Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron has been assembling iPhone SE units in India for more than a year, and now a new report alleges that the supplier has reportedly entered trial production of the nearly three years old iPhone 6s Plus smartphone there.
Production
Apple could begin trial production of new iPhones as soon as June
To avoid production hiccups with the TrueDepth camera that delayed the iPhone X launch into November 2017, Apple is said to kick off trial production of new iPhone models next quarter.
Bloomberg: Apple is building its own micro-LED displays at a secret plant in California
Apple is reportedly designing and producing its own screens for future devices at a secret manufacturing facility in California, based on the emerging micro-LED display technology.
iPhone X laser supplier Finisar plans to have its Texas plant up by October
Finisar, which manufactures the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) component for the TrueDepth camera on iPhone X, gave a local TV station a tour of its upcoming 700,000 square foot facility that it claimed would become the VCSEL capital of the world.
Spotify may be planning to enter production with its own HomePod rival
Spotify last spring ran a curious job ad for a Senior Product Manager that signaled its interest in the hardware game, and now we're learning via a collection of new job listings that Spotify's HomePod rival may in fact be in the works literally as we speak.
HomePods are reportedly rolling off the production lines
Apple's manufacturing partner Inventec has begun shipping the long-awaited HomePod wireless speaker after the accessory missed its original December 2017 launch date.
Workers describe harsh conditions at Apple supplier Catcher’s facilities
Apple supplier Catcher Technology has been accused of dire conditions for its employees who produce machined aluminum casings for iPhones and MacBooks at a manufacturing complex in the Chinese industrial city of Suqian, about six hours’ drive from Shanghai.
Apple to quadruple Samsung OLED panel orders for 2018 iPhones
This year, Samsung Display has reportedly supplied around 50 million OLED panels for Apple's iPhone X, but Apple is now looking to quadruple its order in 2018 as Samsung apparently hit a satisfactory enough 90% yield rate with iPhone X displays.
HLI becomes VCSEL laser supplier for AirPods
Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) parts are used in both the TrueDepth camera and AirPods, and now a new provider of VCSELs has entered Apple's supply chain.
Apple to invest $390 million in the supplier of VCSEL lasers for iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera
The United States-based supplier Finisar Corp will receive a cool $390 million investment from Apple's Advanced Manufacturing Fund which was set up back in the summer to help create manufacturing jobs in the country.
Indian government eager to help Apple expand manufacturing in the country
A new report out of The Economic Times quoted Suresh Prabhu, India's Commerce and Industry Minister, as saying he would be “very happy” if Apple were to expand its manufacturing presence in India, only months after Apple first starting producing iPhone SE in the country.
Ming-Chi Kuo: improved iPhone X shipping times are not due to weak demand, but improvements in the supply chain
iPhone X shipping times saw improvements to one to two weeks across the board this week. This triggered speculation that weak demand for Apple’s latest flagship might have been the cause of these improved delivery dates.
Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities refutes this speculation, instead reporting that Apple has made significant supply chain improvements that are responsible for these accelerated shipping estimates.