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 planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week.
Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple has temporarily increased its iPhone trade-in values in select countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., and China. Apple says the extra credit towards a new iPhone is available through June 18.
In the U.S., the maximum estimated trade-in values increased by only $5 to $30, with the full changes in that country outlined below.
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Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand.
Current Development Status
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WWDC is coming up quickly with a number of software announcements in store, but we're also looking further ahead to hardware launches like the iPhone 17 lineup and even Apple's smart glasses project.
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Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
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Sony recently came out with a new set of high-end over-ear noise canceling headphones, so we thought we'd compare them to the AirPods Max to see how Sony's 2025 headphones measure up to Apple's headphones that haven't seen a notable update since their 2020 launch.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
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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.
