Apple has asked two Chinese partners to scale up the production of AirPods. Only then can the enormous demand be met. It shows Apple“s confidence in China despite the trade war, the Nikkei Asian Review.
Luxshare Precision, one of the two Chinese manufacturers, is expected to increase the monthly production of AirPods Pro to 2 million units. Goertek, a Chinese company for acoustic components, has been asked by Apple to stimulate production at its factories in Vietnam to help Apple reduce production costs.
The share prices of both Chinese suppliers rose, with the Luxshare Precision share increasing by 3.84%.
AirPods Pro
The AirPods Pro, the latest generation of wireless headphones from Apple, debuted in the Chinese market at the end of October for a consumer price of US $ 249. Due to high demand, deliveries can take just one month.
A saturated smartphone market means that Apple has to adapt. Portable devices such as the AirPods and the Apple Watch are now important growth engines for the Cupertino company.
Luxshare Precision was founded in 2004 by Grace Wang, a former factory employee at Foxconn. The company joined the Apple supply chain in 2012 and became one of Apple’s component suppliers. Since 2017 Luxshare Precision has started the production of AirPods and this year it has won orders for the assembly of the Apple Watch.
Revenue
In the previous quarter, Apple’s iPhone sales dropped from $ 36.8 billion to $ 33.4 billion, compared to the same period last year. For comparison, Apple’s wearables and smart home products generated revenues of $ 6.5 billion, an increase of 54% on an annual basis.