Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Vietnam — one of the iPhone giant’s most important manufacturing hubs

Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday as the U.S. tech giant looks to boost sales in new markets.

Cook will meet with Apple users, developers and content creators during the two-day visit, local media reported.

The CEO posted pictures on X on Monday in Hanoi with musicians. He drank an egg coffee.

Cook’s visit comes at a testing time for the U.S. technology giant. Figures released Monday by the International Data Corporation (IDC) showed global iPhone shipments fell 10% year on year in the first quarter of 2024.

Apple is facing intense competition in the high-end smartphone market where it operates, especially in key markets like China.

Apple has quietly grown into Vietnam’s third-largest smartphone vendor by shipments, according to IDC, behind Chinese electronics maker Oppo and Samsung. And Vietnam has become a key location for manufacturing as the Cupertino giant looks to diversify the assembly of its products away from China.

Apple’s reliance on China for its products came under scrutiny in 2022 as the country’s strict Covid-19 prevention measures and worker unrest at Foxconn’s flagship iPhone factory disrupted production. Foxconn is the main assembler of Apple’s iPhones.

In December, the Nikkei reported Apple was moving some of its key iPad engineering resources to Vietnam. The country is now reportedly involved in the development and manufacturing of the MacBook, iPad and Apple Watch.

“Vietnam is important to Apple not only due to its growing base of fans there, but also because the industry is hedging its bets by diversifying its manufacturing beyond China. That includes key locations like Vietnam, where Samsung has long had a presence in the northern part of the country,” Bryan Ma, vice president of client devices research at IDC, told CNBC.

“Apple’s diversification efforts also include devices like notebooks, where its contract manufacturers like Quanta and Foxconn have already been investing.”

India has also emerged as a key hub for iPhone manufacturing.

Bloomberg reported last week that Apple now makes one in seven of its iPhones in India. Apple began assembling its latest line of iPhones in India in 2022. That started with the iPhone 14 series. India also represents a huge consumer market for Apple.

Cook’s visit to Vietnam comes after 61 environmental and human rights groups called on Apple to oppose the country’s detention of climate activists.