Apple is handing off more responsibility to its engineers in China

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Iphone Factory China
Iphone Factory China (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple is reportedly giving engineers in China more responsibility over the manufacturing process.
  • The company is responding to COVID-19 restrictions in the country.
  • "Key decisions" will still be made by Apple's team in Cupertino.

Apple's engineers in China are taking on more responsibility due to increasing COVID-19 restrictions.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal (via The Verge), the company is giving engineers in the country more decision-making capability when it comes to managing the hardware manufacturing process. Apple has historically been known to regularly send U.S. based engineers to the country, but COVID-19 restrictions in China have caused the company to shift its strategy.

Despite not being physically in the country, Apple's engineers based in the United States still use video calls and augemented reality to assist its team overseas.

The iPhone maker has also adopted some technology, including live-streaming, that helps staff based at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., remotely follow what's happening on China's factory floors, the people said. Apple has used iPads to communicate and augmented-reality tools to help technical experts in Cupertino check factory issues, one of the people said.

While engineers in China have taken on more responisbility, the report says that "key decisions" will still be made by the Apple's team at Apple Park, the company's U.S. headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple has been facing more supply constraints as of late due to the global supply chain shortage which has been largely impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Basic Apple Guy Twitter account pointed out earlier today that many of the company's products are seeing delivery dates as far out as three months.

Apple has continued to adapt to the impact of the pandemic but has also been taking strides to return to a pre-pandemic world. The company recently lost its director of machine learning due to its stance on remote work.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.