CA Notify is no more. Photo: Ed Hardy/Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
California introduced a COVID-19 exposure-notification system that used iPhone and Android to track interactions with infected people. And now that the U.S. government says the pandemic is over, CA Notify is shut down.
It’s possible Apple will eventually remove the underlying technology from iOS.
Protesters and police clashed Tuesday and Wednesday at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, China Photo illustration: Cult of Mac
Protests over unpaid bonuses, anti-COVID-19 controls and even food quality led police to clash with hundreds of workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory in China, reports indicated Wednesday.
Social media videos and witnesses in Zhengzhou, where Foxconn operates a giant factory nicknamed “iPhone City,” said police beat and detained protesters.
Apple corporate employees will see a lot fewer masks at Apple Park. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Apple reportedly told its corporate employees the company’s face mask requirement is at its end. There are exceptions, though.
In March, the company removed the requirement for workers who had been vaccinated for COVID-19. After Monday’s policy change, it’s mostly come to an end for all employees.
Global problems are leading to long delays in getting the Apple Studio Display to customers. Photo: Apple
Anyone wanting a new Apple Studio Display needs to be patient. Order the high-end display now and you could be waiting until August for it. The accessory has apparently run into COVID-related production problems in China.
Unfortunately, there are several other Apple devices with very long wait times.
Will Apple Watch Series 8 bring the redesign we've been waiting for? Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: That big, flat Apple Watch redesign we expected in 2021 might arrive this year to soothe our lingering disappointment. The latest renders by Ian Zelbo, spurred by a tweet from leaker ShrimpApplePro, make Apple Watch Series 8 look quite appealing.
Also on The CultCast:
Is Cupertino about to “fix” Apple TV’s biggest problem?
The AR/VR headset Apple’s been working on for so long sounds like it’s almost ready for prime time.
Apple employees, like many other tech workers these days, just don’t want to report to the office. Who can blame ’em?
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
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Getting employees back in Apple Park isn't going smoothly. Photo: Duncan Sinfield
Apple reportedly slowed the pace at which it will require its corporate employees to return to the office. They were scheduled to be back at their desks three days a week starting later this month, but rising numbers of COVID-19 cases supposedly pushed that back.
Apple employees are still required to be in the offices two days a week.
Quanta employees clashed with guards on Thursday night. Photo: RFA
New video out of China shows workers at a MacBook assembly plant in Shanghai fighting with security guards. The Quanta Computer employees have been forced to live at their workplace for weeks amidst COVID-19 lockdowns ordered by the Chinese government.
The workers apparently hoped to leave the facility to go shopping.
Buying a high-end MacBook Pro requires money and patience. Photo: Cult of Mac
People who ordered a top-tier MacBook Pro in February are being notified that it won’t be delivered until June. The delay results from COVID-19 lockdowns in China hampering notebook assembly.
New orders also face delays of several months, making a refurbished 2021 MacBook Pro a better option for some buyers.
A new wave of lockdowns in China could put Apple millions of units behind on iPhone production. Illustration: Cult of Mac
Analysts note that new COVID-19 lockdowns in China are hitting Apple’s supply chain hard. And the pain will likely worsen, with production falling behind by up to 10 million iPhones.
And this is not just about iPhones. Authorities have halted production at three key suppliers for iPhone, iPad and Mac assembly. Meanwhile, Apple is negotiating to reopen production lines, though success could be hard to come by, according to one analyst Friday.