Foxconn has reportedly placed a recruitment freeze across most of its factories in China as the company slows production of the iPhone 5, the Financial Times reports. This is believed to be the first such freeze since 2009, and it’s seen as an emphasis of the “weakening demand” for some Apple products. But does the freeze really have anything to do with Apple’s devices?
At the end of his presentation this morning at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Tim Cook was asked what he’s most proud of at Apple now that he’s had a full year under his belt as CEO.
Cook was emotional during his response and fought back some tears as he described the things that he’s been the most proud of during his past year at Apple. Above all, Cook said that he’s proud of his employees, but then he gushed for a few minutes on all the great things Apple’s doing, like taking a stand for workers in China.
Is this the iPhone 5S? Leaked images purported to come out of Foxconn are claimed to show Apple’s next iPhone, and it looks pretty much identical to the iPhone 5, although some have noted that there’s at least one small change: the iPhone 5S uses the iPhone 4S’s softer vibration component instead of the louder rotating one used in the iPhone 5.
After facing a lot of scrutiny for the past few years over working conditions at factories in China, Apple has made a lot of progress on cleaning up their manufacturing partners’ facilities. Pay has been increased. Forced overtime and child labor aren’t as frequent. And we haven’t heard of any massive brawls in a while.
Following Apple’s lead, HP has decided to get its act together in China as well by reducing the number of underage student laborers at its facilities in China.
Apple has just released its annual Supplier Responsibility Report, a document that sheds light on the Cupertino-based tech company’s findings about its suppliers’ business practices in 2012. It takes into account excessive work hours, underage labor, and environmental impacts of the manufacturing process, including things like conflict-free minerals.
In the report, the company notes that it is the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association (FLA), and had the group audit Apple’s biggest supplier, Foxconn, finding that the Chinese manufacturing company is on track to meet the recommendations of the FLA this year.
Not all in the report is positive, however.
Apple is said to be preparing three new iPhone handsets for launch during 2013, two of which will appear in June, China Times reports. In addition to a slightly updated iPhone 5S, the Cupertino company is expected to unveil the “iPhone Math,” a larger device with a 4.8-inch display. Both devices are to offer improved internals and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.
Tim Cook has kicked off 2013 with a second visit to China. The Apple CEO met with Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to discuss the development of China’s information technology industry, mobile communications, and Apple’s expansion in China.
The Cupertino company has doubled its number of retail outlets in the nation, and its iOS devices are becoming increasingly popular there. Cook’s last visit to China came in March 2010 before he pledged “greater investment” in the world’s largest market for consumer technology.
2012 was a very different year for Apple. For starters, it was Tim Cook’s first year as CEO. While much of Apple has remained the same, Cook has definitely shown that he is a different type of leader than his predecessor. Apple is evolving into something new.
Between four press events and the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple announced an unprecedented slew of new products in 2012. Every single major product was refreshed to some extent, which leaves even more speculation as to what Apple has up its sleeve for 2013.
There have been key executive firings and hirings, heated lawsuits, and scandals. In the midst of everything, Apple managed to become the most valuable company on earth.
While there are many big Apple moments from this past year, we’ve gathered what we think are the 10 most notable stories. Here they are:
The New York Times raised quite a stink at the beginning of this year with its provocative ‘iEconomy’ series on the poor working conditions at Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner in China. After running headlines like “In China, human costs are built into an iPad,” the Times has published a new report that more positively portrays Apple’s recent efforts to improve working conditions in the supply chain.
After the mainstream media turned its attention to Apple and Foxconn, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) got involved to help ensure quality factory life for Chinese workers. For years, Apple has also been performing detailed audits of over 800 facilities where parts for its products are made and assembled. The Cupertino company has been beefing up its requirements in order to set the bar even higher in the supply chain. All of the combined efforts have resulted in better overall working conditions and pay raises for Foxconn employees. But that doesn’t mean there’s no more progress to be made.
Back from the holidays, Apple has just filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC today in preparation for its annual shareholder meeting in 2013. It’s filled with a lot of insight into the inner workings of our favorite company, and while the biggest news is probably Tim Cook’s remuneration for 2012, there are also other interesting tidbits, including Apple’s resistance to the idea of the appointment of a Board Committe on Human Rights, and the fact that Scott Forstall’s departure lead to a pay raise for the rest of Apple’s executive team.
When Tim Cook said that Apple would start manufacturing part of its Mac lineup stateside in 2013, many speculated that the Mac Pro would be the most likely candidate. We postulated that the upcoming Mac Pro would make the perfect choice because it is easier to build and doesn’t sell as well as the other Macs. Apple would be able to test a desktop production line in the U.S. with a niche Mac that won’t create huge consumer demand.
According to a new rumor, it will not be the Mac Pro, but instead the Mac mini that gets manufactured in the U.S. next year.
Apple’s much-anticipated television set has entered its initial testing phase at Hon Hai Precision Industry, a company source has revealed. It’s expected to feature a display between 46 inches and 55 inches in size, and shipments are likely to be “huge.” Don’t expect to have one in your living room anytime soon, however; it doesn’t look like it’s going to get its grand unveiling during 2013.
I hope it looks like this. Apple has begun testing high-resolution television set designs with manufacturing partners in Asia, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that cites unnamed sources within Foxconn. Both Foxconn and display manufacturer Sharp are said to be involved in the process, which is still in its early stages.
Foxconn’s problems with worker rights are well known, and for the last year, CEO Terry Gou has been openly talking about an obvious solution to the human rights issue: replace as many of his human workers with robots as possible.
It makes sense. Robots can’t be underpaid, or overworked, and you certainly don’t need to hang suicide nets around their dormitories. Terry Gou is so enamored with the idea that he’s been openly talking about employing one million robots within the next three years.
Now it’s happening.
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that, starting in 2013, Apple would start investing over $100 million in local business to build Macs in the United States.
Even more intriguing, he said one model of Mac would be made exclusively in the U.S. But which one?
Tim Cook wouldn’t say, but when you think about it, there’s one obvious contender: the Mac Pro. Here’s why.
Tim Cook announced that Apple is ready to invest $100 million into bringing some of its Mac production back to the U.S. in 2013. Foxconn, the major supplier to Apple, said that they’re ready to expand in the U.S. too, as more of their clients have requested their products be made in the U.S.A.
As Foxconn’s biggest client and the largest technology company in the world, Apple’s move to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. could trigger more companies to follow suit, and Foxconn wants to meet the challenge.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the company will invest over $100 million to bring some of its Mac production back to the United States in 2013. At least one model will be made exclusively in the U.S., Cook revealed during an interview on NBC’s Rock Center, though he wouldn’t reveal which model that would be.
This is intriguing: leaked images purporting to be the rear housing of the forthcoming iPhone 5S have just appeared online, and if previous reports about when the iPhone 5S is supposed to enter production are correct, they could be the real thing.
Apple gadgets you buy in the future may have been assembled by machines as Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner, Foxconn, begins replacing its workers with robots. The move is expected to improve efficiency in Foxconn’s Chinese plants, as well as combat rising labor costs.
It looks like Apple’s iPhone 5 supply is finally catching up with demand. Last week shipping times for all iPhone 5 models from Apple’s website were listed as 3-4 weeks, but that’s now improved to 2-3 weeks.
While iPhone 5 supply at Apple Stores across the country has been fairly solid, Apple has limited the amount of stock available online. Shorter shipping times for online orders means that Apple is more confident that they are able to meet the overall demand for the iPhone 5.
According to a new rumor, iPhone assembler Foxconn Electronics is discussing plans to build manufacturing plants in the U.S. Possible locations for the new plants include Detroit and Los Angeles, but Foxconn may be conducting evaluations in other cities as well.
Foxconn and Apple have come under fire over the last few years for terrible working conditions in assembly plants. The assembly of the iPhone and iPad being conducted in China rather than the U.S. was even a debate point in the recent presidential election. Bringing manufacturing jobs into the U.S. may help heal Foxconn’s reputation.
Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has revealed that dealing with Apple’s overwhelming iPhone demand is not an easy task. The company is still struggling to catch up with the strong sales the iPhone has been enjoying, but Gou would not confirm whether the group’s other unit, Foxconn International Holdings, has taken on some of its production.
If you own a Mac or an iOS device, there’s a good chance it was assembled by the fine folks at the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China. Despite being born there, however, Apple’s latest gadgets aren’t exactly easy to get hold of in the city. But that’s set to change on Saturday, November 3, when the Cupertino company opens the doors to its first Shenzhen retail store.
Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook famously said that Cupertino was going to “double down on secrecy” this year. It hasn’t worked. Apple — once a company known for the surprise “one more thing” — had every single detail of the iPhone 5 leaked to the public before the actual event. Can Apple ever get its secrecy back?
Probably not. A new report talking to a number of Apple employees under the condition of anonymity suggests that while Apple HQ is as secretive of new products as ever, Cupertino can do nothing about leaks that come out of the Asian supply chain.
When Apple began selling the iPhone 5 on September 21, it quickly became the fastest-selling iPhone to date, with five million units sold in the first three days. However, sales have started to slow down since then, and they’ve begun falling short of analyst expectations.
It’s not that customers aren’t buying it, or that the iPhone 5 isn’t successful. The reason it’s not meeting expectations is because Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxconn, simply can’t make it fast enough. Its design is so complicated that it’s the most difficult device Foxconn has ever built.