In May 2023, Apple will also start producing MacBooks in Vietnam, where AirPods will be produced from 2020, and tablets and smartwatches from 2022. Apple has had to quickly look for new countries where it can manufacture after China faced major problems due to strict policies related to Covid 19 and geopolitical conflict with the US.

Apple produces about 20 to 24 million MacBooks each year in Chengdu and Shanghai, but the company has been working for two years to move some production to Vietnam. Rather, it was not possible due to the complexity of the supply chain.

The press wrote that Foxconn, Apple’s largest partner, will begin assembling laptops in large volumes in Vietnam from May 2023. Test production began in 2022.

All the major US tech companies have had to look for alternatives to manufacturing in China, and this is because of the policies related to Covid 19. China has firmly adhered to the “Zero Covid” strategy for almost three years, there has been chaos in production, and Abandoning the tough measures could cause new problems, namely the millions of diseases that will affect production.

China was just extremely unpredictable. The fact that the geopolitical tension between China and the USA is becoming increasingly acute was also of great importance.

The last quarter of the year is Apple’s best ever, with MacBook shipments also exceeding 7 million units in the last three months of 2021. Between 2014 and 2019, shipments did not exceed 5.5 million units in the best quarter of the year.

Apple’s diversification is also seen in India, where iPhones are made.

Sources: Financial Times, Nikkei Asia

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