With so much talk about the current-gen iPhone seeing weaker-than-expected demand swirling about, analysts and industry watchers have already begun to look forward to Apple's next-generation handset, believed to be the 'iPhone 5S.'
The company is widely expected to break its handset's traditional, annual release cycle this year, releasing the new iPhone well before fall. And a new report today supports that theory, saying Apple's next smartphone will land in June...
The Wall Street Journal reported last night that Apple has been contacting suppliers to reduce iPhone 5 part orders due to 'weaker-than-expected demand.' The story has made some serious waves today, causing Apple's stock price to drop (at the time of writing) 16 points.
But for several industry watchers, including myself, the math on last night's report just doesn't add up...
The Wall Street Journal issued a report late last night, claiming that it had it on good authority that Apple has been telling its suppliers to cut their iPhone 5 part orders due to, what is believed to be, weak demand.
The publication's sources, who — you guessed it, are familiar with the situation — say that Apple has cut orders for multiple iPhone 5 components, but say screen orders specifically have been cut by nearly 50 percent...
Earlier this year, The New York Times published a bleak, extensive report on the poor working conditions inside Foxconn's factories. The manufacturer makes products for several companies, but the piece specifically called out Apple.
In the latest installment of its "iEconomy" series, The Times takes a look at the changes made by both Apple and Foxconn to improve the working conditions inside their Chinese plants. And from the sound of it, things are getting better...
Earlier this month, Tim Cook sat down with Rock Center's Brian Williams for his first major TV interview since becoming Apple's CEO. And among the many topics covered in the conversation, Cook spoke about Apple's plans to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US.
Initial speculation suggested that Apple was going to start making Mac Pros in the States, because of the desktop's pricing and sales volume. But according to a new report out of Taiwan, it will actually be the smaller Mac mini that will soon be shifted to US production...
It seems like for every report we hear that conditions are getting better in Apple's supply chain factories, there's another one that dispels the notion. Last week, French reporters snuck inside Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, and things still looked pretty grim.
But that doesn't mean that Apple's not trying though. As proof of that, Apple has updated the supplier responsibility page on its website today to show that it is now personally tracking working hours for more than a million supply chain employees...
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...
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"...
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...
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...
No children are building Samsung devices in China, the South Korean smartphone maker announced Monday. According to an audit of 105 Chinese suppliers, there are problems with too much overtime and being fined for lateness or absences. The four-week monitoring of its suppliers' production facilities follows earlier accusations that one of Samsung's suppliers hired underage workers.
Although Samsung insisted it has "zero tolerance" about child workers, the company said today it will require that all suppliers follow new hiring procedures, including the use of a device that spots false IDs. By the end of the year, suppliers must stop fining workers when they are late or absent, the firm announced today...
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...