Manufacturing

Pegatron grabs the majority of iPad orders for the next three years

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 18, 2012

Always keen on never putting all its eggs in one basket, Apple has been trying to mitigate risk by sourcing components from multiple suppliers. The same goes for product assembly. Though the firm traditionally outsources manufacturing to Foxconn, the world's largest product assembler, Taipei, Taiwan-based Pegatron Technology has been rising increasingly as Apple's other manufacturing partner. According to a report from an Asian trade publication, Pegatron will now get to build the majority of iPad orders for the next three years...

Undercover journalists take video inside Foxconn iPhone 5 factory

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The walls around Foxconn's larger manufacturing facilities are infamously well-guarded. The factories have been the source of a large amount of media criticism due to unfit working conditions, and they rarely, if ever, let press in.

So the folks of Envoyé Spécial, a French 60 minute-like TV program, had to go undercover to get into the Zhengzhou iPhone 5 factory to get the answers to their long-standing questions, like: are things really improving at Foxconn?

Foxbots are way too costly and cannot polish the iPhone’s metal casing

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 11, 2012

Back in August of last year, Foxconn, Apple’s and the world's largest product assembler, said it intended to replace an unspecified amount of its assembly line workers with one million robots over the next three years. Chinese-language web site TechWeb followed up last month with a claim that at least 10,000 Foxbots had arrived at an unspecified Foxconn plant.

Another batch of 20,000 robots is reportedly scheduled for deployment by year's end. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that the assembly company is facing challenges because these things cost a lot of money and are quickly obsoleted due to "rapid changes in technology"...

Apple’s ‘Made in USA’ Mac could be the next-gen Mac Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

The industry was taken aback a little when Tim Cook on Friday told NBC’s Brian Williams in his first TV interview since becoming the CEO that Apple plans to bring some of the manufacturing jobs back home from China. He even went on to confirm that the company pledged to spend a hundred million bucks to make it happen, but stopped short of specifying which Macs would be assembled in the United States.

By all accounts, Apple's flagship desktop machine aimed at pros - the Mac Pro - is at the center of the company's renewed interest to bring some Mac production back to the country. First and foremost, the Mac Pro is way overdue for a hardware upgrade, having been last refreshed 427 days ago, or nearly a year and half ago...

Apple’s return to US could be led by Foxconn

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 7, 2012

Remember when foreign auto makers such as Honda opened manufacturing plants in the United States? The same likely will be true for Apple in 2013 when the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker relies on its Chinese manufacturing partner to hire U.S. workers to build gadgets - then increasingly exported to other nations. I'll pause while you try to follow that convoluted logic.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told interviewers his company intends to spend $100 million in 2013 to produce a line of Macs in the U.S., unsaid was the fact he'll likely have to rely on its Taiwan-based go-to manufacturer, Foxconn, one analyst notes Friday morning...

Apple to spend $100M on US-made iMac, Foxconn expanding US manufacturing

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Next year's Apple iMac may be assembled , as well as designed in the United States. The computer maker plans to spend $100 million in 2013 returning some U.S. manufacturing jobs home from China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview. Apple's largest manufacturing partner in China also said it is considering moving some jobs to U.S. plants. In magazine and television interviews, Cook emphasized he plans to bring "some production" of "one of our existing Mac lines" to the United States. Although the statements lacked specifics, the Apple chief suggested the 2013 move would be more than simply assembling Macs...

Qualcomm comes to the rescue, invests $120M in Sharp to help advance IGZO panels

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

More good news for people keeping their fingers crossed for Sharp's IGZO panels appearing on iOS devices: Tuesday morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that chip maker Qualcomm has agreed to invest as much as ¥9.9 billion, or approximately $120.4 million, in "what is expected to be the first in a series of capital injections to shore up" Sharp's battered finances and advance its IGZO tech.

That's good news as Foxconn's and Apple's multi-billion dollar deals with Sharp appear to be going nowhere. Sharp's stock was downgraded to junk and the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker is now trying to obtain investments from anyone, be it Apple, Intel, Foxconn or Qualcomm.

The launch of Sharp's awesome, albeit pricey, 32-inch 4K IGZO pro monitor and the introduction of its own tablet, the Aquos Pad SHT 21, which has a seven-inch IGZO display, both indicate yields are improving and so the likelihood of Apple re-considering IGZO panels in future iOS devices is now growing with each passing day...

Loss of Samsung screens apparently hurting iPad mini production

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 26, 2012

Questions of whether Apple can supply enough iPad minis to meet demand continue to linger. After cutting ties with Samsung for its displays, one of the two alternative suppliers reportedly face production problems. All of which makes the executives at Cupertino nervous amid Cyber Monday mania.

Apple reportedly chose LG Display and AU Optronics to replace Samsung. As we reportedly last week, LG Display makes most of the displays for the iPad mini, which is widely viewed as a top pick among Christmas shoppers. However, now comes a report out of Asia that AU Optronics is having problems producing the displays...

Foxconn begins deploying robots to replace factory workers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2012

Back in August, Cody told you that Foxconn, Apple's favorite component-making company, was intending to replace an unspecified amount of its assembly line workers with one million robots over the next three years. Today, a new report out of China claims the contract manufacturer has begun deploying sophisticated machines that will take care of labor-intensive assembly work. The move is intended to improve manufacturing efficiency and combat rising labor costs while also ensuring the best possible build quality so issues like Scuffgate might become a thing of the past...

Apple and MFi makers: Lightning is waterproof, ethical accessories

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 8, 2012

We relayed word mid-October that Apple would hold a two-day discussion with third-parties in Shenzhen, China the following month in order to discuss terms an guidelines pertaining to Lightning-compatible accessories that bear the Made for iPhone / iPod / iPad (MFi) program logo. In spite of secrecy, one publication has learned a few topics that are being discussed at the meeting.

For starters, Lightning I/O is waterproof. So, knowing the dynamically assigned pins of the Lightning connector won't corrode or degrade if dunked into water should make you feel good. I'm just taking a wild guess here, but it's quite possible Apple made this move to appease a cottage industry around waterproof accessories. More tidbits below the fold...

Suppliers profit up 29% on new Apple product launches

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 8, 2012

A high tide lifts all ships, especially if it is Apple. That's the word today from one observer who says Apple suppliers are enjoying a 29 percent profit boost due to "blockbuster new products" recently released. Apple's key suppliers saw their profits increase dramatically compared to the usual (and paltry) two percent growth and much higher than September's tepid one percent increase, Wall Street analyst Brian White told investors Thursday. The reason: Apple's line of new products, including the iPad mini, iPhone 5, a thinner iMac lineup and refreshed MacBooks...

Samsung seen gradually losing Apple chip orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2012

Apple, which up until recently was responsible for nearly nine percent of Samsung's revenue in parts orders, is rumored to be gradually taking its lucrative mobile chip contract away from Samsung, as previously speculated.

A new report out of Asia tells us the South Korean conglomerate is likely to delay construction of a new logic fabrication facility over fear that it will no longer make Apple's in-house designed processors for iPhones, iPads and iPods on an exclusive basis.

If this is true, then Apple has already contracted another founry to produce the chips, most likely Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)...