If President Donald Trump wants Apple to bring iPhone manufacturing to the United States, America needs to open up its wallet first, according to the company that actually assembles the devices.
Foxconn CEO Terry Gou said that if Trump truly wants iPhones to be made in America, he’ll need to push new laws through Congress that offer incentives and tax breaks to foreign companies.
Japanese iPhone display maker Sharp will reportedly be taking the lead on a new $7 billion factory in the U.S., produced with partner company Foxconn.
The plant could break ground as soon as the first half of this year.
A number of key Apple suppliers are considering new facilities in the U.S., according to reports out of China.
Assembler Foxconn, display maker Sharp, and chip maker TSMC are all said to be interested in taking advantage of new business incentives proposed by soon-to-be President Donald Trump.
The iPhone 8 may not be the only Apple product that gets an OLED upgrade next year.
Apple is reportedly testing new displays for next year’s MacBook Pro and is exploring the use of OLED, which offers lower battery consumption, brighter colors and sharper contrasts.
The next iPhone will get upgraded to an amazing OLED display, according to a Sharp executive who confirmed the long-standing rumor while speaking at Tatung University.
Sharp President Tai Jeng-wu, who is also an executive at Foxconn, told students that if Apple doesn’t switch to OLED iPhone, there won’t be any innovation.
Apple plans to put an OLED display in the next generation iPhone and according to a new report it is close to striking a deal with Sharp to supply the screens.
Weak demand for the iPhone is causing earnings to fall for a number of suppliers in Asia, and few of them are hopeful that the situation is going to change.
Foxconn, the biggest assembly partner for the iPhone, saw its profit fall 9.2 percent last quarter, while Pegatron’s nosedived a whopping 35.1 percent.
Two Apple partners, Foxconn and Samsung, are battling it out to provide Apple with next-gen displays for future iPhones.
Samsung, a leader in OLED display research and AMOLED production, is reportedly “on the fast track” to building a dedicated facility with the sole purpose of supplying the high-quality displays to Apple.
Foxconn, meanwhile, recently acquired money-losing display maker Sharp, with the main impetus being to help Foxconn become a market leader in AMOLED panel production.
Foxconn is cementing its importance to Apple by finalizing a deal to acquire a majority interest in struggling iPhone display maker Sharp for a reported 389 billion yen — or $3.5 billion.
The multi-billion dollar bailout of Sharp was originally reported as being completed back in February, only to be placed on hold after previously undisclosed liabilities threatened the deal.
Foxconn, a.k.a. one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, is fighting to piece back together its crumbling deal to take over Japanese electronics firm Sharp — and both sides may well sign a deal this week.
