How Did This Get Here: Your iPhone

1A

NPR

News

4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Your new iPhone goes through a lot before you peel the plastic off and finally boot it up. Further Apple purchases might have to go through more thanks to the Trump administration's tariffs.

From its assembly, to its packaging, to its shipping, to stocking, to purchase, it's a long process. So, what does it actually look like? Why is this the way we do it? And what could be done to make things better?

This is our new series,"How Did This Get Here." We explore how goods make their way to us from overseas to our hands. This week we discuss iPhones.

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This message comes from MintMobile. MintMobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right.
0:05.3	They offer premium wireless plans for less, and all plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and nationwide coverage.
0:12.2	See for yourself at mintmobile.com slash switch.
0:16.4	Hi, it's Jen. Just a quick heads up before we start the show. This story is rapidly changing, and there may be major developments by the time you hear this show. So stay up to date with all the latest by listening to your local NPR member station or by visiting pivot U.S. trade policy. And pivot, he has.
0:48.3	The president has already imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports, 20 percent on shipments from China, and up to 25% on goods
0:57.4	from Canada and Mexico that aren't covered by a 2020 trade deal. Last week, he announced a 25%
1:03.7	tariff on all imported vehicles effective Thursday. Later today, Donald Trump will announce that
1:08.9	sweeping unprecedented slate of tariffs set to take
1:11.4	effect across a wide range of goods. It marks what he's calling Liberation Day. The new policy is
1:17.9	expected to hit all the nation's trade partners, including China, the European Union, and Mexico.
1:23.2	And while many across the country are bracing for a hit to their pocketbooks, the administration
1:27.5	is promising a different outcome. Here's what Peter Navarro, Trump's senior counselor for trade and
1:32.0	manufacturing, told Fox News on Sunday. Terrives are tax cuts. Tariffs are jobs. Terrives are
1:39.7	national security. Tariffs are great. For America, tariffs will make America great again.
1:46.1	So how will Trump's newest tariffs affect American consumer products and the U.S. economy long-term?
1:52.5	This is our series. How does this get here? Each week, we explore how some of our most used goods,
1:58.2	from cars to clothes to cell phones, get from manufacturers to our hands.
2:03.2	Today, we take a closer look at the iPhone. Most of Apple's hundreds of millions of iPhones are made
2:08.3	in China. How do tariffs on Chinese goods complicate Apple's supply chain? How is the company adapted?
2:14.3	And what does it mean for your wallet? But first, what you should know about
2:17.5	Trump's tariff plan. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast. Stay with us. We've got a lot to
2:23.0	get into. This message comes from Wise, the app for doing things in other currencies.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.