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Apple could start manufacturing iPads in Vietnam by the middle of this year, marking the first time that a “significant number” of tablets have been produced outside of China, Nikkei reports. In addition to changing iPad production, Apple is also reportedly increasing the number of iPhones made in India, where it has produced iPhone 11s since last year. It would start producing iPhone 12 series devices in the country as early as this quarter.
The report paints a portrait of a company that is increasingly keen to diversify its manufacturing outside of China, despite hopes that trade tensions may ease under President Biden. Nikkei notes that the new administration has said it will not immediately ease tariffs on Chinese imports, and that there are also other factors such as rising labor costs in China that are prompting Apple and other companies to look for alternative manufacturing centers.
Beyond iPhones and iPads, Nikkei Apple reports that Apple is stepping up manufacturing of a host of other devices outside of China. As a result of last year’s reports that Apple has moved some AirPods Pro manufacturers to Vietnam, Nikkei says it also plans to expand production of mini HomePods in the country and also move some MacBook production. (Reuters reported Apple’s early plans to shift MacBook and iPad production to Vietnam last year.) Some of the Mac mini production was also shifted to Malaysia, Nikkei Remarks.
News of Apple’s evolving supply chains comes just under two years after news broke that Apple plans to move 15-30% of its production out of China. It now appears that much of this change is well underway.
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