Apple would be shifting part of the production of Apple Watch e MacBook in Vietnam, for the first time. The companies Lushare e Foxconnwhich they have already assembled for Apple’s iPad and of AirPods, have proven to have a highly skilled workforce. And Apple is banking on them to reduce the number of devices assembled in Chinese.
Apple Watch and MacBook will be assembled in Vietnam
According to Nikkei Asian Review, Luxshare e Foxconn MacBook and Apple Watch production started in Vietnam. This is the first time that Apple has produced laptops and smartwatches in the country. Two tools which, due to the power of one and the complexity of working in small dimensions the other, are extremely complicated to assemble. But the quality of Vietnamese labor hit Apple, it seems.
Apple would have already moved a bigger chunk of iPad production to Vietnam this year, because of the supply problems in China especially during lockdowns. So much so that at the beginning the production of iPad in Vietnam was managed by the Chinese company BYD, Apple’s longtime partners. But now Foxconn would join as well.
According to Nikkei sources, Apple is also discussing the possibility of producing its speakers in Vietnam HomePod family.
The migration to Vietnam, while promising to differentiate and streamline the assembly process, will take some time to relocate the entire supply chain. But it is a process that Appland has already started in 2020 with AirPods and it seems that it is always easier to do so. Also because from 2018 to today the infrastructures of Apple’s suppliers are increased from 14 to 22.
With these steps Apple stands building an alternative to China, which makes it more flexible in case of production problems in one of the two countries. Promising that in the future we will no longer have to wait weeks for an Apple Watch or a MacBook.