Manufacturing Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Foxconn to build new plant for iPhone screens with Sharp's help

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 25th, 2012)

Sharp and Hon Hai Precision, parent company of Foxconn, are partnering to improve the LCD manufacturing process for the iPhone. A report by Reuters points to Nikkei business daily report that says Sharp is helping Foxconn outfit a new Chengdu plant with the latest LCD manufacturing technology. ...

Research suggests Apple could afford to build iPhones in the US

by Mike Schramm (Apr 24th, 2012)

According to reports, Steve Jobs told President Obama about Apple's plan to manufacture its devices in China, saying, "Those jobs ain't coming back." But a new report argues that making Apple devices in the United States is at least feasible. A publication from the University of Manchester says ...

Foxconn to hire safety, lifestyle pros at Apple factory

by Steven Sande (Mar 14th, 2012)

Life appears to be getting better for the thousands of workers who build our favorite Apple devices in China. Foxconn, the company that builds iPhones and iPads for Apple, is now hiring for several positions that are related to oversight of safety and lifestyle issues at its facilities. According ...

Apple responds to ABC News' Foxconn report

by Dave Caolo (Feb 23rd, 2012)

Earlier this week, ABC News aired a Nightline report that explored the Shenzhen Foxconn factory where Apple products are assembled. Now, Apple, Foxconn, and the Fair Labor Association (FLA) have all issued statements in response to the report. At one point, Nightline reporter Bill Weir asked ...

Video from ABC's Nightline report inside Foxconn

by Dave Caolo (Feb 20th, 2012)

ABC New's Nightline will air what they're calling an "unprecedented" look inside Foxconn's Chinese factories that manufacture several Apple products. The report will air next Next Tuesday, February 21, but a brief glimpse is available now. A promotional piece shows ABC reporter Bill Weir entering ...

Fair Labor Association: iPad plant conditions "better than the norm"

by Steven Sande (Feb 15th, 2012)

While protesters are targeting the Chinese Foxconn plants that make iPads and iPhones, the first report from the Fair Labor Association (FLA) indicates that they may want to start focusing their attention on other manufacturing plants. The comments were made in a Reuters article today highlighting ...

Apple forcing Pegatron to stop production of MacBook Air lookalike Zenbook

by Steven Sande (Feb 13th, 2012)

Sometimes having a manufacturing relationship with Apple can have unexpected repercussions. Asia-based Pegatron, which makes iPhones for Apple at this time, is reportedly being asked to cease production of Ultrabook laptops for Asus or face the consequences of losing orders from Apple. Ultrabooks ...

Foxconn plans to build five Brazilian factories to produce Apple products

by Steven Sande (Jan 31st, 2012)

Apple relies on electronics assembly firm Foxconn to build iPads and iPhones in China. Now Foxconn is reportedly planning to build five new factories in Brazil to help meet the demand for Apple products. There's already one plant cranking out iPads and iPhones, and each of the new factories is ...

Why Apple's products are 'Designed in California' but 'Assembled in China'

by Chris Rawson (Jan 22nd, 2012)

Look at the back of your iPhone, or your iPad, or on the bottom of your Mac. You'll see the following words embossed somewhere: "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." Many Americans, all the way up to the President himself, have wondered why Apple has outsourced virtually all of ...

Apple now the number one buyer of microphones in the world

by Mike Schramm (Jan 19th, 2012)

Apple purchased a whopping 349 million micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) microphones last year to put in all of its various iOS devices, which means it is now the biggest purchaser of such microphones in the world. That number grew 173 percent from 2010 to 2011, putting Apple up over ...

Foxconn doubles factory size to meet iPhone demand

by Mike Schramm (Dec 27th, 2011)

Chinese manufacturer Foxconn is growing again, with recent reports stating that the company is doubling the size of one of its production lines in order to keep up with production for current and future Apple products. The Foxconn Science Park in Zhengzhou is undergoing a $1.1 billion ...

Ultrabook manufacturers look to plastic as Apple commandeers supplies

by Chris Rawson (Nov 21st, 2011)

Intel's new "Ultrabook" initiative designed to help PC manufacturers churn out MacBook Air clones has hit a snag. According to Digitimes, Apple has gobbled up almost all of the available capacity for producing unibody aluminum parts, which it uses to build the chassis for its notebooks. ...

Exploring Apple's supply chain secrets

by Steven Sande (Nov 4th, 2011)

One of the unsung heroes in the success of Apple over the past ten years or so has been the ability for the company to take control of manufacturing, procurement, and logistics of its products in ways that are completely innovative. In a Bloomberg Businessweek post yesterday, writers Adam ...

Brazilian iPad production may be more costly than expected

by Steven Sande (Oct 31st, 2011)

A Reuters story in the New York Times yesterday noted that iPad producer Foxconn's plans to move iPad production to Brazil may be slowed by higher than expected production costs in the South American country. Brazil had touted the fact that they had lured Foxconn to the city of Jundiai to ...

Catcher hopes to have MacBook Air plant working by November

by Steven Sande (Oct 21st, 2011)

A supplier of MacBook Air aluminum casings, Catcher Technology, recently had to shut down a plant in Eastern China following complaints by neighbors of "strange odors" emanating from the facility. While this could have been a concern for a critical part of the supply chain for one of Apple's ...