Apple has relied on its manufacturing prowess in China to meet the extraordinary demand for its products for years now. But, times change, circumstances change, and now Apple appears to be trying to venture out of the region.
Apple was predicted to update its AirPods earphones line this year, but it's now increasingly looking that the refresh could be delayed until next year as Apple is moving a substantial amount of AirPods production from China to Vietnam to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Apple's supplier Sharp is reportedly gearing up to move part of its production out of China in response to President Trump’s latest escalation of the growing US trade war with China.
In yet another sign that it's moving to diversify product manufacturing beyond China, Apple's reportedly been trialing AirPods production in Vietnam, per a communication seen by Nikkei.