Kuo: Apple Likely to Absorb Any US Tariff Cost Increases on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple's domestic pricing and shipment forecasts aren't likely to be impacted by U.S. tariffs thanks to "proper preparations" made by the tech giant, according to a new investor note by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and obtained by MacRumors.

mac iphone ipad 2018 trio
Financial markets were rattled last week by President Donald Trump's surprise announcement of 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, effective September 1, in retaliation for moves by the Chinese government.

It's still unclear if Apple's products will come under the tariffs on toys, games, and consumer electronics, but if they do, Kuo believes Apple will absorb most of the additional costs in the mid-short term while increasing its non-Chinese production locations to avoid rising costs in the long run.

In the mid-short term, if Apple absorbs most of the additional costs due to tariffs, there will be a negative impact on its profits from its hardware business, but the company will reap benefits in its brand image and relationships with suppliers. We also believe that the negative impact on Apple are limited and temporary because the profit from service business is growing, and non-Chinese production locations will gradually increase.

Apple has been expanding production in India and Vietnam as part of a strategy to diversify product manufacturing beyond China. Kuo thinks Apple's non-Chinese production locations could meet most of the demand from the U.S. market after two years. Specifically, he believes iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch manufacturing could meet demand as early as next year, but adequate Mac production outside of China won't be achieved before 2021.

The predictions stand in contrast to recent comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook during his July earnings call, in which he was asked about Apple potentially moving out of China. Cook responded: "There's been a lot of speculation about this, [but] I wouldn't put much stock in it. Parts come from everywhere, including the U.S. We currently make the Mac Pro in the US and would like to continue that."

Earlier last month, Apple asked for a U.S. import tariff exemption on parts for the new ‌Mac Pro‌, which President Trump said would be denied.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

Textime Avatar
77 months ago
Cause they know that people won't accept higher prices on the iPhone anymore
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BarrettF77 Avatar
77 months ago
What everyone here seems to forget is the disproportionate amount in trade with a China. They steal our IP regularly, no one polices them as heavily as they should, and all in the name of cheaper labor.

For everyone blaming Trump, grow up and stop being a band wagoner. Since when has more government and any government been a good thing or been done correctly?

The FCC finally pushing to stop these robo callers took how long? And why?.... only because it impacts them is why.

For the first time someone in the Oval Office in a long Time is there who doesn’t need the pay check. Yes he may do things for Corp America, but show me a few company’s who’s CEOs who aren’t about ever increasing their revenue and income?

Government used to be viewed as a role to serve the country. Now it’s a self serve and everyone goes along in blaming one person when it’s certainly not.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stiss Avatar
77 months ago
Cause they know that people won't accept higher prices on the iPhone anymore
Well yes this is true.
It puts Apple in a bit of a jive, sure they've got the pockets to do this but they shouldn't really have to.
Trump needs to go already.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
drumcat Avatar
77 months ago
Bull. There's no way I'd eat a tariff if everyone knows who's the cause. This isn't some minor, slip it in a bill from Congress. This is Trump doing Trump. Tim is going to go nearly the full +10, and he's going to point at Don the Con.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kingofwale Avatar
77 months ago
What everyone here seems to forget is the disproportionate amount in trade with a China. They steal our IP regularly, no one polices them as heavily as they should, and all in the name of cheaper labor.

For everyone blaming Trump, grow up and stop being a band wagoner. Since when has more government and any government been a good thing or been done correctly?

The FCC finally pushing to stop these robo callers took how long? And why?.... only because it impacts them is why.

For the first time someone in the Oval Office in a long Time is there who doesn’t need the pay check. Yes he may do things for Corp America, but show me a few company’s who’s CEOs who aren’t about ever increasing their revenue and income?

Government used to be viewed as a role to serve the country. Now it’s a self serve and everyone goes along in blaming one person when it’s certainly not.
people's hatre for trump is blinding their common senese... what else is new?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
77 months ago
Too bad farmers don’t have the same insulation from tariffs.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)