- Apple taps the Chinese market for a potential manufacturer of its brand-new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset
- The technology company enlisted Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare for the endeavor
- Apple also plans to include six other mainland suppliers to produce its "first-generation" product
Apple is looking for a potential Vision Pro mixed-reality headset manufacturer in China and has tapped a Chinese contract manufacturer, Luxshare, and six other mainland suppliers to produce the gadget.
Luxshare Precision Industry Co., a Chinese electronics contract manufacturer and a major supplier of Apple's AirPods, has become the first that the technology company has enlisted to build a "first-generation" product.
Apple Taps Chinese Market To Manufacture Vision Pro Headset
The latest bill of materials (BOM) analysis by local consultancy Wellsenn XR showed that seven mainland companies are suppliers to Apple's new mixed-reality headset. Apple launched the Vision Pro last week as what the company called a "spatial computing" device capable of changing how users interact with their apps, capture photos, enjoy media, and connect with other people via FaceTime, as per the South China Morning Post.
Besides Luxshare, Apple tapped camera module maker Cowell E Holdings and Shenzhen Desay Battery Technology. The latter supplies lithium batteries and provides power management systems.
Luxshare's participation alongside other mainland Chinese companies in producing Apple's Vision Pro headset reflects the technology firm's fresh vote of confidence in the nation's massive electronics manufacturing supply network. Despite geopolitical and economic developments that may speed up global supply chain realignments, this comes.
On the other hand, Taiwanese companies still accounted for most suppliers that are a part of Apple's production of Vision Pro mixed-reality headsets. Currently, 11 Taiwanese companies are working with the technology company in making the product.
Apple, Huawei Trademark Battle
The situation comes as Apple is also facing a trademark battle to use Vision Pro in China because of Huawei, which claims that it already owns the trademark in the Asian nation. According to MacRumors, Huawei was initially granted the trademark on May 16, 2019, which gave it exclusive rights to use the name in China from Nov. 28, 2021, to Nov. 27, 2031.
Furthermore, Huawei actively uses the trademark in China and offers several products under the Vision name, including smart TVs and smart glasses. If Apple hopes to sell its new mixed-reality headset in China and keep its name, it would have to negotiate with Huawei to release the trademark for a price.
The situation would not be the first time that Apple has had to pay the price to a Chinese company to use a product's name in the country. In 2012, Apple paid Proview Technology $60 million for the rights to use the trademark "iPad" in the Asian country.
The similar names used by Apple and Huawei come as the former's headset was set to be called "Reality Pro" and the operating system, known as VisionOS, would be "xrOS." It needed to be made clear whether or not Apple changed the names last minute or they were only rumored names to keep the real ones safe from leaks, said MacWorld.
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