iPhone X is slated to arrive on November 3, but Apple and its suppliers are still experiencing reported problems with mass production of sophisticated 3D facial scanning sensors for the handset's TrueDepth camera, according to a report Tuesday by Japanese outlet Nikkei.
Multiple production glitches early in the manufacturing process this summer could result in extended supply shortfalls and shipping delays for iPhone 8, with contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group now offering bonuses to employees who can bring in new hires.
Samsung Electronics on Monday disclosed plans to invest $7 billion over the next three years to expand its flash memory chip production in China’s northwestern city of Xi’an.
OLED screens for iPhone 8 are proving significantly more difficult to mass-manufacture than Apple's suppliers may have anticipated, with a Foxconn executive claiming high rejection rate for the sophisticated display panels due to “a special cutting” in them.
Apple could start shipping an updated version of the fourth-inch iPhone SE, its most affordable smartphone, in the first quarter of 2018, according to a new rumor Friday from Focus Taiwan.
Seven of Samsung Display's sixth-generation manufacturing plants will increase production capacity of OLEDs destined for iPhone 8 by sevenfold from 15,000 panels per month from last year to 105,000 panels per month this year.
A limited run of “Assembled in India” iPhone SE models is now rolling from the assembly lines in India, run by Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron, but the Cupertino technology giant is now seeking extend tax breaks for its suppliers to build iPhones in the country from scratch.
As Apple is said to be bankrolling its supplier LG Display's OLED expansion, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities yesterday shared his thoughts on the matter.
While market watchers are still unsure if Apple could manage to ramp up iPhone 8 production in time for a September launch, a report Friday from Taiwan's TechNews, quoted by DigiTimes, alleges that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has now kicked off volume production of the device's in-house designed A11 chip.
Foxconn Technology Group, the world's top contract manufacturer that counts Apple and other major Silicon Valley giants as its clients, has officially confirmed it would invest $10 billion into a new 20-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Wisconsin to churn out high-resolution 8K LCD display panels used in smartphones, car dashboards and TVs.
Major Apple supplier LG Display is reportedly investing a whopping $13.5 billion over the next three years in order to boost output of OLED panels for TVs and smartphones, which Apple is widely expected to adopt for this year's premium iPhone 8 model.
Apple's competitors have adopted a wait-and-see approach, pushing back smartphone chip orders as they're waiting to see the OLED-based iPhone 8 before making future plans.