Apple opens largest laboratory outside the US in China to fight Huawei

Apple opened an application research laboratory in Shenzhen. The company is trying to maintain its position in the world’s largest smartphone market amid stiff competition from Chinese electronics makers such as Huawei Technologies. This laboratory will be Apple’s largest research center not only in China, but throughout the world outside the United States.

The 20,000 m2 laboratory will be Apple’s flagship research and development center in the Greater Bay Area, an economic and business hub spanning Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province. More than a thousand Chinese and foreign specialists will be attracted to work in the laboratory; it will become the largest such facility outside the United States.

The new lab will expand Apple’s ability to test and improve its core products, including the iPhone, iPad and Vision Pro mixed reality headset, and strengthen the company’s collaboration with local suppliers.

Image source: Xinhua

According to analytics company CINNO, Huawei overtook Apple in smartphone sales in China in August and took the leading position in the market. The Chinese company’s supply volumes increased by 7.7% compared to last year and exceeded 140 million units.

Based on the results of the second quarter of 2024, Chinese manufacturers pushed Apple out of the top 5 leading smartphone suppliers to the local market. Total shipments exceeded 70 million devices, which is 10% more than in the same period last year.