Businessweek provides a very interesting look behind Apple's supply chain and how they have managed to fine tune their operations into a competitive advantage.
According to more than a dozen interviews with former employees, executives at suppliers, and management experts familiar with the company’s operations, Apple has built a closed ecosystem where it exerts control over nearly every piece of the supply chain, from design to retail store.
Apple's well known to be a master at operations with much of that credit going to now CEO Tim Cook. Businessweek's profile gives many examples of how Apple has managed to stay ahead of the competition, with much of it being the ability to predict needs and also secure the necessary pieces by exercising their enormous $81 billion cash hoard.
Even as far back as the launch of the Bondi blue iMac in the late 90s, Apple's Steve Jobs paid $50 million to buy up all available holiday air freight space at a time when most of its competitors were shipping by sea. This reportedly handicapped rivals such as Compaq who later wanted to book air transport.
Similarly for both the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 launch, Apple bought up so many suppliers and machines needed for assembly, they squeezed out the competition who needed the same resources.
The tactic ensures availability and low prices for Apple—and sometimes limits the options for everyone else. Before the release of the iPhone 4 in June 2010, rivals such as HTC couldn’t buy as many screens as they needed because manufacturers were busy filling Apple orders, according to a former manager at HTC.
Apple's level of efficiency and control extends into launch day where factories work for weeks building hundreds of thousands of devices. Electronic monitors are placed in part boxes to discourage leaks and completed products shipped in non-descript boxes to avoid detection. Even in their retail stores, they can monitor demand by the hour and make supply chain adjustments as necessary.
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports.
The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 4:44 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name.
Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
Wednesday October 22, 2025 11:34 am PDT by Juli Clover
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down.
In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
Apple plans to launch a new type of iPhone every year for the foreseeable future, according to an Asia-based source.
The detailed information was shared by the account "yeux1122" in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver, citing domestic trend and component research companies.
Corroborating other reports, Apple will apparently launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a...
Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:48 am PDT by Juli Clover
iPhone Air demand failed to meet Apple's expectations and the company's supply chain is scaling back shipments and production, reports Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
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Suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80 percent between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued ...
Apple's new iPhone lineup launched in the fall of 2027 will be called the "iPhone 20" models, rather than the "iPhone 19," according to research firm Omdia.
Speaking at a conference in Seoul (via ETNews), Omdia Chief Researcher Heo Moo-yeol corroborated rumors that Apple plans to move the launch of its standard iPhone to the first half of the year and provided some additional clarity about...
Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
Being first has its advantages! Companies that follow along later could theoretically match Apple’s manufacturing capacity, if they had the cash; new plants could be built, after all. It’s not just not cost-effective to be that late to the game.
Being a follower has other advantages though: the game-changing concepts have already been done for you—and they’re the hard part. Just copy the big stuff, and innovate (or at least differ) in smaller ways :)
Wow Apple way to stifle innovation for everyone else.
:D Imagine what Android would look like without Apple moving first and fast :D As an Android fan, you should thank Apple for 90% of your (positive) Android experience, and be glad you don’t have to find out what might have been!
(But I do hate when companies succeed on their own merits. Unfair! Apple should give money and opportunities away to companies that are less well-run.)
So Apple is buying all the stuff needed for their new ipads before their rivals even know what they need. I guess its a first come first serve kinda thing. gotta make the first move or be left in the dust.
Businessweek provides a very interesting look behind Apple's supply chain and how they have managed to fine tune their operations into a competitive advantage.
