Bloomberg

How Arizona wooed Apple to build sapphire plant

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2014

Apple last week began moving sophisticated equipment and furnaces into its new manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona. The plant, operated by a company called GT Advanced, should produce two times the current worldwide capacity of sapphire, enough for an annual production of about 100 million iPhones with a sapphire-protected cover glass.

But how exactly did State of Arizona attract Apple to build the plant in Mesa and create more than 700 high-quality jobs in the first year, and 4,000 more if successful? With the right package of incentives, perks and tax breaks, that's how...

Tony Fadell on Nest deal, relationship with Apple, Google data sharing, home automation and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

The iPod Godfather and Nest Labs co-founder and CEO, Tony Fadell, sat down with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to talk specifics of the recently announced $3.2 billion Google deal, why he sold to the search monster, Nest's relationship with Apple, the future of controlling household products and a few other topics of interests, here are your soundbites...

Apple TV picks up ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle and KOR TV channels

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2013

After adding Yahoo Screen and PBS channels last month, Major League Soccer and Disney Junior channels in September as well as Vevo, Weather Channel, Disney, Smithsonian and a bunch of other content sources earlier this year, Apple's again expanded on the device's content sources.

The $99 media-streaming box is now even more useful with four additional channels from ABC, financial organization Bloomberg, Sony's streaming movie and TV show service Crackle and Korea-based on-demand video service KOR TV, all now accessible from the Apple TV's Home menu...

Bloomberg details Apple’s sophisticated robots and production machinery

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

'Gadgets that build gadgets' should have been the headline of the Bloomberg piece which details Apple's multi-billion dollar investments in custom-engineered manufacturing equipment, machines and robots which dutifully churn out your shiny new iPads and iPhones with their diamond-cut chamfered edges, precision crafted down to the micron.

'The Rolex of smartphones' is impossible to mass-produce using the existing tooling and manufacturing techniques. Because Apple custom-designs everything, it shouldn't surprise you that it also designs its own manufacturing processes, techniques and cutting-edge production equipment.

Just how does the company utilize its billions on these pricey robots?

Bloomberg: curved-screen jumbo-sized iPhones coming in 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 10, 2013

We've been hearing a lot lately about jumbo-sized iPhones, but the iPhablet meme is so passé now. So how about a curved-screen iPhone? I'm not talking about a Galaxy Round type of device - according to a new Bloomberg report, a large-screen iPhone featuring a flat screen with the cover glass "that curves downward at the edges" is in the works.

This sounds a lot like the Lumia range as the high-end Nokia devices sport slightly curved screen edges. Note that this is the first time we've heard the curved-screen iPhone being mentioned by a major big media publication. The Bloomberg article also mentions two large-screen models planned for release in the second half of next year and a new pressure-sensitive screen technology. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Apple’s Russia push slowed by pricey iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 25, 2013

Although Apple today launched the iPhone in an additional 35 global markets (with more to come next Friday), including Russia, its flagship iPhone 5s remains too expensive for all but the most wealthiest. The iPhone 5c, costing just $99 in subsidized markets such as the U.S., can cost nearly $800 in Russia, unsubsidized.

Apple's goal of competing globally is being hampered by pricing centered on carrier subsidies. In countries such as Russia, India and elsewhere where subsidies are not allowed, the cost of an iPhone can equal a month's salary - or more. As a result, Samsung's cheaper Android phones control most smartphone sales...

How secret China flights bring iPhones to Apple Stores

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 12, 2013

Apple's fine-tuned supply chain is legendary, but we are just now getting a glimpse into its inner workings. As supply side wonk turned CEO Tim Cook Tuesday unveiled a new line of iPhones, an intriguing report revealed the coordination required to get the handsets to your local Apple store.

Using mammoth chartered jets and schedules so elaborate they almost make D-Day seem like a Girl Scouts delivery route, iDevices designed in California and built in China arrive in the US without a second to spare. A former FedEx executive likens it all to a Hollywood movie premiere...

Bloomberg: Apple may announce new iPads come September 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 28, 2013

Several credulous publications have confirmed with their deeply entrenched sources that Apple will be indeed revealing the iPhone 5S and 5C at a media event on September 10, possibly even launching iOS 7 for public consumption the same day. As for the upcoming iPads, conventional wisdom suggests the company might launch a fifth-generation iPad and possibly a Retina iPad mini at a separate media event in order not to take the wind out of the iPhone's sails.

People have suggested an October launch for new iPads and that just about makes sense to us, but now Bloomberg is casually mentioning that both new iPhones and iPads are on Apple's agenda for September 10...

Bloomberg: Japan’s largest carrier wants iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C – but with strings

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 26, 2013

A new report gives a bit more hope to Apple's push to widen its base of iPhone global carrier partners. The finance head of Japan's largest carrier NTT DoCoMo hints Apple's upcoming colorized iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models could be sold in this tech-obsessed nation to its customers. However, if Apple wants this plum, it may have to play second fiddle to its Android rival, Samsung.

Although most recent attention has been on China, NTT DoCoMo is the lone hold-out in Japan, making the iPhone sold by every major Japanese carrier. In September, Apple is expected to unveil its next-generation iPhone 5S and possibly the budget-minded iPhone 5C in September...

Bloomberg: Apple’s slowing growth now worries case makers

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2013

People love to accessorize their mobile devices. Indeed, the multi-billion dollar industry for gadget accessories has been thriving for years now on the seemingly unstoppable popularity of Apple's mobile devices. The accessory industry had really started to take off a decade ago, after the iPod came out.

It boomed following the iPhone and iPod touch introduction in 2007, with tablets such as the iPad having become the latest lucrative market for case vendors out there. So, what do you do if you're an established case maker in Asia at a time when Apple's growth has been slowing?

As you fortunes are most certainly closely tied to Apple's, priorities change as you start giving more attention to non-Apple gadget makers, namely to Samsung but also to a bunch of local vendors who produce inexpensive smartphones and tablets...

Bloomberg weighs in on upcoming iPads and iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2013

With less than a month until Apple's September 10 iPhone event, Bloomberg has scanned the blogs and talked to its unnamed sources in an effort to dig up some previously unknown "facts" about Apple's upcoming iPhone and iPad refreshes.

Now, stop me if you've heard this before, but much of Bloomberg's reporting centers around a thinner and lighter iPad 5 with iPad mini style design.

Where it gets interesting, however, is a claim that Apple also plans to introduce a Retina iPad mini this year rather than in 2014...

Apple buys HopStop transit app to beef up Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

As pointed out by multiple outlets and tweeted by several reporters, Apple has acquired an online navigation startup HopStop.com to improve its troubled Maps offering, Bloomberg just reported. HopStop makes a free iPhone and Android transit app that features detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and even biking directions.

This is exactly the kind of data Apple's Maps need in order to become a viable alternative to Google Maps. The HopStop software also features real-time transit information via the HopStop Live service, the official transit maps, nearby station search and station-to-station schedules in over 600 cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including 140 major metropolitan areas...