Employees working at Chinese government organizations are reportedly banned from using iPhones and other foreign-branded devices.
According to a Bloomberg report, the ban also applies to Samsung Electronics products and government officials are encouraged to prioritize the use of products from Chinese manufacturers.
The source said that in the past 1-2 months, the leadership of government agencies and state-owned enterprises in at least eight Chinese provinces, including economically quite developed coastal areas, has Require employees to switch to using Chinese-branded mobile devices during working hours.
The smaller-scale campaign began in September, mainly limited to Beijing and Tianjin. Now, government employees are encouraged to leave non-Chinese branded devices at home. This news caused Apple’s stock price to drop 1%, despite the US company’s shares reaching an all-time high the previous day.
As Bloomberg reported, recommendations for government employees to stop using imported devices during work hours were issued in more than eight Chinese provinces in December, including Hebei, where the iPhone factory is located. the world’s largest. So far, Chinese authorities have denied the existence of such bans but have made no secret of concerns about the security of Apple devices.
Chinese government employees were banned from using desktops and laptops from foreign brands before.
One-fifth of Apple’s total sales come from China, so such restrictions would weaken the company’s position in China, where local competitors are thriving. According to some reports, the iPhone line is selling slower in China when compared to its predecessor, which is causing concern for Apple. Perhaps the appearance of the Mate 60 smartphone line from Huawei at the end of August has made local authorities believe in the feasibility of replacing the iPhone in this field.
In fact, the replacement of imported desktops and laptops in Chinese government organizations began last year and is expected to be completed next year. It’s clear that the country’s leadership is ready to move on to deal with smartphones.