Apple's iPhone and Mac Sales Boom During the Pandemic Has Hit a Snag

Tech companies were already huge before the COVID-19 pandemic began upending lives around the world three years ago.

And they continued to grow as we became ever more reliant on our smartphones, computers and videoconference calls.

But the real crunch came from COVID-19 shutdowns late last year across the Chinesemanufacturing centers Apple relies on.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said many of those manufacturing problems have been resolved, for now.

Tech’s biggest giants have raised alarms of a rough patch after years ofseemingly unstoppable growthduring the pandemic.

Amazon, Facebook parent Meta and Google parent Alphabet have allgone through dramatic layoffs, citing falling advertising revenue.

Other companies, such as Microsoft, also instituted layoffs.

“We are excited about the year to come,” he told analysts.

“At Apple we are always looking forward, always focused on the next challenge.”