Manufacturing

How Apple supplier GT Advanced makes sapphire glass covers for smartphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Yesterday, New Hampshire-based materials manufacturing company GT Advanced announced a multi-year agreement with Apple to provide steady supply of the sapphire glass, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide known for its superior durability and scratch resistance. Apple relies on this pricey gemstone to protect the iPhone 5s's Touch ID sensor and has been using it for camera lens cover on all iOS devices since the iPhone 5.

The strategic supply agreement is valued at more than half a billion dollars in cutting-edge equipment and some folks have combed through Apple's patent filings for a clue to building next-generation iDevices with sapphire glass covers instead of Gorilla Glass.

Here's a video tour of GT's manufacturing process behind making the scratch-resistant, tougher-than-Gorilla-Glass sapphire displays for smartphones...

Apple opening next-gen sapphire glass plant in Arizona, creating 2,000 US jobs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

The Arizona State Governor Janice K. Brewer has just issued an interesting press release confirming that Apple will open a manufacturing plant in Mesa to build components for products. The manufacturing facility will create more than 700 high-quality jobs in the first year and "generate significant capital investment".

She kept mum on details, but the "significant capital investment" rules out server farms and perhaps alludes at some sort of a new plant to assemble products other than the new Mac Pro, which is being assembled in a Texas plant. UPDATED with new info, jumps past the fold for the latest..

Remarkable sophistication of Mac Pro manufacture

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 23, 2013

Not that long ago, these three words - 'Made in USA' - stood out for American quality, craftsmanship and reliability. What a difference a few decades make! As everyone's been building virtually everything in China, small wonder even Apple's boss Tim Cook, like his predecessor Steve Jobs, suspects those manufacturing jobs won't be coming back anytime soon. What might is (some) assembly work.

It was only recently that the nation's tech brands began experimenting with doing final assembly domestically. Motorola, for example, is putting the final pieces of the Moto X in place at a Texas plant, previously a Nokia facility.

Apple, in the meantime, has always designed its products in California and tapped its vast network of suppliers and contract manufacturers in Taiwan and China to build its gizmos. That's starting to change now as Apple's next-generation Mac Pro marks the company's return to the US in a limited manufacturing capacity.

The upcoming dream desktop is being assembled in a $100 million U.S. plant. And like Motorola's, Apple's facility is located in Texas. So, how does Apple build such a sophisticated and radically rethought desktop computer? Industrial designer Greg Koenig took a closer look at an eye-candy Mac Pro assembly video Apple played at yesterday's keynote, here's what he gleaned from it...

iPhone 6 may adopt IGZO screens as Sharp finally commercializes tech

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 21, 2013

Apple has long wanted to make a switch from the traditional LCD IPS display technology utilized on iOS devices to Sharp's cutting-edge IGZO technology.

Unfortunately, Apple's been unable to offer an IGZO iPhone because the struggling Japanese giant had been facing tremendous technical hurdles preventing mass production of these sophisticated panels.

According to the latest supply chain chatter, Sharp has now successfully commercialized production of IGZO panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant Number 2 before the end of 2013...

Foxconn: yes, interns worked overtime and even nights

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated November 30, 2016

Foxconn, the Tiawanese electronics assembler closely linked to Apple and other electronics firms, admits student interns who helped build Sony Playstation 4 consoles worked both overtime and at night in its China factories. Foxconn is the world's leading contract manufacturer whose fortunes are closely tied to Apple's.

In a statement last week, Foxconn said there were "a few instances" where interns worked shifts which violated company policies. However, the company which also assembles iPhones and iPads for Apple, said "immediate actions" will be put in place to prevent further incidents...

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...

Infographic: the iPhone supply and manufacturing chain

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 14, 2013

Because of its size, popularity and visibility, Apple is being increasingly scrutinized for outsourcing gadget assembly to Asian contract manufacturers.

Although Tim Cook has pledged to bring some of the manufacturing jobs back to the United States with the new 'Made In USA' Mac Pro, critics still slam the company for sourcing product components from Taiwanese vendors. Per usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

For example, while iPhone screens are made by Asian vendors, its cover glass is being manufactured in the US by Gorilla Glass in Kentucky. As for the chips, the engine that drives the iPhone is Apple's in-house design, fabbed by Samsung in Austin, Texas.

I stumbled upon a very nice infographic that details the source of the many iPhone components, including the speakers, vibration motor, rear earth metals and more, jump past the fold to have a look...

Apple allegedly shifting iMac production from Quanta to Pegatron

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 5, 2013

If a new report by the somewhat reliable DigiTimes is to be taken at face value, then Apple may shift production of its all-in-one iMac desktop from the current manufacturer Quanta to Pegatron. Now, Pegatron already builds older iPhones, has reportedly been commissioned to build Apple's rumored plastic iPhone and used to make iMacs.

Nowadays most iMac orders are being fulfilled by Quanta, which also assembles the majority of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks...

Foxconn to exclusively manufacture Apple’s iPad mini 2, rumor has it

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

As we sift through Apple's June quarter numbers and decipher vague hints suggesting a blockbuster Fall, rumors of a next-generation iPad mini continue to swirl. And where DigiTimes sees a Retina iPad mini in October, KGI's Ming-Chi Kuo sees a launch in March or April of 2014 given the battery and performance challenges stemming from driving a much smaller, thinner and lighter Retina display.

A pair of recent supply chain reports points to Apple commissioning Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (aka Foxcon) with assembly of the second-generation iPad mini. The company is additionally said to have included new suppliers in the iPad supply chain...

Apple patents advanced Liquidmetal processing techniques as new gadgets loom

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

We've been waiting and waiting (and waiting) for a Liquidmetal Apple gadget ever since that 2010 deal saw Apple acquire worldwide exclusive rights to use the amorphous alloy (also known as metallic glass) in consumer electronics applications. 2012 went and gone without a Liquidmetal iPhone, or iPad or MacBook for that matter.

At the end of 2012 Apple extended the deal with Liquidmetal Technologies (a Caltech spinoff) or another two years, through 2014. Still, the iPhone maker has yet to use the alloy in gadgets, even though it's owned the rights to it since 2010. This could change soon, if a new patent gain unearthed Wednesday is an indication.

That the United States Patent & Trademark Office awarded Apple's patent on a process for mass production of amorphous metals is a sign of Apple potentially moving to commercialize Terminator-like alloy. Liquidmetal iWatch, anyone?

Genuine-looking iPhone 5S production images and specs leak

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

Just a day after AllThingsD confirmed analyst Piter Misek's claim of the iPhone 5S production ramp-up in July, a Chinese website leaks a few images that appear to depict a bunch of production iPhone 5S units.

There's no way of determining authenticity of the photos because the iPhone 5S is widely expected to re-use the two-tone design of the current-generation iPhone 5.

The Chinese source also spelled out technical specifications that match up with past rumors.

Go past the fold for the full breakdown...

WSJ: Foxconn rival Pegatron is primary budget iPhone manufacturer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 6, 2017

We first heard from The New York Times that the world's top contract manufacturer Foxconn is looking past the iPhone amid Apple's slowing growth. Reuters previously ran an anti-Apple piece which asserted that Tim Cook & Co. are looking to shift from Foxconn to rival Pegatron, which currently builds the older iPhone 4/4S models.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal ran a story claiming Foxconn is looking to manufacture, market and sell its own mobile accessories compatible with iOS devices. Moreover, the story goes, Foxconn is said to be expanding its high-margin retail operations and investing in content and services.

Today, the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper sheds more light on the subject, claiming Cook has re-shuffled Apple's supply chain and re-iterating that Pegatron will be the "primary assembler" of Apple's rumored low-cost iPhone, which the Journal expects to be offered "later this year"...