Apple may have stopped developing the promising micro-LED display technology that was supposed to debut on the next Apple Watch Ultra.
Suppliers
The strongest evidence yet that solid-state buttons aren’t coming to the iPhone 15 Pros
Apple's Taptic Engine supplier won't receive orders for new haptics modules desgined for the rumored solid-state buttons on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pros.
Suppliers reportedly start shipping parts for Apple’s upcoming 27-inch iMac with mini LED
Apple's Intel-based 27-inch iMac could soon be supplanted by an Apple silicon-powered model featuring a bright display with mini LED backlighting and other perks.
Samsung reportedly prepping to churn out OLED screens for iPads and Macs
Samsung is understood to have begun preparations for mass production of iPad Pro-sized display panels based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology, says a new report.
Apple orders 2.5 million Apple Silicon-powered MacBook laptops by early 2021
Apple has ordered 2.5 million MacBooks powered by its own chips by early 2021, indicating the company is projecting strong demand for the first Macs powered by its own chips.
iPhone 12 Pro orders slipping into December as Apple faces severe shortages of components
iPhone 12 Pro orders on the online Apple store have slipped to late November and into early December because Apple is facing severe component shortages across multiple product lines.
Sony may supply micro OLEDs for Apple’s rumored AR headset said to drop in 2021
Apple's augmented reality (AR) glasses are expected to arrive in 2021, and now Sony has been mentioned as a probably supplier of sophisticated OLED panels for the rumored accessory.
Apple reportedly delays iPhone SE 2 launch over the coronavirus outbreak
The coronavirus has impacted Apple's supply chain in ways more than one, the latest example being the company's oft-rumored iPhone SE successor that, instead of arriving this spring, now apparently faces a delayed launch, a new supply chain report claimed Thursday.
Coronavirus outbreak compels iPhone camera supplier LG Innotek to shut down factory
LG Innotek's manufacturing plant in Gumi, South Korea that supplies iPhone camera modules has been temporarily shuttered over the global coronavirus outbreak.
Foxconn boosting investment in micro-LED display tech in a bid to win future iPhone orders
According to a supply chain report published Tuesday in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News, relayed by DigiTimes, contract manufacturer Foxconn has continued to deepen its deployments in micro-LED technology "through a multi-pronged approach in order to win display orders from Apple for its next-generation iPhone devices."
44 Apple suppliers pledge to use clean energy
Apple today announced 44 of its suppliers have committed to using 100 percent renewable energy in their production of its gadgets as the Cupertino giant spent $2.5 billion in green bonds on environmental initiatives, the largest amount of any US corporation.
Apple in 2018 spent $60 billion with American component suppliers
Coinciding with today's report in The New York Times detailing why Apple won’t be bringing manufacturing jobs back home, the Cupertino technology giant has now issued a press release focused on US suppliers Finisar, Corning and Broadcom which are building parts for its products at domestic manufacturing plants.
The gist of the report: the iPhone maker in 2018 alone spent a whopping $90 billion with 9,000 America component suppliers and companies such as Finisar, Corning and Broadcom.
The figure translates into an increase of more than ten percent from the year before, supporting more than 450,000 jobs, according to the press release.
Finisar, which supplies laser components for the TrueDepth camera, was awarded $390 million from Apple’s $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund last year to expand production. The supplier used that money to turn an unoccupied building in Sherman, Texas into a "bustling operation" full of people who will supply that future business.
Finisar's technician handles a VCSEL wafer during production.The facility will eventually employ up to 500 engineers who will be mass-producing vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for modern iPhones.
VCSEL wafers are nearly as thin as a human hair and contain hundreds of layers measuring only a few atoms in thickness. They require a highly advanced and precise manufacturing operation, as well as skilled technicians with specialized training.
Corning's 65-year-old facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky produces iPhone cover glass. It received a $200 million investment from Apple for state-of-the-art glass processing.
Army veteran Michael Turner, 40, Michael Turner gets ready to enter the production floor at the Sherman plant.Apple works with many other US suppliers, like Cincinnati Test Systems and Broadcom.
Cincinnati Test Systems in Ohio designed a first-of-its-kind equipment to ensure iPhone is water resistant. And Broadcom in Fort Collins, Colorado, Qorvo in Hillsboro, Oregon and Skyworks in Woburn, Massachusetts, are all making wireless communication hardware that enables global connectivity.
Since 2011, the total number of jobs created and supported by Apple in the US has more than tripled, from almost 600,000 to 2 million across all 50 states.