On March 21st, Apple's largest flagship store in Greater China, the Apple Jing'an Store, will open at 7 pm. The Apple Jing'an store is located in the core area of Jing'an District, with a total investment of over 83.4 million yuan. The retail store level will be second only to the global Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Just yesterday (March 20th), Apple CEO Cook held a small sharing event with three suppliers, BYD, LanSi Technology, and ChangYing Precision, at Apple's Shanghai office, showcasing its latest achievements and progress in intelligent manufacturing, green manufacturing, and talent cultivation.
Cook said in a media interview, "I don't think there is anything more important about Apple's supply chain than China. In fact, over the past 30 years, we have been continuously expanding our supply chain in China and increasing investment."
On site, BYD showcased the production line design of iPad structural components and assembly business through a sandbox format. The use of data models in the key process of the production line - CNC machine tools, can capture large data in real time and analyze and judge it, thereby greatly improving the process capability. BYD became a supplier partner for Apple in 2008, initially providing metal shell processing for Apple. Currently, it provides glass, structural components, and assembly services for multiple product lines such as iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
The independently developed laser navigation AGV brought by LanSi Technology can flexibly switch to various different venues, greatly improving efficiency. LanSi Technology became an Apple supplier partner in 2006, producing glass protective screens for the first generation iPhone. At present, it produces glass, metal casings, and other accessories for multiple product lines such as iPhones, and is also one of the glass suppliers for Apple Vision Pro.
The Tianji Six Axis Robot showcased by Changying Precision is the first robot successfully applied to Mac Pro mirror polishing. Changying Precision became a member of Apple's supply chain in 2012, starting with providing metal parts for Mac and now providing key appearance parts for multiple product lines such as Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro.
"The modernization level of factories is very high now, but I think if we look back 10 years later, we may not feel that today's modernization level is too high because we will continue to improve," Cook said.
Apple's recent performance in the Chinese market has been poor. According to a report released by market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple's iPhone sales in China decreased by 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024.
The institution believes that domestic mobile phone brand manufacturers are accelerating the use of AI technology to enhance the performance of new products. Apple has been significantly impacted by competitors in the high-end domestic market, and its product upgrades are limited, leading to a decrease in attractiveness.
Faced with this situation, Apple is accelerating its search for countermeasures. Cook stated that Apple's generative AI will be announced later this year.