Manufacturing Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Foxconn reportedly producing 150k iPhone 5s a day

by Mike Schramm (Sep 8th, 2011)

A report from Taiwan's Digitimes says that Foxconn is churning out the unannounced iPhone 5 hardware at an alarming rate -- over 150,000 units a day. That's crazy, and it means Foxconn is racing to get shipments up to 5-6 million units total by later on this month. All of Apple's contractors are ...

iPhone prototype N94 leaked, possibly to be an iPhone 4S

by Mike Schramm (Aug 29th, 2011)

There are lots of crazy rumors flying around about the new iPhone announcement coming later on this year (or as soon as next month), but this is one of the more credible. The picture above comes from a site called UbreakIfix through our friends at Engadget, and purports to show a prototype for ...

Apple's hold on metal chassis supply chain hinders competition

by Steven Sande (Aug 4th, 2011)

Apple's wild success with unibody construction for all models of the MacBook appears to be having a negative effect on the competition in more than just reduced sales -- the other vendors can't get their hands on the CNC (computer numerical control) lathes that are required to make ultra thin ...

Apple's supply demands could affect Amazon tablet production

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 30th, 2011)

According to Digitimes, Amazon is shopping around for manufacturers to supply touchscreen panels for its rumored upcoming tablet. The retail giant has supposedly approached TPK Holdings, Wintek, HannStarr Display and J Touch. Two of the four manufacturers, TPK Holdings and Wintek, currently ...

Japanese newspaper reports Apple picked Toshiba as sole LCD supplier

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 20th, 2011)

A Japanese newspaper report suggests Apple has chosen Toshiba as the sole supplier of its LCD displays for the iPhone. Earlier this year, a circulating rumor suggested Apple had invested US$1.2 billion in a Sharp-owned LCD production plant. The plant would go online in 2012 and provide Apple with ...

Apple reportedly to absorb costs from Japan tragedies

by Dave Caolo (Mar 31st, 2011)

As Japan's people and industries respond to the recent horrible disasters, routine electrical brownouts are being rolled out to conserve available resources. Manufacturing is being affected as a result, and the tech industry is not immune. DigiTimes reports that Apple will absorb the extra cost ...

Apple reportedly yet to order iPhone 5 parts

by Mike Schramm (Mar 28th, 2011)

If you're excited to buy the iPhone 5 this summer, you might want to relax a bit. Reports from China are saying that Apple hasn't even started securing the parts for a brand new version of the iPhone, which would mean that there's almost no way a new version could be released this year. ...

iPad 2 3G antenna causing problems with mic clarity

by Mike Schramm (Mar 17th, 2011)

Apple apparently moved the iPad 2's microphone to the top center of the device, and that's causing problems in performance across the Wi-Fi and 3G models, says iLounge. The 3G model's mic is set in a different material than the Wi-Fi version (because of the extra antenna), and that means that ...

Apple reportedly reduces iPad 2 production volume target

by Steven Sande (Feb 23rd, 2011)

WIth an announcement of a second-generation iPad just around the corner, Digitimes is reporting that Apple's volume targets for the new device have been set lower. While both Apple and iPad manufacturer Foxconn are mum on the subject, Digitimes stated that the forecasted manufacturing run for the ...

iSuppli suggests Apple's cash infusion going toward display manufacturing

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 2nd, 2011)

During Apple's recent earnings conference call, Tim Cook confirmed Apple was spending $3.9 billion on pre-payments for unspecified components. Aware of the AMOLED display shortages that plague the mobile phone industry, analysts and tech pundits alike assumed Cook was referring to the LCD displays ...

A look inside the Foxconn factory

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 27th, 2010)

French journalist and photographer Jordan Pouille revisited a Foxconn factory in Longhua, China and reported on factory conditions in the wake of a highly publicized pay raise for its Chinese workers. This pay raise came in response to criticism over a rash of suicides occurring at this Longhua ...

Sharp spends $1.2 billion on LCD production plant, Apple alleged client

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 17th, 2010)

Some more scuttlebutt out of the Japan's Nikkei Daily suggests Apple may be investing in a Sharp-owned LCD facility. The Japanese LCD facility was built in 2004 for the production of television LCDs. It has recently been re-purposed for small to mid-size LCDs after Sharp sold off its TV production ...

Toshiba denies rumor Apple will invest in display factory

by Aron Trimble (Dec 15th, 2010)

Remember the factory that Toshiba and Apple are supposed to be building together? According to DigiTimes, it turns out that Toshiba is not actually on board with the idea. Currently, Toshiba is still planning to build the new plant, which will double its output of small- to medium-sized displays. ...

Apple, Toshiba to build $1.1B Retina Display factory

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 14th, 2010)

Toshiba is rumored to be building a factory to manufacture high-resolution LCD displays for Apple, according to a report in the Nikkei Business Daily. The Japanese company may spend 100 billion yen ($1.9 billion USD as of this writing) to build the factory, which is expected to be ready for ...

Toshiba and Apple working together on a display manufacturing plant

by Mike Schramm (Dec 13th, 2010)

Toshiba and Apple are reportedly working together on a brand new manufacturing plant in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, specifically to build "low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels," to be used in Apple's iPhones. Toshiba will spend about $1.9 billion on the project, which is scheduled to start ...