Topic: Manufacturing
Apple-Supplier Foxconn Weighs $7 Billion U.S. Display Plant – Bloomberg (Jan 23, 2017)
There are lots of pieces that come together in this announcement, though the actual details are still very vague, and no final decisions have been made. Firstly, there’s the pressure from President Trump during the campaign (repeated since in a gentler manner) for Apple to produce some of its hardware in the US. Then there’s the recent meeting between the SoftBank and Foxconn CEOs and Trump around bringing jobs to the US. And finally, the suggestion Apple might use Sharp (now owned by Foxconn to make OLED displays for the next iPhones). One scenario is that, as with the Mac Pro, Apple chooses a relatively low-volume, high margin product to manufacture in part in the US, with OLED screens from Sharp for a high-end iPhone 8 model one possibility. Apple has remained entirely silent on the question of manufacturing in the US, and of course doesn’t actually build its own devices anywhere, instead relying on Foxconn to do the assembly, so the ball here is somewhat in Foxconn’s court – without its support, Apple likely can’t do anything.
via Apple-Supplier Foxconn Weighs $7 Billion U.S. Display Plant – Bloomberg
Tesla fails to come through on its promise to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 cars in 2016 – Recode (Jan 3, 2017)
The shortfall mentioned here was modest, and was entirely due to delivery rather than production issues. The bigger issue is that, even if it had hit 80 or 90k deliveries in 2016, its targets for 2017 and especially 2018 are higher still, with 2018 apparently ramping to 400,000. That’s still an incredibly steep hill to climb, and I’m doubtful Tesla can up production that quickly. There may be a lot of disappointed Tesla 3 reservers come 2018…
via Tesla fails to come through on its promise to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 cars in 2016 – Recode
Apple’s 2016 in review – Chuq von Rospach (Jan 1, 2017)
This piece explicitly disclaims the Apple is Doomed narrative, but it’s in line with quite a number of critical pieces over the past year from those who have generally been supporters of Apple. And it still draws broad conclusions about the state of Apple from a series of individual events that did and didn’t happen in 2016. I suspect Apple in 2016 was viewed more negatively than it might have been because there wasn’t a single big-bang new launch – it felt like mostly an incremental year. The one big exception was the AirPods, but they launched so late, and were themselves one of the examples of the problems Apple has faced, that it made little difference.
Slower-than-expected iPhone 7 sales prompt Apple to cut production by 10%, report claims (Dec 30, 2016)
There are two problems with these reports – firstly, they come out every year in some shape or form, and have a far from perfect correlation with poor sales of iPhones; and secondly, the scale of the cuts is always ambiguous – is the 10% relative to last year at the same time, a cut from Q4 to Q1, or something else? The latter would obviously be expected given the usual cyclical drop from Q4 to Q1, while the former would be entirely unexpected. But as usual this Nikkei report drove lots of “poor iPhone sales” headlines despite all that.
via Slower-than-expected iPhone 7 sales prompt Apple to cut production by 10%, report claims
Apple plans to make iPhones in Bengaluru from April – ETtech (Dec 30, 2016)
One of the barriers to Apple opening a retail presence in India has been that its products are not made there, and although there has been talk about a temporary lifting of that ban, Apple likely still needs to make iPhones in India in order to solve this problem over the long term. I haven’t seen others confirming these reports yet, so let’s take this with a pinch of salt for now, but it certainly seems plausible.
via Apple: apple plans to make iphones in bengaluru from april, Technology News, ETtech
How China Built ‘iPhone City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner – The New York Times (Dec 29, 2016)
The partner here is Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner, and this is an in-depth story based on lots of leaked documents. There’s lots that’s interesting here, but the reason it’s relevant is the prospect of both pressure from the Trump administration to bring manufacturing home, and the potential for a US-China trade war. Apple and Foxconn would certainly be in the crosshairs under both scenarios.
via How China Built ‘iPhone City’ With Billions in Perks for Apple’s Partner – The New York Times
Apple’s Search for Better iPhone Screens Leads to Japan’s Rice Fields – Bloomberg (Dec 22, 2016)
Reporting has suggested for some time now that Apple will be seeking to use OLED for in at least some of its 2017 iPhone models. The challenge is that OLED displays are in high demand and short supply, so supply constraints might be an issue.
via Apple’s Search for Better iPhone Screens Leads to Japan’s Rice Fields – Bloomberg
Bloomberg Reports Samsung Rushed Note7 Development (Sep 19, 2016)
Bloomberg reported that a rush to beat the iPhone 7 to market had caused Samsung to shortcut its development process for the Note7, possibly leading to the faults that triggered the fires.
Donald Trump Says He’ll Stop Apple From Making iPhones in China – Fortune (Jan 18, 2016)
This was one of the first occasions on which then-candidate Donald Trump took aim at a big US tech company, with Apple the target. He argued that as president, he would insist that Apple make more of its products in the US rather than overseas. This is a theme he’s returned to since and which both Apple and Foxconn have apparently responded to in some of their investigations of manufacturing in the US in late 2016 and early 2017.
via Fortune