Report: Apple accelerating shift away from China production


Unrest in China has reportedly put severe constraints on some products. Specifically the iPhone 13 and 14 Pro models. A mega factory in Zhengzhou, China, reportedly accounted for 85% of Apple Pro iPhone models. That factory has seen labor disruptions as workers have protested wages and national COVID lockdown protocols.

Apple is reportedly looking at increasing production in India and Vietnam. The transition, though, is challenging as Apple and its Chinese partners have built up current capacity and capabilities during the decade-and-a-half cycles of annual iPhone launches.

The Wall Stree Journal:

The executives referred to what is known as new product introduction, or NPI, when Apple assigns teams to work with contractors in translating its product blueprints and prototypes into a detailed manufacturing plan.

It is the guts of what it takes to actually build hundreds of millions of gadgets, and an area where China, with its concentration of production engineers and suppliers, has excelled.

Apple has told its manufacturing partners that it wants them to start trying to do more of this work outside of China, according to people involved in the discussions. Unless places such as India and Vietnam can do NPI too, they will remain stuck playing second fiddle, say supply-chain specialists. However, the slowing global economy and slowing hiring at Apple have made it hard for the tech giant to allocate personnel for NPI work with new suppliers and new countries, said some of the people in the discussions.