Apple and its overseas manufacturing partners have been taking quite a bit of heat over the last month. Reports of underage employees, 60+ hour work weeks and other poor working conditions have been constantly grabbing headlines.
But just as we have reported on the bad things, we must also report the good. It appears that in the face of criticism, Foxconn, Apple's largest supply chain partner, has decided to substantially increase its workers' wages...
As most of you know, Apple has been catching a lot of flack recently regarding the poor working conditions at some of its overseas manufacturing plants. Last week, protestors delivered a petition with over 250,000 electronic signatures to the company calling for a change.
Tim Cook has already commented on the situation, saying that Apple is doing more than any other company in the industry to improve the working conditions of the factories in its supply chains. And today, the CEO reiterated the point at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference...
Between all of the leaked components and developer chatter, we're almost certain that Apple is preparing to unveil its next-generation tablet in the near future.
But in case you needed more convincing, 9to5Mac has uncovered further evidence that the iPad 3 is on its way. The site is reporting that several major retailers are experiencing iPad 2 supply shortages...
Foxconn, Apple's largest manufacturing partner, has been back in the media spotlight over the last few weeks. Last month, the New York Times pointed to the company in its report on the poor working conditions in Chinese factories.
Foxconn has since been the target of activists and protestors, but now it's found itself in the sights of a different breed. It seems that the world's largest component manufacturer has been hacked by a new group called Swagg Security...
Last week, The New York Times ran a controversial piece on the poor working conditions inside the factories of Apple's supply chain. The report detailed awful labor practices including mandatory 60+ work weeks and hazardous working environments.
One of the many questions that arose in the wake of the article is, "why doesn't Apple just make its products here in the USA?" That would mean more jobs for Americans, and labor laws to protect the workers. But what many folks don't realize is that a lot of Apple's handset is already made in the US...
Apple's handset business is doing pretty well these days. It recently gave birth to a new model, which seems to be doing rather well, and it's making inroads into a major new market — mainland China.
Of course, when you start selling more phones, you have to hire more people to make them. M.I.C gadget is reporting that thousands of Chinese workers have lined up to apply for new iPhone production positions at Foxconn...
The New York Times published an extensive 7-page report last night detailing Apple's failure to effectively pursue safer working conditions in its overseas manufacturing plants.
We knew that conditions were bad for workers inside the factories of companies like Foxconn and Wintek, but we thought they were getting better. But citing both past and current Apple executives, the NYT paints a bleak picture of Apple's efforts to improve the awful conditions of its supply chain workers...
Stories of Foxconn employees choosing suicide over bleak working conditions have painted a horrific picture of overseas supply chain factories. The companies that assemble our iPhones and other devices just don't treat their workers properly.
But it looks like Tim Cook and the rest of Apple are looking to change that. The Business Journal is reporting that Apple has joined the Fair Labor Association (FLA) as a participating company — the first technology company to do so...
All eyes are on Apple and its supply chain this month as rumors regarding its upcoming iPad begin to ramp up. The company is expected to unveil its new tablet sometime between now and early March of this year.
The latest chatter to come out of overseas component manufacturers is that Apple is looking to order in upwards of 65 million iPad 3 displays in 2012. And a recent report suggests that LG and Samsung are going to be splitting the bounty...
A recent report by Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley claimed that Apple is currently pocketing 52% of the handset industry's operating profits among the top 8 OEMs. And that's not just smartphones, that's the entire mobile phone market.
That's a staggering number considering Apple has only released 5 handsets in its short time as a phone-maker. How does Apple manage to pull in more money than other manufacturers, like Samsung or Motorola, that release dozens of new phone models a year?
Have you ever wondered how Apple maintains such high profit margins on products like the iPad? The company manages to do so in an industry where other manufacturers like HP and Amazon reportedly take losses on their tablet sales.
Perhaps the biggest factor in Apple's operational success is the recently-named CEO Tim Cook. Cook spent the last decade turning Apple into a well-oiled machine. Bloomberg reveals this and more in a recent article about Apple's supply chain secrets...
The iPad 2 was a fairly big upgrade from its predecessor. It's twice as fast, includes a front and back camera, and is more portable than the original. For some reason, however, Apple neglected to change the tablet's screen resolution. It stayed a dismal 1024 x 768.
But according to CNET, that won't happen again. The site is reporting that Apple is ordering up the most pixel-packed display we've ever seen on a 10-inch tablet. The screens are so ridiculous in fact, that manufacturers are struggling to mass produce them...