Apple manufacturer Foxconn is trying to woo people back to the iPhone production lines by offering new perks at its major assembly plants in Shenzhen and Chengzhou.
The company has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in some factories being temporarily closed and only a fraction of employees returning to work when they were reopened. With iPhone orders to fill, Foxconn’s doing its best to make up for lost time.
Many Apple Stores across China are open again, despite the coronavirus that has shut down so much of the country.
The iPhone maker depends on China for a significant percentage of its sales, and Apple being able to reopen so many stores in the midst of this crisis is a positive sign.
SK Hynix, the world’s second largest memory chipmaker, which counts Apple as one of its biggest clients, sent 800 workers home Thursday amidst coronavirus fears.
The 800 workers quarantined themselves as a precautionary measure after a single trainee had close contact with a coronavirus patient. While most of the coronavirus virus-related supply chain disruption centers on China, this incident took place in South Korea, where a small outbreak recently took place in the city of Daegu.
With the COVID-19 coronavirus spreading around the world, it’s worth taking a moment to learn how to wash your hands. Official government advice says that touch is not the most likely way for transmission of the deadly virus. But in general, touch is more likely to spread disease than kissing, according to Bill Bryson in his latest book, The Body. Which means that washing your hands is one of the best ways to guard against catching a cold or something worse.
You probably wash your hands plenty of times throughout the day. But unless you’re a surgeon, you probably don’t do it properly.
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Tim Cook has posted on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, saying that Apple is happy to “welcome back employees and customers” to its Apple Stores as they continue to reopen across China.
Cook also reiterated that Apple has doubled its donation to battle the coronavirus outbreak. The virus has so far resulted in the deaths of at least 2,126 people. The vast majority of these have been in mainland China.
Apple supplier Foxconn says that it expects its full-year 2020 revenue to take a hit as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus in China.
Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, plays a crucial role in assembling products for Apple. Foxconn’s admission about the impact of coronavirus follows Apple’s decision to pull its previous forecast for fiscal second quarter earnings as a result for the second time in 15 years.
Apple is unlocking the doors to 10 more Apple Stores in China but will remain vigilant as health officials try to contain the deadly coronavirus.
The stores set to reopen today are listed on the store page of Apple’s website. The 10 stores, including the first one closed due to the outbreak, will operate at reduced hours.
Apple has 42 retail sites across China.
Apple’s contract iPhone assemblers in China are far from operating at full capacity and will likely miss its production schedule on a budget-friendly iPhone.
If the report by a major economics news site in Japan is true, Apple would postpone rumored plans for a March announcement of an iPhone 9 or SE 2.
Smartphone production — and, therefore, sales — could hit their lowest point in five years as a result of the coronavirus, a new report claims.
According to analysis by TrendForce, detailing the impact of coronavirus on the tech industry, smartphone production will shrink by 12% this quarter due to the outbreak. The shortage of component manufacturing elsewhere in the supply chain could mean that shortages persist through the April to June quarter as well.
Apple has doubled its donation to support efforts to battle the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Tim Cook revealed the increase in donation in an email to Apple employees, describing the impact coronavirus is having on the company. Check it out below:
Apple expects to fall short of March quarter revenue goals as the coronavirus outbreak in China constrains manufacturing, supply chains and retail.
The statement released Monday is likely to trigger dips in stock prices when the market reopens Tuesday after being idle for Presidents Day.
Now might be the best time to buy that MacBook you’ve been considering. Factory shutdowns in China because of the coronavirus outbreak will reportedly lead to shortages of components needed to make laptops.
The long-awaited successor to the popular iPhone SE remains on track for launch sometime next month, a top analyst on Apple’s supply chain in China said.
TF International Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note to investors that coronavirus has not impeded production of the budget-friendly iPhone. The new handset is known as either the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9.
Apple is expected to deliver a big iPad Pro refresh this March, and that’s still on track despite the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, according to a new report. Supplies could be limited at launch, however, with production likely to be slow to ramp up until after April.
Japanese health officials passed out some 2,000 iPhones to quarantined passengers stuck on board a cruise ship with an outbreak of coronavirus.
The iPhones will allow stranded passengers to consult with doctors, order medications and work through anxiety with mental health professionals.
Apple retail stores in Beijing are taking customers’ temperatures and requiring them to wear surgical masks as the area tries to normalize amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Five Apple stores in Beijing reopened their doors with limited hours today after being closed since last month. CNBC senior correspondent Eunice Yoon posted a video from one of the newly reopened stores and the inside is shockingly empty.
Take a look at the entrance process:
This week on The CultCast: Apple is prepping iPhone SE 2, but trouble in China could mean massive production delays across the entire tech industry. Plus: macOS leaks hint at big CPU upgrades on the way; and a celebrity calls out the MacBook’s troubled keyboards.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast, and use offer code CultCast at checkout for 10% off your first purchase.
Apple will reopen five of its retail stores in Beijing tomorrow, although only for limited hours. The stores will open between 11am and 6pm local time, compared with the usual 10am through 10pm 12-hour opening hours.
Apple made the decision to close all 42 of its Apple Stores in China as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus. Originally, it planned to reopen them on February 10. However, retail chief Deidre O’Brien later revealed that this reopening time was being pushed back further.
Apple manufacturers in China, such as Foxconn, are taking measures including installing infrared temperature scanners and producing their own surgical face masks to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Factories belonging to companies like Foxconn have been hit hard by the spread of the virus, now officially called COVID-19. While some remain closed, others have reopened with a vastly reduced workforce. A new report sheds light on some of the safety measures they have been ordered — or have chosen — to take.
Order a Mac Pro in Europe today and it won‘t be delivered for almost a month. This is almost certainly a result of factory shutdowns in China in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak. But Americans can get this new desktop Mac far quicker.
Apple could be planning to introduce more affordable AirPods Pro buds. A new report claims Cupertino is in talks with suppliers in Taiwan over “AirPods Pro Lite,” which are expected to debut later this year.
It is believed Apple is also planning to shift production of other devices — including iPad, Apple Watch, and iMac — to Taiwan as the coronavirus epidemic continues to cause problems in China.
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.
Smartphone sales in China could fall by as much as 50 percent in the first quarter thanks to a raging coronavirus that has shuttered retail outlets and silenced production facilities.
The coronavirus has struck at a time when Apple’s iPhone sales in China were rebounding in a country considered right now one of the world’s most competitive smartphone markets.
Key iPhone manufacturer Foxconn continues to feel the effects of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China. The company recently reopened its factory in the eastern central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, but fewer than 10% of its workforce returned to work, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government rejected Foxconn’s request to reopen its factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Apple is moving some more of its iPhone production to India, as China continues to grapple with the spread of coronavirus.
Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has some details as to how coronavirus is impacting on Apple factories in China.
