by Apple and many other companies rely heavily on China to manufacture their products, but this has become an issue lately as the Asian country has imposed lockdowns and other policy restrictions affecting how these companies produce. To reduce its dependence on China, Apple is now diversifying its suppliers and will now increase orders from a Taiwanese company.
Apple wants to reduce its dependence on Chinese suppliers
As reported by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, AOET will start shipping lenses for iPad from the second half of 2023. Currently, AOET is the largest provider of lenses for Mac. The analyst notes that AOET “could follow in Sunny Optical’s footsteps” as the company initially provided parts for the iPad and eventually received orders for iPhone parts.
But the real news here, according to Kuo, is how Apple plans to use AOET, a Taiwanese company, to further advance its plan to reduce long-term reliance on Chinese suppliers. Slowly, Apple has shifted its production line to other countries.
Back in December, multiple reports revealed that Apple was considering producing the iPad in India for the first time since the iPhone is already being produced there. A few days ago, an Indian company started supplying AirPods parts to Apple. Apple has also shifted production of Apple Watch and MacBooks to Vietnam, while some iPhone models are also assembled in Brazil.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has imposed strict lockdowns on the country with a “zero-COVID” policy. This has caused many factories in the country to close their doors for extended periods, affecting supplies for companies like Apple. At the same time, political disputes between China and Taiwan have also threatened the supply of parts for electronic devices.
9to5Mac’s take
At this point, it seems impossible for Apple to reduce its full dependence on China. However, given how badly the company has been hit by supply issues over the past two years, plans to diversify its supply chain are certainly valid and promising.
Maybe sometime in the future Apple will have enough suppliers around the world not to be affected by the whole situation in China.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Visit 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:
