3 ms·

> If we end up in an actual war, we'll have more to worry about than not getting the latest iPhone for a few years. This is a supply issue with silicon/electro

> If we end up in an actual war, we'll have more to worry about than not getting the latest iPhone for a few years. This is a supply issue with silicon/electronics in general. At this point, it would be more of a disaster for any country to lose access to electronics than to oil. I'm not sure where you heard that manufacturing electronics is low skill, but I definitely don't agree. The point is that there's no difference between the US and some country that has oil resources but no refining capacity. We can dig silicon out of the ground but we can't make anything with it. The other thing you may be failing to consider is automation. If another economy gets there first, they won't be just building chips. If you're afraid of China becoming the fastest at bringing technology ideas to market, we are already there. And not just some ridiculously useless SV "x but for uber" product. A real piece of reality that turns on and can perform work. This is even before you get into the national security argument about a trustable supply chain.

simonh 6y ago
Making the high value parts, the CPU, flash memory, camera module, sensors, Gorilla Glass, display panels, etc is high value. Do you know how many of the components on that list are made in China? None. They’re all made in the USA, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Only low value parts and final assembly are done in China yet it’s the low skill final assembly worth only a few dollars in value that counts as “manufacturing”. I think the flash used to be made in China for a while, but the fancy new stuff is South Korea (Samsung) and Japan (Toshiba). The camera modules are made by Sony in Japan. The CPUs are TSMC in Taiwan. Back in the early years over 40% of the value in the Bill of Materials of an iPhone was made in the USA, including the CPUs by Samsung in Texas, Gorilla Glass by Corning in NY state, I forget all the rest, only about 10% of the cost of manufacture was added in China. It’s probably a bit more now.
- nicoffeine 6y ago
  You are still talking about iPhone parts. China is behind on leading edge integrated circuits.[1] However, China can manufacture a computer from entirely Chinese parts.[2] America cannot manufacture a computer from entirely American parts. China not only made plans for a 100% domestically produced computer, they have already achieved it. We don't even have plans. [1] https://semiengineering.com/china-speeds-up-advanced-chip-development/ https://semiengineering.com/china-speeds-up-advanced-chip-de... [2] https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193625.shtml https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193625.shtml

simonh 6y ago

Making the high value parts, the CPU, flash memory, camera module, sensors, Gorilla Glass, display panels, etc is high value. Do you know how many of the components on that list are made in China? None. They’re all made in the USA, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Only low value parts and final assembly are done in China yet it’s the low skill final assembly worth only a few dollars in value that counts as “manufacturing”. I think the flash used to be made in China for a while, but the fancy new stuff is South Korea (Samsung) and Japan (Toshiba). The camera modules are made by Sony in Japan. The CPUs are TSMC in Taiwan. Back in the early years over 40% of the value in the Bill of Materials of an iPhone was made in the USA, including the CPUs by Samsung in Texas, Gorilla Glass by Corning in NY state, I forget all the rest, only about 10% of the cost of manufacture was added in China. It’s probably a bit more now.

nicoffeine 6y ago
You are still talking about iPhone parts. China is behind on leading edge integrated circuits.[1] However, China can manufacture a computer from entirely Chinese parts.[2] America cannot manufacture a computer from entirely American parts. China not only made plans for a 100% domestically produced computer, they have already achieved it. We don't even have plans. [1] https://semiengineering.com/china-speeds-up-advanced-chip-development/ https://semiengineering.com/china-speeds-up-advanced-chip-de... [2] https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193625.shtml https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1193625.shtml