expected to take a big hit, which will likely reflect on their reports later on.
For Apple, one anticipated product that may find it hard to launch is the iPhone 12. According to Digitimes, Apple has stopped sending an engineer to China to participate in the Engineering Validation Test phase of the mobile handset. This could be part of an expected delay in the mass production of the iPhone 12 - possibly in June. It is believed that the next Apple flagship will be announced in September, but supplies could be constrained. A huge demand is expected for the iPhone 12, but its availability is now a cause for concern due to the coronavirus.
