Government-ordered quarantines in place to contain a deadly coronavirus outbreak in China have forced Apple to temporarily close three stores in the country.
Apple’s good news about a record-breaking quarter this week have been tempered as executives monitor conditions in a country critical to the mass production of its most popular devices, especially the iPhone.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warns that Apple could experience product shipment delays and other risks if the deadly coronavirus spreading in China is not significantly contained before March.
In a note to investors Wednesday obtained by Cult of Mac, the respected soothsayer also warned that the coronavirus has caused consumer confidence in a market Apple has been trying to grow, especially with smartphones.
The first Apple earnings report of 2020 was a smashing success that shattered most of Apple’s previous records. Thanks to shockingly strong iPhone sales and a surging wearables business that is bigger than the Mac and the iPad, Apple managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook held a call with investors after the numbers came out to dive deeper into the impressive quarterly results. Cook dished on everything from the success of Apple TV+ and problems with AirPods Pro supplies to the Wuhan coronavirus affecting China. If you didn’t get a chance to join the call, don’t worry, Cult of Mac has you covered with all the need-to-know info.
Apple reportedly wants its suppliers to manufacture more than 80 million iPhones in the first half of 2020, a new report from Nikkei claims. If those figures are accurate, it would mean ramping up iPhone production by more than 10% compared to last year.
These units would mostly be Apple’s current-gen iPhone 11 series units. However, there would reportedly also be up to 15 million of the new iPhone SE 2 low-cost device Apple will supposedly introduce in March.
Thousands of people in China contracted the Wuhan coronavirus, and several cities are been locked down in attempts to keep it from spreading during the Lunar New Year. Apple CEO Tim Cook promises his company will donate to relief efforts in China.
Apple has been forced to increase A13 chip orders to meet higher-than-anticipated demand for iPhone 11, according to a new report.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Apple’s primary chip supplier, has been asked to churn out more chips this quarter as iPhone outperforms market and Apple expectations.
Apple supplier Pegatron is looking to Vietnam as a location to possibly carry out some of its manufacturing work.
The move would help Pegatron, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, diversify beyond its current home in China.
Police have arrested three people in Hong Kong after discovering a massive shipment of undeclared iPhones, Apple Watches, iPads, and assorted luxury items. The suspected smugglers were attempting to sneak the products into China to avoid paying tax on imports.
The South China Morning Post describes it as one of the “biggest hauls of electronic goods” in Hong Kong history. The total value of the tech products was $1 million. Other smuggled goods, including tech components and edible bird’s nests, were worth an extra $2.2 million.
Apple’s first night at the Golden Globes didn’t go exactly as Tim Cook may have hoped — with none of the nominations for Apple TV+ show The Morning Show resulting in award wins. Adding insult to injury, returning host Ricky Gervais quipped that Apple used sweatshops to make its products. And even drew parallels to terrorist group ISIS.
CEO Cook was in attendance for the ceremony.
The 2019 Mac Pro is famously assembled in the United States. Apple CEO Tim Cook took President Trump on a tour of the plant in Texas where these powerful computers are put together.
But the situation is reportedly quite different if you place an order in Europe.
Activist shareholders will use Apple’s annual meeting in 2020 to push Apple on why it removed a mapping app used by protesters in Hong Kong.
Beijing reportedly pressured Apple to remove the app from the App Store. At the time, Tim Cook defended Apple’s decision to pull the app after saying it had received “credible information” that the app was being used to help commit violence against individuals and property.
Apple has been given a welcome reprieve on tariffs for the iPhone, iPad and Mac after President Donald Trump agreed to a limited trade deal with China on Thursday.
The phase one agreement means rolling back existing tariff rates on Chinese goods and canceling new tariff rates that would have gone into effect Sunday.
iPhone shipments in China reportedly had a rough time in November. According to Credit Suisse analyst Matt Cabral, iPhone shipments declined “meaningfully” last month — to the tune of approximately 35.4% year-on-year.
If true, that’s lagging far behind the rest of the Chinese smartphone market, which increased 0.2% year-on-year.
One of tech’s biggest opponents in Washington D.C. proposed a new bill this week that could have huge implications on Apple and TikTok’s business operations if put into law.
GOP senator Josh Hawley from Missouri introduced legislation today that would prevent the Chinese company that owns TikTok from collecting information on American users and sharing it with the Communist Party of China. The bill would also stop American companies like Apple from storing user data in China.
iPhone sales seem to be rebounding in China. According to a new report, based on government data, Apple shipped 10 million iPhones in China during September and October. That’s an increase of 6% from one year earlier.
It indicates that the iPhone 11 series is seemingly selling better the its predecessors, the iPhone XR and iPhone XS. Those were the handsets that caused Tim Cook to cut Apple forecasts due to weaker than expected sales in China.
Apple has hired a pro-Trump lobbyist to lobby on its behalf to help it avoid tariffs.
Jeffrey Miller was vice finance chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee prior to becoming a fundraiser for President Trump’s reelection campaign.
Well, here’s a reason to listen to the recommendations of Apple’s Screen Time feature! A woman in China reportedly suffered a grisly injury after going temporarily blind in one eye due to excessive strain from overuse of her smartphone.
The female patient’s retina burst from “excessive strain” after spending too long using her mobile device.
The son of a Chinese billionaire who infamously bought two luxury Apple Watch Editions for his pet dog has been placed on the country’s official list of financially discredited individuals.
A court decision means that he can no longer fly first class, go on expensive vacations, or buy luxury products. Unless he’s bought new Apple Watches in the meantime, that should severely curtail his pet’s future time-keeping abilities!
Apple and Chinese music video app TikToks were the two holdouts at a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday regarding the tech industry and China. Both were represented by empty seats.
Republican senator Josh Hawley slammed the two as “two sides of the same coin when it comes to data security.” TikTok represents the entry of Chinese tech platforms into the U.S., Hawley said. Meanwhile, Apple represents “the danger of American tech companies’ operations in China.”
The founder of a Chinese smartphone company which has been a vocal critic of Apple has landed on China’s official list of deadbeats. This is a national database held by China’s Supreme Court which can be described as a credit blacklist.
Smartisan Technology CEO Luo Yonghao is barred from taking flights or high-speed train journeys. He can also no longer stay in luxury hotels, spend money in nightclubs, or buy property.
China has been one of the biggest causes of Apple instability in recent times, particularly when it comes to trade tensions between China and the United States. Things may be starting to stabilize, however, as Tim Cook noted in Apple’s earnings call yesterday.
That’s good news when it comes to the country Cook has said is Apple’s future biggest customer.
Apple is ready to unveil its last earnings report of 2019 this week, and investors are anxiously waiting to hear some good news on iPhone sales.
All early indications point to sales of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro performing even better than expected. But because the new devices were only on sale for the very tail end of the quarter, they might not have given Apple the growth Wall Street is desperate to see.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are set to divulge all the details for Apple’s fiscal Q4 2019 earnings on Wednesday, October 30, at 2 p.m. PDT. Per usual, Cult of Mac will be analyzing all the data right when it drops and there are a couple of areas and metrics that are key to keeping Apple’s stock price soaring.
Apple’s biggest copycat nuisance, Xiaomi, is at again.
The Chinese tech firm, known for its design knockoffs of Apple products, will roll out a new wearable device next week that, by the looks of a teaser ad, resembles the Apple Watch.
Apple has scooped up a first-of-its-kind prize for its environmental work in China.
The company was awarded the Green Supply Chain CITI Outstanding Brand title for “environmental leadership” across its entire supply chain. It’s a recognition of all the work Apple has done in the country.
Strong demand for the iPhone 11 lineup has boosted Apple’s market share in several regions around the world.
Cupertino made gains in Europe, Australia, and Japan last quarter, according to new figures. But iPhone suffered a market share decline in China — and on its home turf.