Apple Inc, Soon To Produce Apple Watch And MacBook In Vietnam

Apple Inc., soon to produce iPhone and MacBooki in Vietnam. (photo: ary julianto/voi)

JAKARTA – Several suppliers of Apple Inc. are in talks to manufacture Apple Watch and MacBook in Vietnam for the first time. This was reported by Nikkei Asia on Tuesday, August 16.

According to the report, Chinese suppliers Luxshare Precision Industry and Taiwan-based Foxconn have started testing production of the Apple Watch in northern Vietnam.

The report also says that Apple has asked suppliers to set up production lines in Vietnam for MacBooks. They also added that progress in moving mass production into the country was slow in part due to pandemic-related disruptions. But apart from that, the notebook computer production problem involves a larger production supply chain.

Apple has shifted some areas of iPhone production from China to other markets, including India. They even started to produce the iPhone 13 earlier this year, and are also planning to assemble the iPad tablet.

India, the world's second-largest smartphone market, along with countries like Mexico and Vietnam, is becoming increasingly important to contract manufacturers that supply American brands, as they try to diversify production from China.

Last week, Taiwanese contract maker Foxconn gave a cautious outlook for the current quarter after posting results that exceeded expectations, as well as citing slowing smartphone demand after the boom sparked by the pandemic.

Like other global manufacturers, Foxconn, officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has dealt with a severe shortage of chip supplies that has disrupted production, as bottlenecks from the pandemic persist and the Ukraine war has further tightened logistics channels.