Apple in Talks to Open R&D Facility in Russia's Skolkovo Innovation Centre?

skolkovo logoRussian newspaper Izvestia reports [Google translation] that the organizers behind the Skolkovo technology park near Moscow are currently in talks with a number of high-profile companies including Apple, Google, and Facebook about locating research and development facilities in the area. Skolkovo has already landed agreements with Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Cisco, and others, with the project's backers envisioning the region becoming Russia's version of Silicon Valley bolstered by dozens of major corporations.

According to the report, Apple officials in Moscow declined to comment on the claims, but Skolkovo executive Roman Romanovsky indicated that the two sides have expressed interest in negotiating about possibilities. No deal appears to be imminent, although Romanovsky hopes that the talks will eventually lead to an agreement.

Apple is in the process of opening up its first major international research and development center in Israel, looking to leverage its own expertise and that of Anobit, an Israeli flash memory company acquired by Apple earlier this year, to spur new innovations.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

iDemiurge Avatar
171 months ago
It was a combined effort of all the Soviet republics that put Gagarin into space. To say it was just the Russians is not exactly correct. By the way, the quality of Roscosmos is declining. Even its officials are admitting that.

Dude, can you show the Ruskies some love? They've put up with one tyrant after another, and now with a kleptocracy, and still manage to be creative hard-working folks.

Plus, they gave us Tetris! You know that Tetris song that you can't take out of your head? It's a russian folk song!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spetsnazos Avatar
171 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

no the same engineers who were the FIRST in space, the FIRST to travel the planet, and the ones that defeated Nazi Germany in WW2 with superior tanks that could be built quickly and efficiently.

Yea those.

And Russia is the only country that is still going to space. Can't say the same for NASA....
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex00100 Avatar
171 months ago
Сколоково рулит!
I'm russian and I'm really happy about it! Even if skolcovo is really a mess and noone takes it seriously. Apple certanly won't have any development here course we don't have any experts at this stuff.


can't help thinking they see it as: more jobs(more work) for less of a cost...
Salarys in russia are not far from the US ones. It's not Asia, it's Europe and salarys are almost as high as in the rest of Europe.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
verakot Avatar
171 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

Well, of course your engineers never make mistakes like this, right?

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-14/us/bridge.collapse_1_gusset-plates-bridge-collapse-bridge-designs?_s=PM:US
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
171 months ago
Dude, can you show the Ruskies some love? They've put up with one tyrant after another, and now with a kleptocracy, and still manage to be creative hard-working folks.

If you consider what Russia had to work with, and what they've had to overcome, it's a testament to the people that they've thrived & survived at all, much less manage to put the screws to the US technologically, with all our resources, for decades. Apple working with Russian inventors and designers and engineers is an exciting development, far moreso than what Apple's taking advantage of in China.

Sure, Putins a wacko, but hey, we all get stuck with elections stealing militant psycho leaders from time to time.

And yea, their space program is still apparently cool enough for us, since ours is now based on theirs.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Discoverer Avatar
171 months ago
Same engineers who built this plane?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/russian-plane-crash-bodies-retrieved

Oh, so we already know that it was a technical issue with the plane that caused it to crash? Could you please give me a link to the official report? I'd love to read it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)