Apple

Leading analysts told Mobile World Live Apple’s continued reliance on China may not necessarily be a bad thing, though noted it does throw up some potential conflicts given the nation’s ongoing fight against US attempts to restrict access to key technologies.

The European Commission was reportedly close to approving an Apple proposal to open its tap-to-pay technology to rivals after the tech giant amended some of the terms.

The Cyberspace Administration of China demanded Apple remove the WhatsApp and Threads apps from its online store in China due national security concerns, Reuters reported.

The global smartphone market rebounded in the opening quarter of 2024, led by sharp increases from Chinese vendors, adding strength to a budding recovery, data from IDC showed.

Apple claimed an upcoming move to allow second-hand components to be used to fix iPhones was a step forward in improving access to safe and affordable repairs.

Apple suppliers ramped output of iPhones in India in 2023, with assembly more than doubling year-on-year to account for about 14 per cent of the vendor’s total as it reduces reliance on China, Bloomberg reported.

China’s smartphone market plunged in February with shipments slipping more than 30 per cent year-on-year after returning to growth in January, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.