China

Apple's Vision Pro headset is on the brink of launch as retail stores are beginning final preparations for the device to go on sale, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the Vision Pro is now shipping in small quantities to warehouses across the United States ahead of direct distribution to Apple retail stores. While the company has not...

At least five employees who worked for the App Store in China have been fired for inappropriate conduct with developers and consultants, according to a report from The Information. ‌App Store‌ employees with review and editorial roles are not supposed to meet with developers, but an internal audit raised suspicions about half a dozen workers, leading to an investigation. Apple found that the ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a surprise visit to China amid reports that iPhone 15 sales are down in the country compared to last year's iPhone 14 models (via Bloomberg). Cook visited an Apple's Taikoo Li store in Chengdu to watch a local gaming tournament for the major Tencent game "Honor of Kings" and talk to shoppers and staff. Cook later posted about the event on Weibo with a short video, ...

Apple has started requiring new apps to show proof of a Chinese government license in order to be listed on the China App Store, as the company joins rival app stores that adopted the policy years earlier to meet tightening state regulations (via Reuters). Apple last Friday began requiring an "internet content provider (ICP) filing" from developers when they submit new apps to be published...

Apple staff met with Chinese officials in recent months to discuss concerns over new rules that will restrict Apple from offering many foreign apps currently available in its China App Store, according to a new paywalled Wall Street Journal report. China already blocks the websites of many popular Western social media apps like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and...

China earlier this week banned government officials from using iPhones and other foreign smartphones for work or from bringing such devices to their government offices, and now China is expanding the ban. According to Bloomberg, multiple state agencies and state companies have started telling workers not to bring their iPhones in to their jobs. The restriction is expected to expand to...

China in the second quarter became the biggest iPhone market in the world, overtaking the United States for the first time in history, based on data analyzed by global market research company TechInsights (via The Elec). According to the research firm's Global Shipment Report, China accounted for 24% of all ‌iPhone‌ shipments in Q2 2023, while the U.S. market accounted for 21%. The...

Apple has launched an online store in China's WeChat app, the Tencent-owned social media platform has announced (via Reuters). China's dominant messaging app will host the Apple store via one of its mini-programs, which typically offers e-commerce, financial, and live-streaming services to WeChat's over 1.2 billion users. Customers will be able to purchase the full line of Apple products...

Apple may be forced to change the name of its new mixed reality headset in China unless it can come to an agreement with Huawei, which already owns the "Vision Pro" trademark in the country. Originally spotted by MyDrivers, the trademark was originally granted to Huawei on May 16, 2019, and gives the company exclusive rights to its use in China from November 28, 2021 to November 27, 2031. ...

Apple plans to let iPhone users in China customize their transit cards with illustrated designs in celebration of Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, according to details found in backend Apple Wallet code by Aaronp613. Users who keep transit cards in the Wallet app of their iPhone will be able to customize the cards with unique "Made on iPad" designs, which will be available to download for...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has praised his company's "symbiotic relationship" with China during his first visit to the country in the last three years. Tim Cook shares a photo of his visit to Apple's Wangfujing store via Weibo In his first visit since the pandemic began in 2020, the Apple chief gave a keynote speech over the weekend at the China Development Forum, where he said he "could not be more...

Apple has cut the price of its latest high-end iPhones in China in an apparent attempt to offset dwindling demand in the country (via Bloomberg). Apple merchant JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce platform, is among the retailers that have taken 800 yuan ($118) off iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models in the last few days. State carrier China Mobile has also slashed its prices for the...

Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn expects its main iPhone plant in China to resume full production around late December to early January, following worker unrest last month that disrupted the factory. "The situation has stabilized," a Foxconn source told Reuters, referring to the protests in Zhengzhou and the government's easing of COVID restrictions. "The local government is actively...

Riots broke out on Wednesday at the world's largest iPhone factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, according to video shared on social media. Footage widely circulated online shows hundreds of Foxconn workers marching in protest, clashing with police and some being confronted by people in hazmat suits. Some video captured workers complaining about the food they had been provided, with...

Apple supplier Foxconn is quadrupling daily bonuses provided to workers in order to retain enough employees to continue assembling iPhones, reports Reuters. In November, Foxconn is offering workers at its Zhengzhou plant a bonus of 400 yuan per day ($55), up 4x from the normal 100 yuan bonus. Employees who work for more than 25 days can get a maximum bonus of 5,000 yuan for the month, up...

iPhone production at one of the world's largest factories could fall by as much as 30% next month due to tightening COVID-19 restrictions in China, according to a new report today. Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn's main Zhengzhou plant, which employs about 200,000 people, was hit by the stringent curbs after an outbreak at the factory, which led the city of about 10 million people locked ...

Apple has frozen plans to use chips from one of China's top memory chipmakers after tighter U.S. export controls were imposed on the Chinese tech sector, reports Nikkei Asia. According to the report, Apple intended to buy 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory chips from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) for use in iPhones sold in the Chinese market as early as this year, with the possibility of...

Apple has given up its board seat at Didi Global as the Chinese ride-hailing company struggles to return to growth following crushing fines and restrictions imposed by Beijing's cyberspace regulator, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple CEO Tim Cook with Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu in 2016 Adrian Perica, Apple's vice president of corporate development, resigned from the board earlier...

iPad assembly plants in China may be impacted by power outages ahead of the launch of new models in the fall, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet earlier today, Kuo commented on the effects of power outages in China's southwestern Sichuan province caused by industrial electricity rationing amid a severe heatwave. Kuo said that the temporary power outage may affect ‌iPad‌...

An iPhone production plant in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen is being forced into a seven-day "closed loop" lockdown by Chinese authorities, alongside 100 other companies in an attempt to curb COVID-19 infections, Bloomberg reports. The "closed loop" system will mean only employees who live on-site will be able to work, blocking access from the outside and largely prohibiting anyone...