taiwan

Apple moves production of some high-demand devices to Taiwan

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Apple logo on store
Apple has a backup plan.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is shifting a portion of AirPods, iPad and Apple Watch production from China to Taiwan as the tech giant continues to deal with coronavirus-related delays in China.

The virus, called COVID-19, has forced Apple to diversity on the fly its China-reliant production model. Much of the country remains quarantined and restricted in travel, and Apple assembly and supply partners are unable to operate at full capacity.

Inside Apple’s spectacular new Taipei store, opening Saturday

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Apple Store Taipei
The new store looks spectacular.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s second retail store in Taiwan, located in Taipei, opens this Saturday — and Apple has shared some advance pictures of the new Xinyi A13 store.

The store boasts a glass exterior and roof design reminiscent of Apple’s Chicago flagship store. It consists of two levels, with a pair of marble composite stairs descending to a lower, underground level.

Apple’s second store in Taiwan confirmed

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Taipei apple store
A glimpse at Apple's new store.
Photo: Mobile 01/Apple

A new image posted online shows that Apple is gearing up to open its second Apple Store in Taiwan. The photo shows that Apple has erected its customary white construction barriers around the new store, complete with Apple branding.

The new retail outlet is located at the bottom of the Xinyi A13 shopping mall in Taipei’s commercial hub District. From the look of things, the store has a roof design reminiscent of its Chicago flagship store.

Mac users in China can no longer use Taiwan flag emoji

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Taiwan
Not China's favorite emoji symbol.
Photo: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène/Flickr CC

As countries, it’s fair to say that China and Taiwan aren’t exactly BFFs. For evidence of this, look no further than the recently released macOS 10.14.4. Eagle-eyed users in China have noticed that their Mac devices can no longer display the Taiwan flag emoji.

The flag ban can’t even be circumvented by changing the region in your Mac’s System Preferences.

70-year-old man uses 11-phone rig to dominate Pokémon Go

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Pokemon go guy
Chen San-yuan is training to be the very best.
Photo: Muumi5x15/Twitter

Turns out the world’s most dedicated Pokémon Go player probably isn’t a pimple-faced teen ditching school but is actually a 70-year-old grandpa in Taiwan.

Chen San-yuan recently became an online sensation for his love for Pokémon Go, which led him to create an insane rig of 11 phones mounted to his bike or waist. You know your Pokémon Go addiction is bad when you’re spending $1,000 a month on new phones and lures.

Take a look at his impressive rig:

Taiwan lets Qualcomm off majority of big $773 million fine

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Qualcomm patents
Qualcomm just scored a lucky break in feud with regulators.
Photo: Qualcomm

Qualcomm just saved itself the best part of $700 million , due a settlement with Taiwan’s antitrust regulators.

Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission had accused Qualcomm of abusing its position in the marketplace by refusing to provide products to clients who would not agree to its terms and conditions. Qualcomm was issued a record $773 million fine last year, but most of that has now been reversed.

Apple’s Taiwanese flag ban leads to iPhone crashes

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Taiwan
Not exactly China's favorite flag.
Photo: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène/Flickr CC

Sometimes software bugs can be awfully revealing. This week, a security researcher noted how an iPhone-crashing bug occurred whenever some users used the Taiwanese flag emoji in iOS 11.3.

The bug is seemingly an abortive attempt to acquiesce to China’s rules for tech companies to follow, which includes its refusal to accept Taiwan as an independent country. While Apple hasn’t commented on the case, this isn’t the first time it has caved to China’s requests.

Here’s how much each country makes off the iPhone 7

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iPhone-7
The major components for the iPhone 7 come from a variety of counties. Most at of the profit still goes to the U.S.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone is made in China, so most of the profit stays over there, right? Actually, everything in that sentence is wrong.

A new study finds that China makes less than $9 from each iPhone 7. Some of the rest goes to other Asian countries, but the lion’s share is earned by Apple and other U.S. companies.

iPhone X guts Foxconn profits

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Foxconn Wisconsin
Foxconn workers in Shenzhen will not report next week until further notice.
Photo: Foxconn

Production issues with the iPhone X caused Apple’s biggest supply partner to suffer its biggest decline in profits in nearly a decade.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., aka Foxconn, posted its latest earnings today and disappointed investors by posting a 39 percent decline in net income compared to the same quarter last year.

Qualcomm demands iPhone ban in China

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iPhone 8
Qualcomm wants China to stop making iPhones.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s bitter legal feud with Qualcomm is being taken to an all-new level over in China.

The San Diego-based chip company has filed a lawsuit with a Beijing intellectual property court demanding all sales and production of the iPhone to be banned.

Apple investigating iPhone 8 Plus which burst open while charging

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iPhone burst
Issue could be related to a possible battery fault.
Photo: BC News

Apple has confirmed that it is investigating reports of two iPhone 8 Plus handsets which reportedly burst open — one while being charged, and the other while out for delivery to its buyer.

Apple told the U.K.’s Independent newspaper that it was “looking into” these incidents, but declined further comment.

Apple manufacturers in Taiwan hit by major power outage

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iphone
Taiwan relies on Apple business a whole lot. And vice versa.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Three iPhone component manufactures experienced an unexpected — and unwanted — disruption this week, when a major power outage in Taiwan temporarily brought production to a halt.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, PowerTech Technology and ChipMOS Technologies are all chip assemblers and testers, which make a variety of components for Apple — including the iPhone’s Wi-Fi, baseband, fingerprint chips, and more.

Apple credited with significantly boosting Taiwan’s exports to the U.S.

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple's a money-printing machine right now.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Excitement over the iPhone 8, and Apple’s better-than-expected iPad sales, have driven a number of Apple suppliers in Taiwan to experience massive growth in the last financial quarter.

Taken in their entirety, the strong financial performance of Apple’s suppliers was enough to increase Taiwan’s overall export revenue to the United States in July by a massive 12.5 percent year-on-year in U.S. dollars. For those keeping track at home, that’s pretty darn impressive!

Photos show grand opening of Apple’s first Taiwan store

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Taiwan
Thousands of customers visited Apple Taipei 101 for the grand opening on Saturday.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s first brick-and-mortar retail store opened in Taiwan over the weekend, and Apple has shared pictures to celebrate the occasion.

The newly opened store is located on the ground floor of Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper in the Xinyi District. It was the world’s tallest building prior to being overtaken by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2009.

Apple wows us with photos of its first ever Taiwanese store

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Apple Store Taipei
The mural depicts the Banyan tree, a traditional meeting place.
Photo: Apple

Ahead of its opening this Saturday, Apple has shared some photos of its first Apple retail store in Taiwan.

The store is located on the ground floor of Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, the supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was the world’s tallest building until it was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009.

Apple’s first Taiwan store will open its doors July 1

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Taiwan
Coming soon to one of the world's tallest buildings.
Photo: Apple

Apple has revealed that its debut Apple store in Taiwan will officially open on Saturday, July 1.

The store’s regular opening hours will be Sunday through Thursday from 11am to 9.30pm, and Friday and Saturday from 11am to 10pm. It is located in Taiwan’s Taipei 101 skyscraper, the iconic supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was the world’s tallest building until it was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009.

Taiwan’s first Apple Store will grace one of world’s tallest buildings

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Screen Shot 2017-06-12 at 11.34.47
New Apple store is rumored to open by the end of this month.
Photo: Tim Cook

Tim Cook has confirmed that Apple is set to open its debut Apple store in Taiwan. “Here comes Apple Taipei 101, our first store in Taiwan,” Cook wrote on Twitter.

The store will be located in Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper, the iconic supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was the world’s tallest building until it was overtaken by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009.

Parody video shows new use for Samsung’s Note 7 as mobile meat griller

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galaxy note 7
Cooking meat? That's something the iPhone can't do.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Poor old Samsung: not only did was it forced into rushing out its Galaxy Note 7 by Apple’s iPhone release schedule, or to undergo the humiliation of doing a mass recall of one of its better-reviewed handsets, but now people are poking fun at it, too!

A new parody video from Taiwan shows how the once critically acclaimed Note 7 can be repurposed as a mobile device for cooking meat — provided you’ve got the necessary aluminum foil smartphone case, that is.

Check out the video below.

Apple recruiting for its first Taiwan retail store

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Apple West Lake
Apple's gorgeous retail store in Hangzhou, China.
Photo: Apple

Apple has started recruiting employees for its debut Apple Store in Taiwan, which is set to be located in the country’s capital city of Taipei.

While Apple has long since worked with Taiwanese manufacturers like TMSC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), this will be the first Apple retail outlet to open in Taiwan. We doubt it’ll be the last, though!

Apple is operating a secret lab to develop new iPhone screens

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iPhone 6s 3d
Apple is moving yet more development in-house.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has opened a secret production lab in northern Taiwan, developing screens for future iOS devices, a new report claims.

The company has reportedly hired talent from display makers AU Optronics and Qualcomm — the latter company having previously operated the building. By running its own display manufacturing facility, Apple hopes to reduce its reliance on third party suppliers such as Samsung, LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display.