Apple Has Added Eight New Chinese Firms To Its Supply Chain While Removing Four, Indicating Its Dependence On The Region

The Apple Vision Pro might not be a hit in the consumer market as updated shipment estimates have dropped to 400,000 to 450,000 units for 2024, but the $3,499 head-mounted wearable is a success in the enterprise division, with companies thoroughly impressed with what has been crammed into the device. During Apple’s Q2 2024 earnings, CEO Tim Cook revealed that half of Fortune 100 companies have purchased the AR headset, and it has proven itself to deliver immense utility in various applications.

Over the last few years, Apple has been criticised for not making progress in AI. While competitors such as Google, Microsoft and Samsung are leading the industry with AI technology, Apple is way behind its course. On Thursday, Apple revealed its revenue earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2024, during which the significant revenue gap was highlighted. However, with the earnings call, Apple CEO, Tim Cook also highlighted its plans for bringing generative AI and how it will differentiate itself from other players in the industry.

Huawei was reported to have attained a new milestone as its Pura 70 lineup was said to be comprised of 90 percent components sourced from Chinese partners. This approach would have meant that shortly, the company would be even less dependent on foreign suppliers that are strongly influenced by the U.S., assuming the claim turned out true. The report mentioned that the Japanese electronics consultancy firm Fomalhaut Techno Solutions analyzed the latest smartphones, but the Chief Executive has denied this information.

Huawei achieved another milestone with its Pura 70 series launch and that is sourcing 90 percent of smartphone components from Chinese suppliers. With the U.S. export control barring foreign companies from shipping parts to the company to use in various products, Huawei was adamant about cutting off overseas manufacturers and relying on local firms to get the job done. So far, the progress has been impressive, and only a few components remain to completely eliminate dependency on supply chain partners outside of China.

The demand for Apple Vision Pro is slowly dwindling, but the company’s long-term goals have not budged an inch. A new report states that the successor to the $3,499 AR headset could launch sometime by the end of 2026. However, there is a huge glaring issue that Apple needs to address, or this product category will most likely never take off, and that is pricing. For that to happen, the technology giant needs to bring down its component costs, but with each current-generation unit estimated to set back Apple by $1,542, the road to a more affordable head-mounted wearable is long and hard.

Apple Vision Pro surveys have been sent out to users ever since the headset launched earlier this year, but on this occasion, the company has sent customers a multitude of questions, wanting to learn about their experience and usage habits. What is interesting about the latest in-depth survey is that it was sent out shortly after the technology giant reportedly cut production of its latest head-mounted wearable to an estimated 400,000 to 450,000 annual units.

The Dimensity 9400 is scheduled to be announced later this year, and one of the most significant differences between it and chipsets like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and A17 Pro is that MediaTek will not rely on custom cores for its upcoming SoC. Instead, ARM’s current CPU designs will be utilized, which might give an impression that the Dimensity 9400 is at a distinct disadvantage. However, one tipster claims that MediaTek and ARM are collaborating to use the latter’s ‘BlackHawk’ architecture in the upcoming silicon, potentially delivering better Instructions Per Clock (IPC) performance than competing current-generation chips.

Huawei was previously rumored to be developing an Apple M1 competitor to take that ARM-based chipset market share away from the company. However, according to the latest information, the Chinese firm is using the Taishan V130 architecture to mass produce a silicon that can come close to the M3’s multi-core performance. It appears that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite is not the only one trying to carve out a piece of the pie.

Armadillos, the grumpy pistachio nuts of the animal kingdom, have been added to Minecraft in a recent mob update. You can brush them to harvest "scutes", the boney armour plating of the animal's back, which you can then use to craft armour for pet wolves. Speaking of wolves, this update also sees an explosion in canine diversity, with eight varieties of the wolf now appearing across different biomes. Awoooooo!

Sony has made four new game trials available to PlayStation Plus Premium members.

The latest Fortnite Festival update has finally added support for Rock Band 4 guitar controllers.

A few of Qualcomm’s phone partners always make an appearance at the company’s annual Snapdragon Summit to reveal which of their devices will be powered by the next flagship chipset. Historically, Xiaomi has always been the first to announce its premium offering for next year, and according to a tipster, the Chinese manufacturer will retain those exclusive rights when it unveils its first Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 smartphone. However, showcasing a launch is one thing, and making it officially available to purchase is another.