Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed what had already been anticipated: the company that created the iPhone will manufacture semiconductor chips in the United States for the first time in almost 10 years.
For Cook, it’s a key move to reduce Apple’s dependence on manufacturing in different Asian countries, especially China.
In that country, the problems in the plants due to new outbreaks of Covid and the harsh strategy of the Xi Jinping government have generated a bottleneck in the delivery of devices, right in the middle of the holiday sales season.
The iPhone 14 Pro have been the most affected by these brakes on production, something that Apple seeks to avoid (or reduce) in the future.
Apple seeks alternatives to China to manufacture iPhone components
In late November, the world’s largest iPhone plant, China’s Foxconn, suffered a larger-than-expected reduction in manufacturing after an upsurge in unrest.
Thousands of workers blocked the entrance to foxconn and others resigned after China took tougher covid lockdown measures.
According to KGI Securities, if the problem continues at the same proportions throughout December, Apple will miss out on selling 10 million iPhones, which is 12 percent fewer of those phones in the last quarter of 2022.
Another firm, Wedbush Securities, says Apple stores around the world now have 25 to 30 percent fewer iPhone 14 Pros than usual for the weeks leading up to Christmas shopping.
Apple silicon unlocks a new level of performance for our users. And soon, many of these chips can be stamped “Made in America.” The opening of TSMC’s plant in Arizona marks a new era of advanced manufacturing in the US — and we are proud to become the site’s largest customer. pic.twitter.com/rBoiEUwZaX
—Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 6, 2022
“Made in USA”
Cook confirmed the plant’s construction project after speaking on Tuesday, December 6, with US President Joe Biden and executives from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) chip company, which will be in charge of operating the new factory in Phoenix.
“As you know, we’ve been working for a long time with TSMC, which makes the chips that help power our devices,” Cook said. “We hope to expand these agreements in the coming years,” he added.
Cook also explained that Apple’s silicon chips that are part of the iPhone will be manufactured at that Phoenix plant.
WATCH: CEO Tim Cook said Apple will build chips in the US for the first time in nearly a decade, working with TSMC https://t.co/WgRAZpYvkV pic.twitter.com/Yz8ly93vyD
—Bloomberg (@business) December 7, 2022
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