What you need to know
- Apple's new AirPods Max are made in Vietnam, a sign that it is accelerating the withdrawal of its supply chain from China.
A new report says Apple's AirPods Max are being made in China, indicating an acceleration of its withdrawal from China.
According to DigiTimes:
Apple's freshly unveiled over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, are manufactured by China-based Luxshare Precision Industry and Goertek, according to industry sources.The Chinese makers beat Taiwanese rivals to the AirPods Max orders, even though Inventec Appliances had reportedly participated in the early development of the device, said the sources.Inventec Appliances, a primary manufacturer of the AirPods Pro devices, declined to comment on specific clients. But it said it would actively develop diverse product lines catering to the needs of different clients and meeting its diversification strategy.
DigiTimes says that sources indicated both Luxshare and Goertek are producing AirPods Max in Vietnam, further signifying that Apple is "accelerating the relocation of its related supply chains out of China."
The report also says that the number of iPhones made in India by both Foxconn and Wistron is also increasing.
Apple started diversifying its supply chain earlier this year, driven in part by the global pandemic which decimated its operation in China. One clear winner is India, which has seen the onshoring of lots of Apple manufacturing, in part driven by generous government subsidies. Earlier this year it emerged Apple's iPhone 11 was even being made in the country, the first time a flagship iPhone had ever been made outside of China.
Last month it was reported that Apple had moved 9 of its 11 iPhone manufacturing units from China to India.
