Apple Watch and MacBook and Nikkei and Ming-Chi Kuo

19 AUGUST 2022 - From quietly contemplative over the iPhone launch to downright argumentative over Apple Watch. Nikkei Asia ran a report mid-week on Vietnam making Apple Watch and MacBook “for first time ever.” So said the headline - “for first time ever.”

TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo Tweets to differ. We’ll start with the Nikkei piece. Quoting the first two paragraphs:

Apple is in talks to make Apple Watches and MacBooks in Vietnam for the first time, marking a further win for the Southeast Asian country as the U.S. tech giant looks to diversify production away from China.

Apple suppliers Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn have started test production of the Apple Watch in northern Vietnam with the aim of producing the device outside of China for the very first time, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.

To be clear, the TF International analyst isn’t arguing over whether Apple will build the devices in Vietnam. Quite the contrary. He says Apple has been producing Apple Watch there already. To the Twitterverse we go, where Young MC says:

The media reported that Apple Watch would start mass production in Vietnam. But it's already shipping, as I know. Luxshare ICT, Apple Watch's major assembler, has production lines in China and Vietnam and has shipped from Vietnam since Apple Watch 7.

Not that there’s no news. In a follow-up Twitter post the analyst said:

I estimate the shipment proportion of Apple Watch 8 from Vietnam will significantly increase to 60-70%. Luxshare is the leader in building production lines in non-China countries among Chinese Apple suppliers.

As for the MacBook angle, the Nikkei piece says Apple is looking to test production of the laptop in Vietnam. While the machine is said to be easier to build outside of China these days than it was just a few years ago, getting the parts to Vietnam and doing so economically still present challenges for manufacturers.