Apple stores in the US have seen a surge in demand for products, particularly iPhones. People are rushing to buy smartphones as soon as possible, amid fears that prices will rise due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
Apple stores in the US have seen a surge in demand for products, particularly iPhones. People are rushing to buy smartphones as soon as possible, amid fears that prices will rise due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
This is reported by Bloomberg. According to employees of the company’s branches, last weekend the stores were crowded with buyers who were concerned about a possible price increase.
Recall that most iPhones are manufactured in China, which will soon be subject to a 54% tariff. One of the Apple Store employees said that their store also had many people buying Apple products.
In addition to iPhones, people are also buying Macs in droves, as they can also increase in price. Currently, prices in stores are the same as when a new iPhone was released or on the eve of the New Year holidays.
«Almost every customer asked me if prices would increase in the near future,» the employee says in a comment to the publication.
Apple’s U.S. retail stores saw weekend sales exceed previous years, including in some major markets. The company has not yet commented on possible price increases.
However, Apple has already lost more than half a trillion dollars in just two days due to the new tariffs. The company’s stock price has also fallen due to Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on imported goods from China.
Meanwhile, White House officials have announced the possibility of moving iPhone production to the United States, The Verge reports .
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Apple is likely considering the move, given its $500 billion investment plan in the United States. She added that President Trump also supports moving production to the United States, arguing that the country has enough talent and capacity to do so. However, experts believe that Apple’s investment is in line with the company’s normal expenses.
Apple founder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook have repeatedly stressed the difficulties of moving production to the U.S. The main problem is the lack of qualified engineers: to support 700,000 workers in China, 30,000 engineers are needed, which the U.S. simply does not have.
Cook also previously emphasized that China is not attractive because of low labor costs, but because of the high level of qualifications and availability of specialists. In the US, he said, it is difficult to assemble even a small group of engineers, while in China they can be found in the thousands.
Thus, the idea of moving iPhone production to the US remains unlikely due to significant logistical and personnel challenges.
