Apple decided to postpone a March product launch event after continuing delays in the production of an expected successor to the iPhone SE, a source at Apple confirmed to Cult of Mac.
A number of other problems played into the decision to delay the event that was being planned, including the worsening impact of the COVID-19 strain of the coronavirus in California and elsewhere.
The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus could hurt Apple’s plans to launch its first 5G iPhones in the second half of 2020, a new report claims.
According to a DigiTimes report Monday, Apple extended restrictions on employees traveling to parts of Asia until the end of April. The extension will delay tests for the next-generation iPhone that “could have a direct impact” on launch timing.
Apple’s biggest contract manufacturer, Foxconn, endured a rough February as the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak worsened in China.
The company, which is also the world’s biggest electronics manufacturer, suffered its biggest monthly drop in revenue in around seven years. Its earnings, announced Thursday, show an 18.1% decline in revenue versus the same period last year. This marks the company’s third straight month of decline.
Apple Stores are running low on iPhone replacements and repair parts as COVID-19-related delays begin reaching consumers.
The tech giant informed technical support staff at its stores to expect delays of two to four weeks for replacement phones and individual parts.
Apple manufacturer Foxconn hopes to resume regular production in China by the end of March.
Foxconn’s operations, which include iPhone production lines, have been severely impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer previously said it expects its full-year revenues to take a hit.
Two suppliers that make components for Apple in China employ forced labor, according to a report published Sunday. The Washington Post says BOE Technology Group, which supplies screens to Apple, and O-Film, which makes iPhone cameras, both use Uighur labor, either directly or through contractors. Apple lists both companies on its latest supplier list.
The report describes how the Chinese government detained more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs from China’s western Xinjiang region in reeducation camps. And it says evidence indicates that authorities “are moving Uighurs into government-directed labour around the country as part of the central government’s Xinjiang Aid initiative.”
CEO Tim Cook promises Apple is fundamentally strong and will weather the problems resulting from the coronavirus spreading around the world. He says his focus isn’t on short-term changes in Apple’s share price, despite a recent significant drop.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox Business recorded Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama, Cook also discussed whether his company will move more device production out of China, and his relationship with President Donald Trump.
One veteran executive is leaving Apple, while another exec is considering departing the company as well, a new report claims. Both worked in the operations and supply-chain management side.
Nick Forlenza, a vice president of manufacturing design, has retired from Apple. Meanwhile, Duco Pasmooij, a vice president of operations, is discussing an exit in the near future. The operations side of Apple is currently facing challenges related to the outbreak of coronavirus in China, where many of Apple’s supply-side contractors are located.
Tossed into the swirl of rumors and reports about coronavirus and its impact on Apple production is an alleged new entry to the AirPods lineup called “AirPods Pro Lite.”
The quotes bookending the product name are because no one is sure what to make of what is essentially a rumor first reported by a Chinese website with a mixed record for accuracy.
In the last few days, reports have surfaced in DigiTimes of a second “lite” version supplier, giving further credence to the various reports.
The Chinese government developed an app that lets users check whether they are at risk of infection from the novel coronavirus spreading across the country.
The location-aware “close contact detector” app reveals whether users have been close to another person suspected of having coronavirus. The data-hungry app serves as yet another illustration of China’s surveillance-heavy approach to controlling its citizens.
