“Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China” was written on the back of the iPhone and other Apple products. Today the famous writing is no longer there, but if it were it would often be different from the original one: as reported by the Vietnamese newspaper Tuoi Tre News, in fact, the Cupertino company is about to finalize the agreements for the production of Apple Watch and MacBook in Vietnam.
The Taiwanese Foxconn and the Chinese Luxshare Precision, suppliers and assemblers of Apple in China, have already conducted the first tests for the assembly of Apple Watch and MacBook in the north of the country.
Vietnam is already Apple’s most important manufacturing center outside of China and produces a wide range of flagship products for the American company, including AirPods. The earphones were among the first Apple products assembled outside of China following the outbreak of the trade war between Washington and Beijing under former US President Donald Trump. The move marked a shift in approach for Tim Cook’s company, which for decades had depended on China for nearly all of its manufacturing needs.
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Apple has also moved iPad production to Vietnam, after repeated Shanghai lockdowns due to China’s zero-Covid policy. China’s BYD was the first to get involved, but now Foxconn has increased production of Apple tablets in the Southeast Asian country. The HomePod smart speakers will almost certainly also be assembled in Vietnam.
The Apple Watch, however, is a more sophisticated product, and requires particularly advanced production lines. As for MacBooks, however, Apple has asked suppliers to start a test line in Vietnam, but it seems that more time will be needed to start mass production, due to the disruptions due to the pandemic, and also because the production of laptops involves a larger supply chain, which is currently almost completely Chinese.
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Many other large electronics manufacturers, such as Google, Dell and Amazon, have also started production in Vietnam to look for alternatives to China.
In recent months, Apple has decided to diversify its production lines, mainly targeting India, Mexico and Vietnam, countries that are becoming increasingly strategic for contract manufacturers that supply American brands. In India, which is also the second largest smartphone market in the world, the production of the iPhone 13 began this year, and the iPads will soon follow. “The market forecasts for the sector are cautious despite a result for the current quarter that has gone beyond expectations,” said Foxconn, who expects a physiological slowdown in demand due to an exceptional increase due to the pandemic.
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