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.
The 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is coming up this June, but you won’t hear anything about it on Apple Music.
Chinese journalists recently discovered that Apple Music’s Chinese service censored a song that mentions the 1989 pro-democracy protests where thousands of people were killed. The topic is extremely controversial for the Chinese Communist Party and it appears that Apple is just fine with blotting it out if that’s the price of doing business in China.
Federal agents recently busted two college students who allegedly made nearly $1 million by returning fake iPhones to Apple.
Officials charged Quran Juan and Yangyangg Zhou, both Chinese nationals attending college in Oregon, with participating in a counterfeit iPhone scam. The duo reportedly submitted more than 2,000 iPhones to Apple claiming, the devices were broken and wouldn’t power on. The fake iPhones were only worth about $30, allowing the scammers to pocket nearly $600 for each successful return, authorities said.
Apple has cut the prices on multiple devices in China. Prices on everything from iPhones and iPads to Macs and AirPods have been reduced by up to 6 percent.
The slashed prices comes a few months after Apple pinned declining revenue on lower than expected sales in China. Greater China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, accounts for around 15 percent of Apple’s revenue.
As countries, it’s fair to say that China and Taiwan aren’t exactly BFFs. For evidence of this, look no further than the recently released macOS 10.14.4. Eagle-eyed users in China have noticed that their Mac devices can no longer display the Taiwan flag emoji.
The flag ban can’t even be circumvented by changing the region in your Mac’s System Preferences.
Being an Apple supplier can be a curse as much as a blessing for some Chinese companies.
While earning Apple’s business can give a big boost to a company’s stock, a new study found that Apple’s suppliers saw their share prices drop significantly lower than Apple’s stock did during the recent iPhone sales slump.
Apple suppliers have taken a hit in revenue during early 2019 as a result of falling iPhone shipments. Analysts don’t expect a turnaround anytime soon with Apple’s smartphone still struggling to catch a break in China.
iPhone sales are down, especially in emerging markets. The reason is simple: Apple’s devices cost too darn much. And the solution is equally simple: Apple must make a new budget model. In short, it needs a successor to the iPhone SE to ensure short-term profits as well as long-term viability.
This device has to have a low, low price. Even if that means a phone so bare-bones that most Americans turn up their noses at it.
Chinese online retailers have slashed iPhone prices for the second time this year.
The discounts are an effort to boost sales in an important market, where Apple recently suffered a 20 percent decline year-on-year. The first iPhone price cuts were rolled out in January.
Slowing iPhone sales in China was a major concern for Apple. However, things may be back on the upswing, claims UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri.
According to Arcuri’s latest note to investors, Apple is clearing inventory in the country. This is partially thanks to price reductions. While it would be foolish to suggest that there won’t be more struggles, it seems that the worst could be behind Apple.
Apple has joined forces with Alipay in an effort to boost iPhone sales in China.
iPhone fans can now bag one of the company’s latest handsets with up to two years of interest-free finance. The loan allows customers to swap the costly upfront fee for much more affordable monthly payments. It’s available on purchases of 4,000 yuan (approx. $595) or more.
