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Apple has opened a new applied research laboratory in Shenzhen, China, marking a significant expansion of its research and development capabilities in the world's largest smartphone market. The facility, which began operations on Thursday, is located in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong tech cooperation zone.

hetao-shenzen-hong-kong-tech-hub-xinhua.jpg
Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Tech Cooperation Zone, China (Photo: Xinhua)

Apple announced plans for the Shenzhen lab in March, stating it would enhance testing and research for major products including the iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro spatial computing headset. The lab is also intended to strengthen Apple's collaboration with local suppliers.

Spanning 20,000 square meters (215,000 square feet) in its initial phase, the facility is set to become Apple's research and development hub in the Greater Bay Area. This economic region encompasses Hong Kong, Macau, and nine cities in Guangdong province.

According to state media reports, the lab will eventually employ over 1,000 domestic and international talents. Apple has described it as its "most extensive" lab outside the United States, underscoring the company's commitment to the Chinese market.

The move comes as Apple faces increasing competition in China, particularly from Shenzhen-based Huawei. Recent data from research firm CINNO showed that in August, Huawei outsold Apple in mainland China for the first time in nearly four years.

Despite efforts to diversify its manufacturing supply chain outside China, Apple continues to invest in research within the country. The company has previously established research centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Shenzhen, with its research and development team in China reportedly doubling in size over the past five years.

(Via South China Morning Post.)

Article Link: Apple Opens Extensive Research Lab in Shenzhen, China
 

cjsuk

macrumors 6502a
Apr 30, 2024
575
2,161
Whilst you can't ignore the ethics issues associated with China, some of the consumer technology that comes out of the country is years ahead of what's coming out of the West.

Not really. Most of the IP and engineering work is not done in China, even on Chinese products!

I know someone sitting in an office in the UK designing chips for a Chinese telecoms company's internal products.

Globalisation is a very strange thing.
 

springsup

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2013
1,263
1,295
It’s a country of a billion people, no doubt there will be plenty of talented engineers among them. Makes sense to make use of that, as all businesses do.

The only thing that makes that complicated is the Chinese government. We had a great relationship with them in the 90s and 00s as they were pushing for WTO membership, but since the current leader took office things have been much more adversarial.
 

NightFox

macrumors 68040
May 10, 2005
3,389
4,867
Shropshire, UK
Not really. Most of the IP and engineering work is not done in China, even on Chinese products!

I know someone sitting in an office in the UK designing chips for a Chinese telecoms company's internal products.

Globalisation is a very strange thing.
That may be true in some cases, but AFAIK there's companies like Xiaomi (and its numerous subsidiaries) and sometimes dubiously 'state supported' companies whose R&D is in-country. China has a deserved reputation for IP-theft, but it's definitely got the resources and know-how to do its own world-class R&D, either from fresh or building on other people's work.
 

infiniteentropy

macrumors regular
Sep 9, 2009
237
1,044
Hey, Apple: China has you by the short and curlies and I want no part of anything you do ever again. "Human Rights" is not a buzzword or trend; it is essential to humanity itself.

Greed is killing Apple. Well, and the world. But in this case, it's killing Apple. I used to hold your work apart from the others as special but now it's more commodity schlock packed with ads.

We need a good solid third option that respects privacy and freedom.

</rant>
 

Mrkevinfinnerty

macrumors 68020
Aug 13, 2022
2,211
7,054
Hey, Apple: China has you by the short and curlies and I want no part of anything you do ever again. "Human Rights" is not a buzzword or trend; it is essential to humanity itself.

Greed is killing Apple. Well, and the world. But in this case, it's killing Apple. I used to hold your work apart from the others as special but now it's more commodity schlock packed with ads.

We need a good solid third option that respects privacy and freedom.

</rant>

This would need actual regulation

No corporation is going to say no to the sweet sweet ad money. Apple's privacy schtick has always been a hand waving.
 

NightFox

macrumors 68040
May 10, 2005
3,389
4,867
Shropshire, UK
You tell us hahah 😂 List those years ahead techs that you've came across and let's analyse
A few off the top of my head at a consumer level: drones, consumer robots (e.g. vacuum cleaners), 3D printers. At a higher level but still influencing consumer products: battery technology, nano-technology, mobile comms technology. At an even higher level: nuclear power generation
 
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lysingur

macrumors 6502a
Dec 30, 2013
746
1,171
No tech company can leave China completely and still be competitive. That's just the sad reality of the global economy. If Tesla can't do it, neither can Apple.
 

Chungry

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2024
497
736
So much for lessening dependency on china. And the real elephant in the room is the culture of intellectual property theft. I know many, many engineers that work with China that attest to this being the norm. So much so, one guy puts bogus stuff (think booby traps) in their design to see if it’s gonna get ripped off. And when it inevitably does and some new piece of equipment shows up at a competitor looking identical except that they fell for the trap and assembled it in a way that compromises the design? Well.
 
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