As high tech as they are, looks like Apple (and others) could build completely automated factories to build their products in the USA so ‘labor’ costs would be minimal...........
While true....we kill ourselves with regulatory requirements non-existent elsewhere.
How many ‘permits’ are required in developing the facilities here vs. there? How long does this increase the time to build? What is the time-to-market cost? etc.
It’s a challenge, I respect the need for them - like not having buildings that fall down, or electrical fires that can be avoided. But we seem to also worry about the ‘rare lizard’ that has seen a population decline because ‘human bad’.
It’s that madness that still hurts us.
I disagree. Yes, Apple is high tech. But they have a knack for optimizing the end consumer experience. They don't seem to do well on back-end processing and automation. For example, their attempt at a server OS was short lived. And their developer tools aren't conducive to doing a lot of database stuff. I'm not saying it's impossible to use Apple developer tools for backend database and automation. I'm saying that I, an iphone user, wouldn't pick Apple for backend or automation.
Cook, like that arsehole Jobs before him, rejoice in using slave labor. All Apple devices depend upon that — which might explain in part why Apple treats its customers as slaves.