The end of Apple’s affair with China(economist.com)
economist.com
The end of Apple’s affair with China
https://www.economist.com/business/2022/10/24/the-end-of-apples-affair-with-china
15 comments
>Chinese companies’ share of iPhone electronics production will rise from 7% this year to 24% by 2025,
I have been repeating this for years [1] [2] but every time gets downvoted into oblivion on HN. Not only that, there are no signs of Apple turning ship either. Those that were forced out by Geopolitics doesn't count.
But yes, doing assembly in India gets their PR win.
At least, judging from the 141 comments so far. There are a few people finally getting it.
Edit: And my quick glance of Economists data suggest they simply classify company by their HQ location. But not by their ownership and shareholding structure. Not that it makes substantial differences, just the numbers are higher than what is shown.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29489132
[2] Wrote about YMTC on SemiWiki in 2018. And their relationship with Apple.
I have been repeating this for years [1] [2] but every time gets downvoted into oblivion on HN. Not only that, there are no signs of Apple turning ship either. Those that were forced out by Geopolitics doesn't count.
But yes, doing assembly in India gets their PR win.
At least, judging from the 141 comments so far. There are a few people finally getting it.
Edit: And my quick glance of Economists data suggest they simply classify company by their HQ location. But not by their ownership and shareholding structure. Not that it makes substantial differences, just the numbers are higher than what is shown.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29489132
[2] Wrote about YMTC on SemiWiki in 2018. And their relationship with Apple.
As I understand it, assembly is also the most manual part of the process, so presumably the wage differential between China and India favours the move regardless.
The thing with outsourcing is, the vendor will themselves set up shop wherever the customer wants. In this case all the chinese companies are simply setting up plants in India and Vietnam, so they end up not losing any business in the short term. Same thing happens with software. All of the India consulting firms set up shop all over the world, for example Mexico to provide similar time zones to their US customers yet reduce costs. The customer gets to say we are not relying on country X and the vendor still has that contract.
It makes a difference though. The Indian factories hire all Indian staff and this makes it resilient to any trade war issues that may arise between China and the U.S.
Secondary sanctions may hit the Chinese-owned Indian companies, which could make them no more resilient at all. No? It seems like doesn't matter so much who is employed there as much as who owns them.
I tried looking around to get how much of the iPhones are actually made in India and couldn’t find any clear information.
Apple seems to be relying on Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary, and it is described as an assembly partner, so I’d expect all the parts and chips to be coming from neighboring countries (so mostly China?)
It is still a pretty big deal, but my assumption would be that aside from the trumpeting headlines, Apple and Foxconn are still deeply depending on China at this point and will stay so for many years to come ?
Apple seems to be relying on Foxconn’s Indian subsidiary, and it is described as an assembly partner, so I’d expect all the parts and chips to be coming from neighboring countries (so mostly China?)
It is still a pretty big deal, but my assumption would be that aside from the trumpeting headlines, Apple and Foxconn are still deeply depending on China at this point and will stay so for many years to come ?
You're talking about turning a ship 10000x the size of the Titanic.
A company like Apple with a CEO that built his career on logistics and production? You can be sure there's a plan. You just aren't allowed to see it.
A company like Apple with a CEO that built his career on logistics and production? You can be sure there's a plan. You just aren't allowed to see it.
> A company like Apple with a CEO that built his career on logistics and production? You can be sure there's a plan. You just aren't allowed to see it.
This, this and THIS !
Do not underestimate Apple when it comes to supply chain management, they are the kings.
Don't believe me ?
Look at the COVID-induced semi-conductor shortage.
Every other manufacturer out there that relies on a very strict definition of Just-In-Time supply chain has had issues with stupid-long lead times.
Meanwhile Apple ? Most of their product range has remained on next-day delivery throughout, and custom-build stuff has only been delayed by a few weeks rather than the months and years seen at other manufacturers.
Apple work much much closer with their supply chain than the majority of other manufacturers out there.
This, this and THIS !
Do not underestimate Apple when it comes to supply chain management, they are the kings.
Don't believe me ?
Look at the COVID-induced semi-conductor shortage.
Every other manufacturer out there that relies on a very strict definition of Just-In-Time supply chain has had issues with stupid-long lead times.
Meanwhile Apple ? Most of their product range has remained on next-day delivery throughout, and custom-build stuff has only been delayed by a few weeks rather than the months and years seen at other manufacturers.
Apple work much much closer with their supply chain than the majority of other manufacturers out there.
Is there any data for this? TBH, It doesn't pass the smell-test for me. Apple has a tiny product range, meanwhile companies like Samsung sell everything from chips, screens, and other components, to phones, laptops, tvs, etc, etc. Or even Dell, which has a massive product range; Our company purchased a ton of hardware from them during covid with no lead time issues - at-least on the things we wanted.
FWIW we had some pretty weird lead times with Dell during the worst of COVID.
They did re-engineer some products to deal with chip shortages e.g. the D6000 docking stations were replaced with D6000S models that had no 3.5mm headphone jack (presmuably due to a scarcity of DAC chips).
Network switch hardware still has some brutal delays at the moment, have been advised of 250+ day lead times for switches (across different models and manufacturers).
They did re-engineer some products to deal with chip shortages e.g. the D6000 docking stations were replaced with D6000S models that had no 3.5mm headphone jack (presmuably due to a scarcity of DAC chips).
Network switch hardware still has some brutal delays at the moment, have been advised of 250+ day lead times for switches (across different models and manufacturers).
Specifically for DAC, it's maybe due to the AKM factory fire
> Apple has a tiny product range
This is how apple manages supply chain issues.. By having a few products it is much easier to manage.
More so when many of your products dont change much year-to-year. How long has the ipad frame been the exact same size?
This is how apple manages supply chain issues.. By having a few products it is much easier to manage.
More so when many of your products dont change much year-to-year. How long has the ipad frame been the exact same size?
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Can you recommend any sources to learn more about this?
I've had MBPs on 5 week+ delivery schedules.
It took almost 3 months for me to get my MBP this year. Ordered in mid-March, wasn't delivered until early June.
This really reads like your typical apple propaganda by non-paid apple employees which is really weird.
I got an Apple Ipad last year directly from apple.com, it took MONTHS to get it.
Apple's own site told me this, once i placed my order:
Shipment 1 Ships: 7-9 weeks
There are numerous stories about how it is faster to get a referb studio vs a new one?
> Apple work much much closer with their supply chain than the majority of other manufacturers out there.
Foxconn and such dont just supply Apple. It is odd to believe that apple is the only one working with them to get their stuff. What do the others do, sit around and wait? Not talk to foxconn at all?
I got an Apple Ipad last year directly from apple.com, it took MONTHS to get it.
Apple's own site told me this, once i placed my order:
Shipment 1 Ships: 7-9 weeks
There are numerous stories about how it is faster to get a referb studio vs a new one?
> Apple work much much closer with their supply chain than the majority of other manufacturers out there.
Foxconn and such dont just supply Apple. It is odd to believe that apple is the only one working with them to get their stuff. What do the others do, sit around and wait? Not talk to foxconn at all?
That's very generous to Apple. They have a history of success, but for better or worse we're in uncharted territory. I mean, if the transition takes 10+ years, wil Tim Cook even be at the helm as it happens ?
BTW I didn't mean my comment as a critique of Apple, I think they did get everything right on the logistics side given what has been hapenning for the last decade (they weren't immune, but they clearly navigated it extremely well). But I would be warry of being too optimistic on their diversification efforts or looking at it as a done deal.
Kinda reminds me of the effort to have the Mac Pro assembled in the US. A lot of people were looking at it im very simple terms, when it's a really difficult thing to do in any viable economical fashion.
BTW I didn't mean my comment as a critique of Apple, I think they did get everything right on the logistics side given what has been hapenning for the last decade (they weren't immune, but they clearly navigated it extremely well). But I would be warry of being too optimistic on their diversification efforts or looking at it as a done deal.
Kinda reminds me of the effort to have the Mac Pro assembled in the US. A lot of people were looking at it im very simple terms, when it's a really difficult thing to do in any viable economical fashion.
It is worth noting that a lot of components of the iPhone are not sourced from within China. China is where it is assembled, but the screens, RAM, CPU, and storage are produced in other countries. Of the remaining parts I think batteries and radios are the ones that will probably retain production in China the longest.
Apple has ~150 suppliers in PRC, other countries barely break 30. They have some of the higher value components, but PRC pockets ~25% of BOM since iPhoneX, so likely higher now with BOE, YMTC (if it survies), Winstron and Luxshare, as as far as I know, a lot of the hardware design shifted to SZ during covid.
Reality is apart from shifting final assembly to other countries (insert 8$ per phone meme), PRC is moving up value chain in Apple. And if Apple wants to keep PRC market access, they'll keep the affair happening. Hence US gov had to drop the boot with YMTC.
Reality is apart from shifting final assembly to other countries (insert 8$ per phone meme), PRC is moving up value chain in Apple. And if Apple wants to keep PRC market access, they'll keep the affair happening. Hence US gov had to drop the boot with YMTC.
My M1 Mac mini from 2020 says "Made in Malaysia" on it.
The diversification has been happening longer than many people believe.
The diversification has been happening longer than many people believe.
To note, the "made in xxxx" denomination can be pretty fuzzy. You can source pre-assembled/fully functional blocks from anywhere, put it in the final enclosing at the last destination, and stamp it as made there.
Countries can be more or less strict about what threshold needs to be passed to be accepted as made locally, but I'd expect Malaysia to not be against computers production getting attributed to them.
Countries can be more or less strict about what threshold needs to be passed to be accepted as made locally, but I'd expect Malaysia to not be against computers production getting attributed to them.
Very insightful. It corrected a lot of incorrect information I had on this issues.
1. Labor cost is an issue but at 530 per month as of 2020 Chinese mfr labor is still relatively cheap and only twice as expensive as India.
2. Sales in China peaked in 2015-6 in terms of percentage of revenue for Apple
3. Despite the move, analysts predict 80% of Apple products will still be made in China by 2025.
1. Labor cost is an issue but at 530 per month as of 2020 Chinese mfr labor is still relatively cheap and only twice as expensive as India.
2. Sales in China peaked in 2015-6 in terms of percentage of revenue for Apple
3. Despite the move, analysts predict 80% of Apple products will still be made in China by 2025.
> 1. Labor cost is an issue but at 530 per month as of 2020 Chinese mfr labor is still relatively cheap and only twice as expensive as India.
Only by US standards. You can pay that much for a factory worker in eastern/south Europe. The US is a huge outlier regarding salaries compared to practically anywhere else.
Only by US standards. You can pay that much for a factory worker in eastern/south Europe. The US is a huge outlier regarding salaries compared to practically anywhere else.
> You can pay that much for a factory worker in eastern/south Europe
You'd be well bellow the gross average everywhere in the EU, even the poorest countries. Outside of the EU you might have a shot in Albania or Moldova, but you'd lack all the infrastructure and stability you'd need for large scale manufacturing.
You'd be well bellow the gross average everywhere in the EU, even the poorest countries. Outside of the EU you might have a shot in Albania or Moldova, but you'd lack all the infrastructure and stability you'd need for large scale manufacturing.
A factory worker is living on minimum wage. Nowhere near average.
They don't seem to be minimum wage workers in China[1] and India[2]. And are in fact much closer to median than minimum.
Europe's minimum wages are much higher in comparison[3].
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_China
[2]https://www.india-briefing.com/news/guide-minimum-wage-india...
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_...
Europe's minimum wages are much higher in comparison[3].
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_China
[2]https://www.india-briefing.com/news/guide-minimum-wage-india...
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_...
I don't understand your point. Google says Chinese manufacturing jobs pay $11k per year in 2020. This is a salary level of a south/east European factory worker.
My point is that in general manufacturing jobs aren't minimum wage. And those levels are below minimum wage in most European countries.
I just checked job postings in Bulgaria(the poorest EU country) and $11k is just a bit above entry level salary for unskilled uneducated manufacturing workers. It's higher with taxes, experience, etc. and there's a lot of better options at that level.
And the truth is even if you can find cheap employees in Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Macedonia, infrastructure is not there and investment wouldn't make much sense because there's not a lot of people here that are okay with such low wages.
I just checked job postings in Bulgaria(the poorest EU country) and $11k is just a bit above entry level salary for unskilled uneducated manufacturing workers. It's higher with taxes, experience, etc. and there's a lot of better options at that level.
And the truth is even if you can find cheap employees in Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Macedonia, infrastructure is not there and investment wouldn't make much sense because there's not a lot of people here that are okay with such low wages.
That's the salary. Now, you have employers costs, which will be much higher in socialistic countries in EU.
not so much - US employees need very expensive employer-provided health insurance. In the EU that's covered by taxes instead. I couldn't find a direct comparison (hard because it varies by state & country), but it seems to be a wash:
https://topsourceworldwide.com/international-salaries/
note that China is 40% of salary as a payroll tax, which tops the list.
https://topsourceworldwide.com/international-salaries/
note that China is 40% of salary as a payroll tax, which tops the list.
Quite the (wrong) assumptions, in service to a preconceived narrative.
What you term "socialistic" countries handle government services via taxes more than levies on employers.
It looks like the employer cost in China is 40.92%[0], while the highest percentage in Europe is 32.4% in Italy, and Switzerland imposes only 9.5%.
0. https://topsourceworldwide.com/international-salaries/
What you term "socialistic" countries handle government services via taxes more than levies on employers.
It looks like the employer cost in China is 40.92%[0], while the highest percentage in Europe is 32.4% in Italy, and Switzerland imposes only 9.5%.
0. https://topsourceworldwide.com/international-salaries/
Average is a really bad way of measuring what people get paid though. The average pay in Poland is currently 6700PLN/month , and that's a crazy amount of money for that country. Like, teachers are paid 2000-3000PLN, just to show you the disparity between the average and "real" pay of real people. A factory worker will make much closer to 2000PLN a month than 6700PLN.
Your data is a bit dated - the minimum wage in Poland is 3010 PLN and it'll be 3490 PLN starting 1st Jan 2023.
The unemployment rate is very low, so to be able to hire factory employees you'd realistically need to offer at least 5000 PLN (~1000 USD) in gross salary.
You'd have a much better chance to open such factory in Spain or Portugal, the salaries are similar, but you'll have an easier time hiring + green energy from sun.
The unemployment rate is very low, so to be able to hire factory employees you'd realistically need to offer at least 5000 PLN (~1000 USD) in gross salary.
You'd have a much better chance to open such factory in Spain or Portugal, the salaries are similar, but you'll have an easier time hiring + green energy from sun.
Minimum wage in 2022 is 3010PLN, so they can't make 2k unless you're talking about pay after taxes, but that 6.7k figure is before taxes, so it's not an apples to apples comparison.
> Like, teachers are paid 2000-3000PLN
Can you please provide some sources for that claim?
For example [1] says that the lowest, starting salary is already over 3000. And the salaries for teachers grow with work experience.
[1] https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/10/12/polish-teachers-among...
Can you please provide some sources for that claim?
For example [1] says that the lowest, starting salary is already over 3000. And the salaries for teachers grow with work experience.
[1] https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/10/12/polish-teachers-among...
>>Can you please provide some sources for that claim?
Family who are teachers - but I guess the bottom of the scale has increased now, that's my mistake.
Also observe how the top of the scale is 64578PLN/year, and according to the article, teachers reach that level in about 20 years on average. So even after working in the profession for 20 years, you don't reach the average wage for your country when working as a teacher.
Family who are teachers - but I guess the bottom of the scale has increased now, that's my mistake.
Also observe how the top of the scale is 64578PLN/year, and according to the article, teachers reach that level in about 20 years on average. So even after working in the profession for 20 years, you don't reach the average wage for your country when working as a teacher.
The "average salary in Poland" you are mentioning is a very specific measurement based on companies that have 10 or more employees. This measures only a subset of workers: in particular, it does not measure the salaries of school teachers.
The true average salary in Poland is lower than that.
I suspect that you do reach the average salary as an experienced teacher.
I suspect that you do reach the average salary as an experienced teacher.
You can pay that much for a factory worker in eastern/south Europe.
I don't know about eastern Europe. In Spain, we are in the south, you can't pay 530 per month. Legal minimum salary is around double that number, then you need to add SS (30 to 40% of that) and just FYI, there's no way people will work in a factory for minimum wage anyway, so think of 2k for entry positions.
I don't know about eastern Europe. In Spain, we are in the south, you can't pay 530 per month. Legal minimum salary is around double that number, then you need to add SS (30 to 40% of that) and just FYI, there's no way people will work in a factory for minimum wage anyway, so think of 2k for entry positions.
> The US is a huge outlier regarding salaries compared to practically anywhere else.
That is obviously not true, unless you exclude a lot of countries from "anywhere else".
That is obviously not true, unless you exclude a lot of countries from "anywhere else".
Ok name the countries.
It might be an exaggeration to say that the U.S. is a huge outlier. I suppose that's subjective. But it certainly looks like an outlier in this summary of average wages of OECD countries: https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/average-wages.htm Average wages in the U.S. are, in fact, the highest among all OECD countries--and much higher than all but a few very small countries (Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Iceland).
I wonder, though, how well this holds up if you look at the lower quintiles of the income distribution in each country--i.e., if you compare poorer workers instead of average workers. I would not be surprised if the bottom quintile earners in the U.S. make less than their counterparts in the EU, and perhaps elsewhere.
Edit: OECD also provides average earnings by activity and if you look at average earnings in "industry," the U.S. is, indeed, far from the top, with many countries in Eastern Europe ranking quite highly. Of course, that could just as easily be an effect of the types of industry located in each country, more than anything. You may still need to pay an American far more to build an iPhone than a Slovenian, which is a question I don't think this data meaningfully addresses.
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/employee-compensation-by-acti...
I wonder, though, how well this holds up if you look at the lower quintiles of the income distribution in each country--i.e., if you compare poorer workers instead of average workers. I would not be surprised if the bottom quintile earners in the U.S. make less than their counterparts in the EU, and perhaps elsewhere.
Edit: OECD also provides average earnings by activity and if you look at average earnings in "industry," the U.S. is, indeed, far from the top, with many countries in Eastern Europe ranking quite highly. Of course, that could just as easily be an effect of the types of industry located in each country, more than anything. You may still need to pay an American far more to build an iPhone than a Slovenian, which is a question I don't think this data meaningfully addresses.
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/employee-compensation-by-acti...
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There are too many to name, it's basically the entire developed world, which is basically NA, Western Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea.
Not saying the US is not more expensive, but it's not a "huge outlier" by any means.
Not saying the US is not more expensive, but it's not a "huge outlier" by any means.
Belgium. Denmark. Sweden. Germany. All relatively competitive with US on an hourly basis.
Local grocery in Seattle is hiring, $26/hour. From what I read on hackernews is like entry software engineer job in Sweden.
Cost of living between Seattle and Stockholm is also probably comparable…
But to be fair, US software engineer salaries are super high compared to everywhere except Switzerland.
However there’s still no way in hell a grocery store anywhere in Europe is going to pay someone $26/h.
But to be fair, US software engineer salaries are super high compared to everywhere except Switzerland.
However there’s still no way in hell a grocery store anywhere in Europe is going to pay someone $26/h.
€32.8* > $27.77
:shrug:
* Euro zone, EU is less
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/d... https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages
:shrug:
* Euro zone, EU is less
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/d... https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages
One is labor cost the other is wage. Two different although related metrics.
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All the countries in the EU:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_Union_member_...
The issue isn't entirely "how much you pay someone" but also a significant bit of "the supply chain for all of the parts are entirely within the city."
That supply chain part was traditionally a strong draw for electronics manufacturing to be done in China as you can get parts from down the street rather than the next city or state or country over.
That supply chain part was traditionally a strong draw for electronics manufacturing to be done in China as you can get parts from down the street rather than the next city or state or country over.
From an European perspective labour in the US is cheaper
I think at one point Steve Jobs had responded to a question on the topic of manufacturing location that the issue with moving manufacturing out of China, and specifically bringing more manufacturing back to the United States, had little to do with the cost of labor and more to do with the logistics networks. Building something as complex as an iPhone at scale and cost is basically impossible to do in the United States or really anywhere else right now.
The kicker is that Apple has made itself too dependent on Chinese suppliers. It has outsourced much of the development of components and has lost in-house know-how on how to recreate those parts if a fall-out were to occur.
This is all according to Apple's "Don't leave money on the table" mantra where they want increasing profits year after year. In the end, it'll hurt them...bad.
This is all according to Apple's "Don't leave money on the table" mantra where they want increasing profits year after year. In the end, it'll hurt them...bad.
> Labor cost is an issue but at 530 per month as of 2020 Chinese mfr labor is still relatively cheap and only twice as expensive as India.
The interesting question the article didn't answer is "how much labor goes into making an iphone?" The economics are very different if labor is 10% of the cost vs 70% of the cost.
The interesting question the article didn't answer is "how much labor goes into making an iphone?" The economics are very different if labor is 10% of the cost vs 70% of the cost.
The cynical side of me senses that what would land with India and Vietnam is labor-intensive, commoditized assembly of parts. "X% of iPhones manufactured in India" is sort of misleading if the bulk of parts are still coming from China. In some ways, I think this is going China's way. They are moving up the ladder into specialized manufacturing and away from manual labor. A smart strategy considering the demographic decline they are to face in upcoming decades.
On the other hand though, it would be foolish to expect the whole industry moving away from another country overnight. It would be a slow process that would start from the labor intensive parts of manufacturing. I think, it'd be a win-win for everyone, including China.
On the other hand though, it would be foolish to expect the whole industry moving away from another country overnight. It would be a slow process that would start from the labor intensive parts of manufacturing. I think, it'd be a win-win for everyone, including China.
Yeah, this makes sense to me.
I have not read the linked article, but I wonder, does it discuss this?
I caught another comment lower down that says the article mentions that labour costs in India are "only 2x" less than the labour cost in China.
As if "only 2x" is "trivial"...
I have not read the linked article, but I wonder, does it discuss this?
I caught another comment lower down that says the article mentions that labour costs in India are "only 2x" less than the labour cost in China.
As if "only 2x" is "trivial"...
There is momentum due to large capital costs associated with building the facility and getting the hardware to perform the manufacturing over there in the first place, etc. When labor costs are low, capex can be a bigger piece of the pie and a larger contributor to the effect
2x a small number is sometimes also a small number.
I speculate that labor is not a significant contributor the cost to produce an iPhone.
I speculate that labor is not a significant contributor the cost to produce an iPhone.
More precisely, assembly labour is not a significant contributor.
There's labour in other parts of the chain that make up a big chunk of the cost - hardware design, software design, firmware, chip design, fabbinig, component manufacture, shipping, retail, warranty repair and whatnot, but those don't happen in China or India, so they won't change if the assembly location changes.
There's labour in other parts of the chain that make up a big chunk of the cost - hardware design, software design, firmware, chip design, fabbinig, component manufacture, shipping, retail, warranty repair and whatnot, but those don't happen in China or India, so they won't change if the assembly location changes.
Its not going fast enough. And to develop a creative class with smart products, they would have to liberalize which they cant. Cant discuss about crypto, if the stasi on the barstool next to you reports you for detention.
Subversive and disruptive industries, need a state that turns a blind eye on them , or else they will not thrive.
Subversive and disruptive industries, need a state that turns a blind eye on them , or else they will not thrive.
You need to start somewhere. I presume over time more of the components will be made closer to the factories where the phones are actually being manufactured.
How was Apple able to maintain its production of iPhones in China during the height of Covid-19 in China?
There is the truth, as in the party wants zero covid. And there is the truth. The party wants to earn money, no matter what. So work is allowed, and ignored, just dont tell Xi and some excessive Covid measures are driven into some unimportant areas for show.
The ilusion of a strong state, the same as russias military ..
The ilusion of a strong state, the same as russias military ..
If you had massive outbreaks at a factory like Foxconn’s largest in Zhengzhou which employs 300,000 people, you would have massive interruptions to production.
Instead, they do extensive testing and quarantining to prevent outbreaks at a factory like that.
So no, it isn’t “performative zero COVID”.
Instead, they do extensive testing and quarantining to prevent outbreaks at a factory like that.
So no, it isn’t “performative zero COVID”.
Most of the workers who work at these factorys are young and fit, and they life and eat on site. So as so often in china, local tax inspector in company inspects shipment, local covid expert certifies zero covid.
Every once and a while a higher up arrives. Before that happens, the workers are checked for covid, some are quarantined and the rest is for a few weeks actually covid free. After the visit nobody cares..
Every once and a while a higher up arrives. Before that happens, the workers are checked for covid, some are quarantined and the rest is for a few weeks actually covid free. After the visit nobody cares..
It would be interesting to speak with a Foxconn employees from that time...
Why can't our own politicians figure that out?
COVID impacted EMS production facilities in the off peak season, so suppliers were able to move production around to different sites to dodge outbreaks. But it did impact production in Spring 2020.
Different sites in China? Was Covid-19 that localized?
This is all part of the "Great Decoupling" that will happen in the next decade. Apple will be hurt by this, no doubt, since it will not be able to find suitable replacement suppliers for some of its components, and it's loath to buy from Samsung, its biggest rival.
Ergo, Apple may go down when push comes to shove and the U.S. government gets into a tangle with China.
Ergo, Apple may go down when push comes to shove and the U.S. government gets into a tangle with China.
Less “affair” and more “long term partnership”. They both grew and developed a lot from it.
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This isn't news -- Apple opened factories in a bunch of SE Asian countries IIRC, and now stands poised to play them off each other since the old model of showing up and being shocked there are human rights abuses in... not just Xinjiang.
Apple's real affair, along with the rest of the tech industry, is with countries like Ireland and Austria are "neutral" in the sense that they allowed untaxed gains to flow into them much like Switzerland did in WWII.
They need to adjust to a world where people may buy their devices every two, three, even five years and hold onto them -- especially since China has control of those rapidly depleting rare earth mineral deposits that you need for the overly thin batteries.
Or folks can switch to Android, who seemed to have gone full Pirates of Silicon Valley and stolen the good features from iOS, last I poked around someone's phone.
(Let's be real: at this point they're just doing tweaks, not coming up with major enhancements.)
Apple's real affair, along with the rest of the tech industry, is with countries like Ireland and Austria are "neutral" in the sense that they allowed untaxed gains to flow into them much like Switzerland did in WWII.
They need to adjust to a world where people may buy their devices every two, three, even five years and hold onto them -- especially since China has control of those rapidly depleting rare earth mineral deposits that you need for the overly thin batteries.
Or folks can switch to Android, who seemed to have gone full Pirates of Silicon Valley and stolen the good features from iOS, last I poked around someone's phone.
(Let's be real: at this point they're just doing tweaks, not coming up with major enhancements.)
>>who seemed to have gone full Pirates of Silicon Valley and stolen the good features from iOS
.......I'm sorry, what? It seems like iOS is "stealing" features from Android every few years, they basically let Samsung and others implement something first, improve it for a couple iterations, then finally they add it to iOS and say "look this is a massive step for iOS!", and I'm sitting there being like......we've had this for at least 5 years, what's the big deal? Just that it's nice and polished? Cool, well done, have a cookie.
.......I'm sorry, what? It seems like iOS is "stealing" features from Android every few years, they basically let Samsung and others implement something first, improve it for a couple iterations, then finally they add it to iOS and say "look this is a massive step for iOS!", and I'm sitting there being like......we've had this for at least 5 years, what's the big deal? Just that it's nice and polished? Cool, well done, have a cookie.
I still think that widgets are an unnecessary Android import that bloats the simplicity of the iOS UX. At the very least they should’ve called it something else. Gadgets?
>.......I'm sorry, what? It seems like iOS is "stealing" features from Android every few years, they basically let Samsung and others implement something first, improve it for a couple iterations, then finally they add it to iOS and say "look this is a massive step for iOS!"
Who knows -- there may have been a time where one was superior and the other inferior but slowly pilfering features, but for right now moving from iOS to Android is like an American considering emigration...
(Where you gonna go... Montreal? If I rolled my eyes any harder, my retinas would literally detach.)
Who knows -- there may have been a time where one was superior and the other inferior but slowly pilfering features, but for right now moving from iOS to Android is like an American considering emigration...
(Where you gonna go... Montreal? If I rolled my eyes any harder, my retinas would literally detach.)
chmaynard(8)