Apple today announced 44 of its suppliers have committed to using 100 percent renewable energy in their production of its gadgets as the Cupertino giant spent $2.5 billion in green bonds on environmental initiatives, the largest amount of any US corporation.
Coinciding with today's report in The New York Times detailing why Apple won’t be bringing manufacturing jobs back home, the Cupertino technology giant has now issued a press release focused on US suppliers Finisar, Corning and Broadcom which are building parts for its products at domestic manufacturing plants.
The gist of the report: the iPhone maker in 2018 alone spent a whopping $90 billion with 9,000 America component suppliers and companies such as Finisar, Corning and Broadcom.
The figure translates into an increase of more than ten percent from the year before, supporting more than 450,000 jobs, according to the press release.
Finisar, which supplies laser components for the TrueDepth camera, was awarded $390 million from Apple’s $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund last year to expand production. The supplier used that money to turn an unoccupied building in Sherman, Texas into a "bustling operation" full of people who will supply that future business.
Finisar's technician handles a VCSEL wafer during production.The facility will eventually employ up to 500 engineers who will be mass-producing vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for modern iPhones.
VCSEL wafers are nearly as thin as a human hair and contain hundreds of layers measuring only a few atoms in thickness. They require a highly advanced and precise manufacturing operation, as well as skilled technicians with specialized training.
Corning's 65-year-old facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky produces iPhone cover glass. It received a $200 million investment from Apple for state-of-the-art glass processing.
Army veteran Michael Turner, 40, Michael Turner gets ready to enter the production floor at the Sherman plant.Apple works with many other US suppliers, like Cincinnati Test Systems and Broadcom.
Cincinnati Test Systems in Ohio designed a first-of-its-kind equipment to ensure iPhone is water resistant. And Broadcom in Fort Collins, Colorado, Qorvo in Hillsboro, Oregon and Skyworks in Woburn, Massachusetts, are all making wireless communication hardware that enables global connectivity.
Since 2011, the total number of jobs created and supported by Apple in the US has more than tripled, from almost 600,000 to 2 million across all 50 states.
Commercial production has begun on TSMC’s 7nm chip. This is the same chip likely to be found in Apple’s upcoming A12 processor for all three 2018 iPhone models.
Are you in the market for an AirPort wireless appliance? If so, you better act fast because supplies of Apple's excellent wireless routers are already dwindling on Apple Online Stores across the globe and the company has no plans to make new ones again.
Apple's upcoming 6.1-inch iPhone, one of the three rumored new models coming this year, may feature an ultra-bright, low-power LCD screen based on the new MLCD+ display technology pioneered by LG's new G7 ThinQ smartphone.
Shares in several of Apple's Asian suppliers fell for a second straight day on Tuesday following a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily and some analysts saying that iPhone X demand could come in below expectations during the first quarter of next year.
Samsung Display may not remain the sole provider of flexible OLED panels for iPhone X for much longer if Apple cuts a multi-billion dollar deal with BOE, China's top display vendor.
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.
HomePod's unexpected delay is expected to help contract manufacturer Foxconn, which is now said to be joining the supply chain in order to help assemble Apple’s Siri-powered smart speaker for 2018.
Apple has reportedly downsized its research and development team in Longtan, northern Taiwan. The R&D lab was tasked with the development of Micro-LED display products.
Apple's online stores now give an updated shipping estimate for new iPhone X orders of two to three weeks across the United States, Canada and many countries in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, a notable improvement over the previous delivery times of 3-4 weeks.
Apple is thought to work on some kind of an augmented reality headset accessory and now a high-ranking official with one of Apple's key Taiwanese suppliers claims that the rumored device will be coming no later than the year 2019.