Apple expands R&D work in China with two research labs

Apple is significantly increasing its R&D facilities in China, with the expansion of an applied research lab in Shanghai and a new lab constructed in Shenzhen.

Apple's research and development spending is huge, having forked out approximately $7.7 billion in Q1 2024 alone. In a continued expansion of its R&D efforts, it is making two moves to its operations in China.

One will be the expansion of an existing applied research lab in Shanghai, which is used to improve the materials and construction of Apple's products and components, reports China Daily.

The other will be an all-new lab located in Shenzhen, which will be opening later in 2024. Also an applied research lab, it is said that the facility will help support employees in the region as well as increase the collaboration with local suppliers.

The Shenzhen lab addition is anticipated to help improve Apple's testing capabilities for major products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro.

"We have already invested 1 billion yuan ($139.4 million) into applied research labs in China," said Apple Greater China VP and managing director Isabel Ge Mahe. "And with the new expansion plan, our investment will continue growing."

Ge Mahe said that the number of Apple R&D staff in China has doubled in the last five years.

The research lab announcement occurs during a time when Apple is enduring difficulties in the Chinese smartphone, due to the rise of local vendors such as Huawei in the region.

Apple is also preparing to open its eighth Shanghai Apple Store, with the Apple Jing'an location arriving soon.

7 Comments

blastdoor 3565 comments · 15 Years

About 8 months ago

Seems very unwise. So much for de-risking.

I find it disturbing that Apple seems to get along much better with the CCP than with the EU. I think the EU is often off target, but they are at least opposed to genocidal maniacs. The CCP declares forever friendships with genocidal maniacs.

What exactly are apples values?

beowulfschmidt 2349 comments · 12 Years

I can't help but wonder why Apple would locate research facilities in a country that has a such lackluster record of protecting IP. Is the cost of doing it there that much less expensive as to make it worth it?

beowulfschmidt said:

I can't help but wonder why Apple would locate research facilities in a country that has a such lackluster record of protecting IP. Is the cost of doing it there that much less expensive as to make it worth it?

I suspect they are just caving to CCP demands, hoping that iPhone sales will go back up.

The scary thing to me is -- it's possible that Apple has caved to a lot of other CCP demands that we have simply never heard about.

Or if they haven't yet, there's always the risk that they will. If CCP wants to cut Apple's market cap down to billions rather than trillions, they can do it. Apple has truly made a deal with the devil.

neoncat 164 comments · 5 Years

blastdoor said:

What exactly are apples values?

Money. Which, I mean, is not some huge surprise or unexpected plot twist. It's just that Apple is two very different beasts: A massive corporate machine, one of the largest ever created, who's success makes it beholden to large swaths of the economy that expect it to keep producing returns and keep growing, and a formidable yet paper-thin construct of marketing, cuddly and beloved, representing every protected class, representing American entrepreneurism, representing the environment, representing creativity, representing... A whole host of things no corporation should ever take the place of in the hearts and minds of its customers.

The two heads are often going to push in opposite directions, serving their masters. I agree with Blastdoor. For every concession and move on the chess board we hear about with regard to Apple and China, I'm sure there are 10 more we never will.