As a die-hard Apple user, reading Patrick McGee‘s ‘Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company’ made me cringe more than once.
My history with Apple
In 2007, I bought an iPhone in the United States and jailbroke it so I could use it with a Danish SIM card.
In April 2009, I decided to switch from the Windows-based IBM ThinkPad to Apple’s Mac universe. The switch was motivated by a project where my client was a staunch Mac user, but also by a desire to try something different.
Steven Jobs’ 1997 advertisement, in which he made a virtue of necessity and emphasised that Apple products were mainly for geniuses, probably also played a part. In other words, for the few. Since the success of the Apple II, he had been thoroughly overtaken by the IBM-compatible PC. The launch of the Apple Macintosh in 1984 was innovative, but the train had already left the station.
When I switched in 2009, Apple’s MacBook was the symbol of independence. When I pulled it out of my backpack on the plane, I was signalling that I was the one in charge at my company. All those who pulled out their black and grey Windows PCs were employees on a fixed monthly salary in companies where they did not have the opportunity to influence their own working conditions. Steve Jobs’ ability to position Apple had shaped my worldview.
In May 2010, Apple launched the iPad in Germany, and I bought one on my way home from a holiday in Southern Europe. I wrote a brief article about my expectations, which have proven to be quite accurate.
The icing on the cake (!) was the purchase of a Mac Mini and a Studio Display, which ensures that I have a certain amount of redundancy and can cope if one of the computers fails.
The advantages of Apple products
There are several compelling reasons why Apple has cultivated an almost cult-like user base worldwide. The products have many strengths:
Intuitive design: Apple has a consistent user interface across platforms. This makes it easy to switch between iPhone, iPad and Mac without having to learn too much new stuff.
Ecosystem: The interaction between devices is seamless – from AirDrop and iCloud to Handoff and Universal Clipboard. Everything works together.
Security and privacy: Apple has consistently marketed itself as a champion of user privacy and has, among other things, made it more difficult for third-party companies to track users without their consent.
Long life and updates: iOS and macOS are updated regularly and often support devices for 5–7 years, which is longer than the industry average.
Quality hardware and software: The combination of proprietary hardware and software enables Apple to optimise performance and stability in a way that few other manufacturers can match.
But even the most elegant products come at a price – not least on an ethical level.
How Apple taught the Chinese to produce electronics
It’s been many years since I stopped gluing myself to the screen when Apple held its world-famous product launches. I purchased new devices approximately every five years, or when I felt it was appropriate. For the same reason, I had also lost touch with Apple as a company and did not keep up with its developments.
However, with Trump’s second term in the White House and the introduction of his tariff circus, it struck me that Apple was now in a difficult position. When I came across Patrick McGee’s book, I thought it might be interesting to receive an update.
And that’s what I got.
The book is partly the story of Apple, but naturally, with the main focus on what has been happening in China.
Apple, which in 2024 had a turnover of just under $400 billion and was the first publicly traded company to reach a value of $3 trillion, manufactures around 80% of its products in China.
This renders the company highly vulnerable – both to political tensions and logistical disruptions.
Since the late 1990s, Apple has been profoundly integrated into the Chinese economy. The company has trained over 28 million Chinese workers and established a vast supplier network. In 2016, Tim Cook signed an agreement with the Chinese government to invest $275 billion in the country over five years – an investment that far surpasses the Marshall Aid to Europe after the Second World War.
China – a technological superpower thanks to Apple?
Foxconn and other subcontractors have played a vital role in facilitating the rapid scaling up of production for new Apple products, taking them from concept to mass production in record time. McGee describes how, immediately after a new launch, Apple can employ up to 3 million people in its supply chain – a number that decreases by one million during the quieter months.
This collaboration has not only made Apple the world’s most efficient hardware manufacturer; it has also enhanced China’s skills and helped the country realise its ambition of technological independence and global dominance. This did not occur by force – it happened through investment, knowledge, and Western naivety. We believed that trade would automatically lead to democratisation. It did not.
The ethical dilemmas
Why did I cringe?
Because Apple – despite its reputation as a champion of innovation, individualism and ethics – compromises the very values it claims to uphold, according to the book. The company has apparently not only ignored but also actively contributed to working conditions and political adjustments that cast doubt on its moral compass.
McGee describes how Apple has removed apps on behalf of the government in China, stored user data locally, potentially granting the authorities access to it, and ignored or downplayed the working conditions at subcontractors. Tim Cook – known as the operations genius – has demonstrated expertise in geopolitical balancing as well as logistics. But at what cost?
An ambitious company in a complex world
Apple unites the sublime with the brutal—a company that has transformed the world with its products, yet is also entangled in global power struggles and dependencies that challenge our notions of what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
McGee’s book is not merely a tale of a company; it serves as a reflection of our times, highlighting the price and complexity of globalisation.
