| Cult of Mac

Does iPhone X show that Apple’s ‘lost its supply chain mojo’?

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iphone X3
Apple's supply chain may no longer be quite so brilliant.
Photo: Apple

Apple has “lost its supply chain mojo,” claims a new report, suggesting that this year’s iPhone refresh has highlighted that Apple’s once-enviable supply chain brilliance is no longer quite so, well, brilliant.

While there have been component issues Apple has dealt with in the past, this year’s iPhone X manufacturing process has been particularly prone to problems, with the upshot being that supply of the in-demand device is unlikely to match with demand until well into 2018.

Apple Watch competition hots up with second supplier

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Apple Watch
It will deliver a big boost to one Apple supplier.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has reportedly added a second Apple Watch supplier to its manufacturing chain.

Until now, Quanta Computer has been the only assembler of Apple’s wearable, but Compal Electronics is expected to begin shipping Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 units in the second half of 2017.

Apple’s supply chain gets a bit more humane

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Screen Shot 2017-03-27 at 16.18.28
Apple is becoming a "force for good" in the world.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s worked hard to improve its supply chain condition in 2016, with a special focus on improving working conditions and protecting the planet.

In doing so, the company claims it “raises the bar higher for its suppliers and the industry.” Check out some of the highlights below.

This ugly case disguises iPhone prototypes in the wild

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Apple is ultra-protective of prototype iPhones.
Apple is ultra-protective of prototype iPhones.
Photo: Sonny Dickson

It’s no secret that Apple loves to keep products secret, but thanks to a new leak we can now see the crazy lengths the company goes to just to keep prototype iPhones under wraps.

Notorious Apple leaker Sonny Dickson has put out some new images of an ugly iPhone case allegedly used by Apple to keep the iPhone 6s secret. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but there are a bunch of tiny details that help Apple keep features from leaking.

Apple pushes suppliers to take a price cut to secure orders

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
He's a shrewd operator is Tim Cook!
Photo: Apple

Unsurprisingly for a company with the kind of success Apple has experienced, it is quite adept at driving a hard bargain.

According to a new report, Apple has been trying to maintain its high gross margin at a time of slowing smartphone demand by asking its suppliers to work for less money. Major suppliers Largan Precision, Foxconn and Pegatron Technology have all been affected.

Apple broadens its supply chain to maximize profit margins

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Foxconn
Tim Cook meets with members of Apple's manufacturing team. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly keeping its options open when it comes to selecting manufacturing partners for the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch by broadening the number of companies it contracts work out to.

In other words, those supply-and-demand issues that have hit Apple in recent years shortly after new product releases could soon be a thing of the past.

Overtime got worse for Apple’s supply chain workers in 2014

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Foxconn
Things have gotten slightly worse for Apple's supply chain workers. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple has been getting tougher and tougher on its supply chain. Just yesterday, for example, Apple banned suppliers who used ‘bonded servitude’ as a way to keep workers on assembly lines. Overall, under Tim Cook’s conscientious leadership, conditions just continue to improve for the employees who make our iPhones and iPads.

But there is one way in which conditions have gotten worse for Apple’s supply chain employees. Although Apple limits factory workers to a 60-hour-work week, more supply chain workers went over that amount in 2014 than in 2013. But don’t start pulling your knives out just yet.

BBC shines spotlight back on Apple’s poor working conditions in Asia

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

In a documentary set to air tonight called Apple’s Broken Promises, BBC One went undercover at Pegatron, one of Apple’s main supply chain partners in China. The findings from inside Pegatron’s walls show that “Apple’s promises to protect workers were routinely broken,” according to the report.

Another alarming revelation was that Apple could be using tin dug by impoverished children in illegal Indonesian mines. Apple is denying the allegations, but BBC One is committed to unearthing a sensitive topic the iPhone maker has spent years trying to put to rest.

Excessive overtime and poor safety accusations aimed at Apple supplier

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Supplier Responsibility Progress Report
A worker in Apple's Chinese supply chain.

Another Apple supplier is facing accusations concerning violations of labor rights and lapses in workplace safety.

The supplier in question is Taiwanese company Catcher Technology, which produces the metal casings for iPads as well as parts for the iPhone, plus components for other tech companies. The allegations concern a factory in the Chinese city of Suqian.

Among the accusations raised in a Thursday report by environmental nonprofit Green America and workers’ rights group China Labor Watch are the fact that employees are made to work excessive overtime hours, and handle toxic chemicals without the proper protective clothing.