Apple could have a surprising trick up its sleeve to save the iPhone in China.
New reports claim the company is working on a smartphone exclusively for the Chinese market. The device is expected to be significantly more affordable and will include an under-display fingerprint scanner in place of Face ID.
Apple is the big winner of global trade talks at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
That’s according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. Ives notes that Apple has become the “poster child” for the U.S. vs. China trade war. As a result, the news that trade talks will resume between President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping is a winner for Apple.
The burgeoning trade war with China has caused Apple no end of headaches. But an end could be in sight, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Speaking with CNBC, Mnuchin said that the U.S. and China have a “path to complete this.” He notes that both parties were “90% of the way there” during previous talks, before discussions broke down.
A lobbyist representing tech companies including Apple has warned that tariffs on Chinese products will have a catastrophic impact.
Sage Chandler, of the Consumer Technology Association, said that President Trump’s proposed import tariffs will cause the price of consumer products to rise significantly.
Apple wants its suppliers to explore manufacturing outside of China — and it seems that many in its supply chain are listening.
According to a pair of new reports, Compal and Quanta, who make the iPad and MacBook for Apple, are looking overseas for future production.
Apple warned U.S. trade representatives this week that President Donald Trump’s plan to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods will negatively impact its contributions to the U.S. economy.
In a letter written to U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Apple urged the government not to impose tariffs. The new set of tariffs would make Apple’s products more expensive and give Apple’s competitors an advantage.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives thinks this could be a bad time for Apple to shake up its supply chain by moving iPhone manufacturing out of China.
In a note to clients, Ives singles out the first 5G iPhone and the launch of Apple TV+ as reasons why Apple should seek to minimize stress right now. In other words, Apple execs could do without the “gargantuan” headache that shifting around its supply chain would involve.
$120,000 of knockoff parts for iPhones and other handsets have been seized by customs officials in Hong Kong. The parts were being used to repair handsets sent in from countries including the United States, U.K. and Australia.
The director and manager of the company were arrested during a raid on the company’s offices in the city of Tuen Mun. The offices were being used as a workshop and warehouse. One hundred phones sent in for repairs were found onsite.
The drop in iPhone sales among Chinese consumers that hurt Apple so much last year is now a thing of the past, according to market analysts. The company saw five straight months of growth in that important region.
Apple has reportedly asked its main suppliers to evaluate the cost of shifting 15% to 30% of their production from China to Southeast Asia.
This is a response to the burgeoning China and U.S. trade war, which has already impacted Apple’s share price. If new tariffs go into effect, it could drive up the cost of Apple devices considerably.
Geopolitics are a whole lot more complicated than coming up with a hot new feature to sell your latest iPhone.
For this reason, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse think that there are no easy fixes to Apple’s current iPhone challenges. That’s because they involve the complexities of the burgeoning China vs. U.S. trade war, among other things, meaning that iPhone sales are victim to larger macroeconomic uncertainties.
Two more manufacturers which regularly do work with Apple are eying up new potential plant locations outside of China. Wistron is reportedly looking to open a factory in the U.S. or, as a backup, Mexico. Chassis maker Catcher is, meanwhile, looking at Southeast Asia or Taiwan as locations.
This comes at a time when fears about a burgeoning trade war between China and the U.S. is making people worried about possible future trade.
Fears about an impending trade war with China have shaken Apple, which produces the overwhelming majority of its devices in the country.
However, according to Apple manufacturer Foxconn, there’s some good news. It claims it has the capacity to produce all iPhones bound for the U.S. outside of China if it needs to.
Apple Pay Express Transit is on its way to London, giving travelers a quick and easy way to pay for rides.
Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed it is working closely with Apple to enable the feature “in the coming months.” It promises more information will be available at a later date.
Huawei may be competing with Apple in the smartphone industry, but Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has said that he would be “the first to protest” if China was to consider banning the iPhone in the country.
This comes after the U.S. placed a ban on Huawei products. This prompted concerns that China could retaliate and ban an American tech giant, such as Apple.
As battle lines are drawn between China and the U.S. in its burgeoning trade war, China has one big advantage working in its favor. The country is a primary source of “rare earths” used by manufacturers around the world — including Apple.
This category of 17 elements is used in multiple iPhone components. These include cameras, speakers, taptic engines, and receiver components. It’s yet another way Apple could be hurt by a trade war.
Apple has kicked a popular iOS game out of the App Store after a Chinese company stole its name.
Clicker Heroes, which first made its debut on iPhone and iPad back in 2015, is a highly-rated idle RPG from Playsaurus. It’s usually free to download, but it’s no longer available on iOS.
There’s currently no word on if or when it will return, but it doesn’t look good.
An ex-Oregon engineering student from China has pleaded guilty to a scam involving counterfeit iPhones.
Quan Jiang and another student, Yangyangg Zhou, were involved in a scheme featuring imported fake iPhones. They then swapped them out for legit devices under Apple’s warranty scheme. The scam cost Apple a massive $895,800.
China has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s biggest smart speaker market. According to new figures from Canalys, the Chinese market grew nearly 500% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019.
Approximately 10.6 million units shipped in China over the quarter, compared to 5 million in the U.S. This means that China is now 51% of the global global smart speaker market. The U.S., on the other hand, comes in second place at just 24%.
HSBC has cut its price target on Apple based on concerns about the company’s uncertain future in China.
Specifically, it is worried that Apple may ramp up the (already steep) price of iPhones in the U.S. if new import tariffs from China are implemented.
A ban on China’s Huawei company by the White House could wind up hurting Apple, concerned analysts claim.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans Wednesday to ban technology and services of “foreign adversaries” that pose “unacceptable risks.” But possible Chinese retaliation against major U.S. companies could hit Apple hard.
The iPhone 6s is still alive and well in some markets — one of which is India, where the 2015 flagship is now being manufactured.
Apple is using this to sell the handset to locals. India has become an increasingly important market for the company as smartphone growth in other areas slows to a crawl.
Apple may soon be forced to raise iPhone prices if Donald Trump’s latest round of proposed tariffs on Chinese imports goes into effect.
Trump wants to slap tariffs on the remaining $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. The Office of U.S. Trade Representative began the approval process this week. Those tariffs could go into effect by June 24 and if that happens, some analysts predict Apple will raise iPhone prices by 14% or more to offset the costs.
Concerns about the U.S.’s trading relationship with China is hitting Apple shares.
AAPL’s share price has been steadily sliding since President Donald Trump took to Twitter to talk trading tariffs. It’s currently trading at $189.15, down from its high of $211.75 earlier this month.
Apple’s business in China is finally turning around, according to execs who say Cupertino’s troubles in the country might be a thing of the past.
“We feel positive about our trajectory,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during Tuesday’s earnings call, noting that the company’s “year-over-year revenue performance in Greater China improved relative to the December quarter.”
Then Cook laid out four reasons why Apple’s “China problem” is going away.