William Gallagher
Apple has opened a new testing and development lab for the iPhone and Apple Vision Pro in Shenzhen, China, with plans for 1,000 staff.
As first revealed when under construction in July 2024, the new research center is part of the company's expanding R&D efforts in China. According to the South China Morning Post, the new lab opened on Thursday, October 10, 2024.
Situated in Shenzhen Park in Hetao, around seven miles from the Apple Holiday Plaza Shenzhen store, the lab currently spans 215,000 square feet. Expected to expand later, the lab is part of the region's Greater Bay Area economic development hub.
Said to be for testing and research concerning the company's major products, specifically the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. It's not clear how many staff are now working at the lab, but reportedly the intention is to ultimately employ over 1,000 people.
Shenzhen has long been the site of Apple's major manufacturing partners in China. Apple has also been conducting research and development in the city since around 2017.
The new research lab comes as Apple has been increasingly moving its production away from China, to new facilities in countries such as India and Vietnam.
However, most recently, a fire at a key factory in India may force Apple to move back a proportion of its iPhone manufacturing to China.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
21 Comments
Great. If the paranoid Western press are to be trusted every China anything is tied into the Chinese government: Temu, Shein, Ali Baba all the EV car manufacturers. All the products that are Chinese in origin, not built in China, are a conduit for the Chinese government. So, say you buy a Chinese EV. The car very likely has a bug planted behind the dash that transmits everything you say and do directly to the Chinese Politburo.
But now I read this. Apple is building the 2nd largest research lab in China. So has Apple become a Chinese stooge? I mean that's how a syllogism works.
Tesla just showcased a bunch of walking talking androids. Where's Apple? They have a bazillion dollars for research and development. Why aren't they at the forefront of robotics? I've been waiting years for the day Tim Apple says "Oh yeah, one more thing..." and the Siri android walks out and says "Hello!" to the world. All we seem to get (during those hyper-polished keynotes) are thinner software-gimped iPads, 1mm larger watches and imperceptibly different (and more expensive) yearly iPhones. If Steve were alive today, he'd not have 4-5 SKUs just for AirPods. I'm kinda shocked we don't have AirTag Pros in 5 different colors yet. I have been an Apple fan since the Apple II. I owned the first Mac. Apple has clearly lost it's ability to innovate and Tesla just fed them their lunch.
Putting a research lab in China makes no sense. China has a well-deserved reputation for intellectual property theft. That's bad enough with the items are already in production. It's far worse to have ideas stolen when they're still under development. China could be releasing Apple-designed products before Apple itself does so.
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
No way they’re doing serious research in the CCP’s China, home of corporate espionage and theft.