| Cult of Mac

Apple’s chipmaker could build up to 6 factories in Arizona

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TSMC 7nm processor
Plans have gotten more ambitious it seems.
Photo: TSMC

Apple M- and A-series chipmaker TSMC is reportedly planning to build more than just the one chipmaking factory currently announced for the United States.

According to Reuters, the company — which is the world’s leading edge semiconductor manufacturer — plans to build “several more” in the state of Arizona. TSMC’s original intentions to build a $12 billion chip factory in AZ were announced in May 2020.

Iconic Arizona Apple store wins design award

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scottsdale
Outside view the Scottsdale store.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s townsquare-style store at Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona nabbed the best of design award for retail and mixed-use space from The Architect’s Newspaper.

The Scottsdale Apple store beat out a Christian Dior store in Chicago’s high fashion shopping district and a retail center in Springfield, Missouri. Boasting design features like a cantilevered roof for shading, the store looks unlike most other Apple stores you usually see.

Check out the view from the inside:

SEC charges Apple’s failed sapphire supplier of misleading investors

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GT Advanced
The back entrance GT Advanced's old sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

GT Advanced Technologies, the company that was supposed to make sapphire screens for the iPhone early this decade, has been charged with misleading investors by the SEC.

The SEC’s investigation found that GT and its CEO violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws as part of its deal to supply Apple with sapphire. After failing to meet certain performance requirements, GT caused “significant investor harm” by reclassifying over $300 million in debt to Apple. Sadly, the company’s punishment is pretty much just a slap on the wrist.

Nope, Apple won’t manufacture servers at AZ center

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court order iCloud access
Apple isn't making iCloud servers in the US.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple says it has no plans to manufacture high-tech servers in the USA, despite a recent report claiming the iPhone-maker applied for permission to do “high-tech manufacturing” at its site in Mesa, Arizona.

The Mesa center was previously the home of Apple’s ex-sapphire supplier that went bankrupt in 2014. Instead of seeking permission to manufacture on the site, Apple clarified that it is actually just applying to renew the original Foreign Trade-Zone status of the location that brings some big tax benefits.

Fire breaks out at Apple’s Arizona command center

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We said 'sapphire', not 'a fire'
We said 'sapphire', not 'a fire'
Photo: 12 News

A fire of unknown origin broke out today in Apple’s command center in Mesa, Arizona.

Local firefighters responded at around 11:30 Tuesday morning to the structure, which formerly held sapphire glass supplier GT Advanced Technologies.

A Mesa fire spokesperson said the flames seemed to be localized to the roof of the building, near Signal Butte Road and Elliot Road.

Arizona wants Apple so bad it might hand out yet another tax break

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GT Advanced
From sapphire to data. And with a tax break or two thrown in for good measure. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Thanks primarily to the memories of its botched sapphire production efforts, Apple’s not had the best of luck so far with Mesa, Arizona — although politicians in the state are desperate to keep it there.

Under a new Senate Bill put forward this week, Apple could receive between one and two decades’ worth of tax breaks for its planned Mesa data center. The tax breaks, introduced by State senator Jeff Dial, would relate to Apple primarily because of its plans to power the facility with 100 percent renewable energy.

Apple’s failed Arizona sapphire plant will be $2 billion data ‘command center’

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GT Advanced
From sapphire to data. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The fate of GT Advanced Technologies’ failed sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona, has been decided. After committing to repurposing the 1.3-million-square-foot facility, Apple revealed today that it will invest $2 billion in making it a global command center for all of its cloud networks.

The company plans to have 150 full-time employees based in Mesa to operate the center once it’s built, and there will be an accompanying solar farm to power the facility with 100% renewable energy.

Apple will save jobs in Arizona by repurposing sapphire factory

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GT Advanced
Back entrance to GTAT's sapphire plant in Mesa, AZ. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Apple plans to repurpose its factory in Mesa, Arizona, following the spectacular implosion of its relationship with sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies.

A report from Bloomberg cites Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady as the source of the information. Apple, for its part, has said that it wants to focus “on preserving jobs in Arizona” and will continue to “work with state and local officials as we consider our next steps.”

Bankrupt Apple supplier wants to close sapphire plant after less than 1 year

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This year will be the iPhone's biggest camera upgrade ever.
Sapphire is used to protect the iPhone's rear-facing iSight camera. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

GT Advanced Technologies is apparently getting out of the sapphire production game, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the start of this week.

As reported by Re/code and the Wall Street Journal, the beleaguered company is asking the court’s permission to “wind down” operations at its sapphire manufacturing plant in Arizona — and, yes, for those keep track, that does come less than one year after the company first announced its game-changing deal with Apple.

Apple Wants Arizona Governer To Veto Gay Discrimination Bill

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when-you-walk-in-youre-greeted-by-this-vintage-apple-sign

Apple confirmed to CNBC late on Monday that it has asked Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to veto the controversial religious freedom bill SB1062.

Apple is the latest company to urge Brewers to veto the bill, which critics have suggested will allow companies to use religious belief as a basis for discriminating against the gay and lesbian community.