Apple has everything it takes to produce MacBooks outside of China: it will happen sooner than expected and it will affect you more than you think

Mansana he remains firm in his plan to reduce his dependence on China and has already identified the next phase. As reported Nikkei AsiaCupertino they will start production of MacBook in Vietnam from 2023. Notorious fact, given that until now the production of its laptops was carried out exclusively in China.

Of course, Apple won’t be moving its entire MacBook production line out of China. Much less often at night. The aforementioned media outlets indicate that the Californian firm wants Foxconn to start the assembly process at its Vietnamese facilities. from May next yearas the earliest date.

In any case, Apple has been working on the possibility of manufacturing MacBooks in Vietnam for at least two years. At the end of 2020, the first reports appeared that talked about this option, given the intensification of the trade war between the US and China.

However, the biggest concern for those in the neighborhood is how the sanitary blockades due to ongoing coronavirus outbreaks influenced its production line in China. Something that has been in the news in recent months due to production issues with the iPhone 14, but it also affected the rest of its products.

Apple to build MacBooks in Vietnam as part of diversification process

As soon as Apple starts production of MacBooks in Vietnam, none of its core products will be tied exclusively to China. The iPhone is also made in India and Brazil; AirPods in Vietnam, where production lines for the iPad and Apple Watch have also been established.

Of course, the Chinese factories of Foxconn and other Apple suppliers will continue to account for the largest volume of production of their devices. After all, China is responsible for the assembly of more than 90% of products with the Apple logo.. And in cases like the iPhone, that percentage is even higher, as 98% of the devices are made by the Asian giant.

It is also not yet known how many MacBooks from Cupertino plan to produce in Vietnam. Initially, it was said that the company’s idea was to move roughly 30% of its product lines out of China, but it is not known whether this is the goal so far.

Nikkei Asia guarantees that today Apple produces 20 to 24 million MacBooks per year. The California firm’s computer division, which also includes the Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Studio and is awaiting the much-anticipated Mac Pro update, was the big star of the latest fiscal quarter.

Mac sales grew 25% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter, according to Apple. However, the company opened its umbrella and assured that it expects that the revenue of said division decreased “significantly” soon. It is not yet known whether this will affect the financial results for the first quarter of 2023.

The truth is that MacBooks are not the only ones whose production line Apple intends to move. As for the components, the story is similar. Recently it became known that TSMC will start supplying residents of Cupertino with chips made in Arizona, USA. Something that also aims to reduce reliance on semiconductors made in Asia, either in China or Taiwan. However, the first results they will only be seen in 2024.