Supply

Apple Watch screen maker LG Display dominates 90% of market as Sharp posts huge losses

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

One Apple supplier's misery is another Apple supplier's fortune. Two of Apple's key display suppliers — Sharp and LG Display — are not enjoying quite the same positive effects from working with the Cupertino firm. At one end of the spectrum is LG Display, an exclusive supplier of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch.

The company now dominates the smartwatch display market with a ninety percent market share thanks to its lucrative contract with Apple, as per Business Korea.

On the other is Japan-based Sharp, one of Apple's display suppliers that has barely managed to avoid collapse after posting an annual net loss of a whopping $1.9 billion, according to The Financial Times on Thursday.

WSJ: slow Apple Watch rollout due to faulty Taptic Engine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Faulty Taptic Engines may be behind the extremely limited availability of the Apple Watch, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the publication says that after mass production of the Engines began in February, quality testing found some of them to be unreliable.

The component, which Apple uses in its Watch to produce the sensation of being tapped on the wrist, is made by two suppliers: AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. and Nidec Corp. Apparently some of AAC's Taptic Engines were found to break down overtime, so Apple has moved a majority of its production over to Nidec.

Apple Watch selling out fast, shipping times slipping into June

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 10, 2015

At 12:01am PT Apple started taking pre-orders for the Apple Watch models through its online store and the Apple Store iOS shopping app. If you've managed to reserve your device for in-store pickup or home delivery on April 24, consider yourself lucky.

As MacRumors points out, pre-order shipping estimates for many Watch models have slipped to 4-6 weeks or later in less than six hours, with some models such as the 42mm Black Link Bracelet now set to ship in July. This means folks who just woke up and pre-ordered the device won't get it until late next month or June.

Apple warns of constrained Watch supply at launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 9, 2015

With less than 24 hours until Apple Watch pre-orders begin, the Cupertino firm has issued a media release advising customers to reserve their unit online because “we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch”.

Moreover, the company will be now taking orders for the device exclusively online “during the initial launch period.”

Apple reportedly having issues making Apple Watch’s screen

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Apple is having issues manufacturing the 1.5-inch AMOLED screen for the Apple Watch, and as a result, has cut initial production and shipment targets in half, according to UDN Mobile.

Citing sources in Apple's supply chain, the Taiwanese publication says Apple has cut shipments from between 2.5 to 3 million units to between 1.25 and 1.5 million units.

Samsung reportedly supplying advanced DRAM memory for upcoming iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2015

In addition to landing a contract to build Apple's next-generation A9 mobile processor for 2015 iPhones and iPads, Samsung is said to be supplying the Cupertino firm with its advanced DRAM memory chips to be used in next-generation iPhones, as well as LG's upcoming G4 flagship handset.

The South Korean firm files as the world's biggest memory chip supplier. According to a report Tuesday by The Korea Times citing two people familiar with the deal, the contract is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and last at least for a year.

Apple supplier Avago Tech rumored to provide 3D Touch technology for iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 14, 2018

A report Thursday by the The Economic Daily News claims to have identified a company that will supply Apple with a pressure-sensitive touch technology for the next iPhone. US-based Avago Tech, which lists Apple as a key customer, will be the main supplier of a 3D touch technology for an ‘iPhone 6s’ refresh, supply chain sources assert.

For what it's worth, recent reports by Tech News Taiwan and UDN did mention that the next iPhone might adopt the Watch's Force Touch feature that uses tiny electrodes around the display to differentiate between a light tap and a deep press.

Suppliers projecting 50M iPhone shipments in Q1

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2017

After shipping a record-smashing 74.5 million handsets during the holiday quarter, representing more than half of Apple’s total revenue for the quarter, the Cupertino firm could be poised to move about 50 million iPhone units in the first quarter of this year.

Tuesday, trade publication DigiTimes cited estimates by Taiwanese handset suppliers who expect shipments of iPhone devices to grow from the 43.7 million units in the year-ago quarter to as many as 50 million shipments in Q1 2015, a 14.4 percent annual increase.

DigiTimes: 12″ MacBook Air with Retina screen ramping up for Q1 launch, replacing 11-incher

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Contract fabricator Quanta Computer is ramping up production of the highly anticipated MacBook Air model with a twelve-inch screen as Apple preps to launch the forthcoming ultra-portable during the first quarter of this year, if a new report by DigiTimes, a Taiwanese trade publication, is an indication.

Well-informed blogger Mark Gurman recently claimed that Apple is expected to raise the bar on notebook portability by engineering a lighter, thinner computer without a fan that ditches standard USB ports, the SD Card slot, Thunderbolt I/O and the MagSafe power connector in favor of a single, fully reversible USB 3.1 Type-C port.

Apple rumored to be switching to OLED screens for future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Apple is teaming up with its contract manufacturer Foxconn on building OLED-based screens for future smartphones and wearables, GforGames reported Thursday citing a fresh report from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan.

Foxconn is said to be working with touch panel company InnoLux, also an Apple supplier, to put together an ecosystem which will allow the production of sixth-gen low temperature poly-silicon films, aimed at entering mass production in 2016.

BBC investigation finds continued poor working conditions at Apple plant in China

Jake Smith ∙ December 18, 2014

The BBC launched an investigation into a Pegatron plant that Apple uses to manufacturer its products in China, and found poor treatment of workers, after Apple has stated several times that it's cleaned up its act.

The British media giant found standards on workers' hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were being breached at the Pegatron factories. It even recorded workers falling asleep on the production line after a 12-hour shift.

Apple Watch reportedly entering mass production in January amid ‘breakthroughs’ in yield issues

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Instead of the previously mentioned February timeframe, the Apple Watch will be entering mass production in January as Apple's component suppliers have reportedly solved yield issues concerning vital components such as the display and processor, according to a new supply chain report published by Taiwan's United Daily News [Google Translate] and relayed Thursday by GforGames.

As a result, the device might hit store shelves in time for Valentine's Day, as originally suspected.

According to a recent rumor, Apple’s retail boss Angela Ahrendts told staffers that the highly anticipated wrist-worn gizmo will be launching in the spring.