Vietnam in Covid-19 pandemic grip: Apple iPhone 13 wait gets longer

Buyers of Apple’s new iPhone 13 face longer-than-expected delivery times because of a wave of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam, where components for the device's new camera module are assembled, Nikkei Asia said.
 
The disruption, which could ease as soon as mid-October, is linked to a constriction in supplies of modules for the phone's four models, as a significant number of components are assembled in Vietnam, it said, citing people familiar with the matter.
 
Several users and Apple’s partners, such as Verizon Communications Inc and Best Buy, have highlighted delays after pre-ordering began in September due to a shortage of supply and high demand, with analysts warning of one of the longest waiting times for the phone in recent years.

 

Apple relies on more than a dozen factories that manufacture components in Vietnam, which has been grappling with a rise in infections since April, mostly in its business hub Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring industrial provinces.
 
Google cites Apple in EU court defence
 
Payments to phone makers to pre-install only Google Search on their devices were not aimed at preventing competition but were necessary for Android to seize market share from Apple, Google told Europe's second-top court on Wednesday. Google was addressing the General Court on the third day of a week-long hearing as it tries to get judges to dismiss a record ^4.3-billion ($3.7 billion) EU antitrust fine and a European Commission order to loosen its search engine grip on Android devices.