Satellite imagery provided by NASA of Yagi with Apple logos indicating factories and stores
Super Typhoon Yagi, the second strongest tropical cyclone of 2024, is impacting southern China, once again highlighting Apple’s reliance on the country as iPhone 16 launches.
Natural disasters and pandemics can cause incredible devastation to those impacted, and the loss of life, property, and business can’t be overstated. Of course, this is an Apple focused website, so we must observe what this means for the company as, yet again, its reliance on China will be in the spotlight.
On Monday, Apple will announce the iPhone 16 lineup and a variety of other products during the “It’s Glowtime” Apple Event. Customers will pre-order them a short time after, and shipments will arrive about a week later — as expected.
However, nature could have an unexpected impact on the launch. China and Taiwan are critical to Apple’s supply chain, and much of the factories, ports, and airlines responsible for getting the people’s iPhones and AirPods delivered may be in trouble.
According to data from a Reuters report, Super Typhoon Yagi has maximum sustained winds of 152 mph and is the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane. It is one of the strongest typhoons on record for the region and the second most powerful tropical cyclone of 2024 behind Category 5 hurricane Beryl.
There is no way to predict how such a natural disaster may impact the region. Officials in China, Vietnam, and other affected regions have announced grounded flights, closed bridges, and other infrastructure shutdowns.
Apple will no doubt be fine, and customers will eventually get their new tech delivered. However, since Wall Street is a numbers game, analysts will be eager to calculate exactly what such a natural disaster will do to Apple’s bottom line.
Apple’s reliance on the Chinese industry has repeatedly come into question. While it has begun moving some infrastructure to India, it is slow going.
The typhoon will likely be used as another indicator that Apple needs to spread further across the globe. While that may be true, don’t forget the human impact such an incredibly powerful storm will have.