MacRumors

Samsung will announce later this month the results of an investigation into what caused some of its Galaxy Note7 smartphones to catch fire, according to South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note7 in late August and, shortly after, user reports began circulating about devices that exploded or caught on fire while charging. At the time, the company said the underlying issue was "problematic" batteries installed in a very limited number of the smartphones sold.

Rumors suggest Samsung pushed suppliers to meet tighter deadlines for an earlier launch, in order to beat the iPhone 7, leading to critical oversights that led to some batteries catching fire. In October, Samsung said it was examining all aspects of the smartphone, but noted it was not yet able to reproduce the problem.

Samsung issued a Galaxy Note7 recall in September, and permanently discontinued the smartphone in October after some replacement devices caught fire. Samsung has urged customers to return their Galaxy Note7s immediately, and in December began seeding a software update to prevent unreturned devices from charging.

Samsung faces the challenging task of regaining consumer trust after the Galaxy Note7 safety risks, which led to the smartphone being banned on all U.S. flights. Airlines are required to disclose the Galaxy Note7 ban prior to takeoff on every U.S. flight, inevitably damaging the reputation of Samsung's brand.

Looking forward, the company today announced a trio of new mid-tier Galaxy A smartphones, including the 5.7-inch A7, 5.2-inch A5, and 4.7-inch A3 models. The latest A models feature metal frames and 3D glass backs, improved 16-megapixel cameras, IP68 water and dust resistance, and longer battery life.

Samsung said the refreshed Galaxy A series will be available in Russia in early January, followed by other global markets. Pricing has yet to be announced.

We've covered what we expect to see from Apple in 2017 based on the rumors that are circulating so far in our recent What to Expect post.

On the horizon are a new iPhone 8 with a radically redesigned body and an edge-to-edge display, a revamped iPad Pro also potentially with an edge-to-edge display, long-awaited iMac updates, and new software, but there's always the chance there's a wildcard update or new product in the works that will surprise us all.

A redesigned Apple TV, a new home hub, and augmented reality smart glasses are all products that are rumored to be in the works with no prospective release date. We want to hear from the MacRumors community -- what are you expecting or hoping to see Apple release in 2017?

Are there specific features you're hoping Apple will implement in iOS 11, tvOS 11, watchOS 4, or macOS 10.13? Popular wishlist items from last year included a dark mode for iOS, home screen widgets, and a customizable control center.

Let us know what you want to see in the comments, and make sure to check our our What to Expect post for the latest rumors. Apple's plans for 2017 will likely become more clear in the early months of the year, and as always, we'll be covering all of the rumors in-depth here at MacRumors.

The MacRumors forums are also always a rich resource for talking about upcoming products and rumors, and with the biggest iPhone change in years set to happen in 2017, our forums are the place to be for lively discussions.

We'd also like to thank all of our readers and our forum members for making MacRumors the absolute best source for Mac news and advice on the web. We wouldn't be here without you, and we look forward to another rumor-packed year.

Apple is preparing to begin seeding builds of iOS 10.3 to developers as soon as next month, according to Sonny Dickson, who has occasionally offered accurate information on Apple's plans from supply chain sources and other contacts. Dickson says iOS 10.3 will include a new "Theatre" mode with a "popcorn-shaped" icon in the Control Center, although he does not explain what exactly this mode will entail.

The most recent significant iOS update was iOS 10.2, which was released to the public earlier this month and included a new TV app and a number of new and updated emoji, among other changes. A new iOS 10.2.1 update is currently in beta testing.

We've seen a steady increase in visits to MacRumors from devices claiming to be running iOS 10.3 over past several months with visits now numbering in the hundreds per day, suggesting a developer release could indeed be coming in the near future.

Apple has been rumored to be launching updated iPad models in the March or April timeframe, with the company reportedly developing some new iPad-specific software features such as improved Apple Pencil support to accompany the hardware updates. It's possible iOS 10.3 could be the update that delivers these features, although it may not be apparent in the early stages of developer seeding if the new features are exclusive to unreleased hardware.

With the launch of the iPhone 7 and MacBook Pro, 2016 has been a mixed year for Apple. The iPhone 7 was released without a headphone jack, an unpopular choice that's now been somewhat ameliorated by the launch of the AirPods, and the MacBook Pro has been plagued by battery issues, graphics problems, and complaints about the high price of the device.

Apple also saw its first decline in iPhone sales in 2016, but 2017 could potentially turn things around for the company. We're expecting the biggest iPhone revision we've seen since the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched in 2014, plus we're also expecting major iPad changes, refreshed desktop Macs, and software improvements.

iPhone 8 - September 2017

Rumors about the 2017 iPhone started ramping up before the iPhone 7 was even released, so there's a lot of information out there, and at this point, quite a bit of it conflicts, so it's difficult to get a clear picture of what Apple is planning for the iPhone's 10th anniversary.

If you read all of the rumors and suss out some common themes, there are a few concrete details that hint at what likely to see in the next-generation iPhone. We're assuming it's going to be called the "iPhone 8" due to design changes that are more radical than we'd expect for an "iPhone 7s," but it's entirely possible Apple will go with another name.

It looks like there's going to be at least three iPhone models, and one of those will have an OLED display. It's sounding like we're going to get one premium OLED iPhone somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 inches, with either a flexible curved display that wraps around the edges like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or an edge-to-edge display more in line with the current design of the iPhone 7.

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At Apple's MacBook Pro media event back in October, the company unveiled a pair of LG-branded high-resolution displays it co-developed with the display manufacturer. The UltraFine 5K and 4K displays are optimized for the Mac with tight software integration, and the 5K model in particular with single-cable connection over Thunderbolt 3 has been highly anticipated.

Apple has just begun shipping the UltraFine 5K display, and while a handful of lucky customers received their deliveries late last week, availability is significantly increasing this week and we've had about 24 hours with ours to develop some initial impressions.

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Apple plans to reduce production of the iPhone line by 10 percent beginning in the first quarter of 2017, according to supplier data collected by Nikkei. Apple is said to have experienced a similar situation thanks to accumulated inventory of the iPhone 6s late in 2015, which also caused it to lower output of that smartphone in Q1 2016.

The company attempted to prevent the same thing from happening again with the iPhone 7 by curbing production quantities on the 2016 smartphone, but even with that preemptive move Apple is again looking at a manufacturing downturn for its flagship iPhone line in the new year.

In the report, Nikkei cites "sluggish" global sales for the iPhone 7 as the main reason behind the move. Because of this, the production cuts are expected to be focused on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple will trim production of its iPhone family around 10% on the year in the first quarter of 2017, according to calculations by The Nikkei based on data from suppliers.

...the phones still have sold more sluggishly than expected. Information on production of the latest models and global sales suggests cuts in both the 7 and 7 Plus lines in the coming quarter.

Apple could have capitalized on Samsung's Galaxy Note7 problems earlier in the year, but according to a collection of analysts the iPhone 7 lacked "compelling" features and failed to garner interest in the new smartphone line. In September, Apple made the decision not to divulge the first weekend sales for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Throughout the year, a "doom and gloom" sentiment has followed the company ever since it reported its first revenue decline in thirteen years.

Later in 2017, Apple will launch the next-generation iPhone, which is currently rumored to come in three different sizes, one of which will include a flexible OLED display with a bezel-free design. Rumors are still conflicting, however, with a report from Mac Otakara suggesting that next year's iPhone could be an iterative update on the design of the iPhone 7 with beefed up internals.

AirPods manufacturer Inventec is planning to expand production capacity for the wireless headphones in the wake of high consumer demand during the holiday season. In a new report by China's Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes), the supplier is rumored to have begun expanding capacity in a few of its Shanghai plants.

The report noted that Inventec has recently started expanding capacity at its Shanghai plants in order to satisfy increasing demand for the earphones and the plants are currently working overtime to deliver orders.

After the AirPods went on sale on December 13, the headphones quickly slipped to shipping estimates from 4 weeks and then to 6 weeks. Thanks to positive initial impressions from the first group of customers, and increased fervor to purchase the AirPods for the holidays, many users began seeking ways to buy the headphones before Christmas, including third-party retailers like Best Buy and Target.

Estimated arrival dates have improved for many customers who were placed with lengthy month-long shipping estimates at first, and it appears that Inventec intends to continue to meet customer demand by "working overtime to deliver orders."

This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the AirPods "a runaway success," commenting on the fact that "we're making them just as fast as we can" so as many of its fans can get a pair of the headphones as soon as possible. Overall, Cook said that Apple has had "a great holiday."

Apple's spaceship-shaped campus in Cupertino, California is nearing completion, and most of the ring-shaped main structure and auxiliary buildings have been finished.

We've seen monthly drone updates of the location during the construction period, letting us keep an eye on Apple's progress, and now SkyIMD has created a neat high-resolution aerial mosaic that gives an incredibly detailed overall view of the nearly-finished campus.

The image depicts the main spaceship building that is the highlight of the campus, with its massive curved glass windows and huge built-in glass doors that open up into a cafeteria area. The aerial photo, composed of ten 100-megapixel images captured with a PhaseOne iXA-RS1000, was made on December 22.

Duncan Sinfield, who has shared Apple Campus 2 drone videos with MacRumors for several months, has also uploaded an updated video captured on Christmas morning that shows the progress Apple has made on landscaping in recent weeks.

Apple plans to have the campus finished by the beginning of 2017, with employees moving in during the first quarter, but landscaping work will not be finished until the middle of the year.

In a lengthy new article posted online today, The New York Times has delved into the inner workings of Foxconn's major iPhone manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, China, referred to locally as "iPhone City." The article describes how the facility became one of Apple's major global manufacturing plants, as well as the "hidden bounty of perks, tax breaks, and subsidies" uncovered behind the scenes of Foxconn's operations -- negotiations Apple said it is "not a party to."

Looking at the origins of Apple's move to production overseas, the article first details Steve Jobs' decision to manufacture the Macintosh in its facilities in Texas and California in the mid-1980s. Following the company's financial slump in the 1990s, Jobs upon his return made the decision to outsource production in places like China. Partnerships with the likes of Foxconn provided Apple with the "heft and expertise" to create products, including the original iPod, on a massive scale.

When Apple’s sales took off after the introduction of the iPod in 2001, Foxconn had the heft and expertise to meet the demand that accompanied each hit product. Foxconn’s factories could quickly produce prototypes, increase production and, during peak periods, hire hundreds of thousands of workers.

“They have brilliant tooling engineers, and they were willing to invest a lot to keep pace with Apple’s growth,” said Joe O’Sullivan, a former Apple executive who worked in Asia.

As the launch of the iPhone approached, Foxconn began scouting locations for a new facility around China and created an Olympic-level competition among cities to be the home of its new plant. Officials from various cities offered perks like discounted energy and transportation costs, lower social insurance payments, and over $1.5 billion in grants for factory construction and dorms for workers. After Zhengzhou was chosen, it only took a few months between the signing of the deal and the launch of assembly lines in August 2010.

The city created a special economic zone for the project and provided a $250 million loan to Foxconn. The local government also pledged to spend more than $10 billion to vastly expand the airport, just a few miles away from the factory.

“I was impressed,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, who was part of the early discussions about setting up a factory. “They were very focused.”

To create its cohesive export system, Foxconn insisted that the Zhengzhou facility be located within a "bonded zone." This allowed Foxconn to bypass China's stringent restrictions on foreign manufacturing and directly import and export iPhone components, which was further expedited thanks to the facility's purposeful proximity to a nearby airport.

The iPhone plant continued to ramp up, and in 2014 included 94 production lines for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s, with an estimated 230 million smartphones having been exported from Zhengzhou in the years it had been open. The government referred to it as "one of the nation's crucial export centers." With all of the work came a labor force "the size of a national army," who relied heavily on government subsidies and produced 500,000 iPhones a day at peak.

A crushing work force begins arriving for the early shift at 6:30 a.m. They travel by foot, by bus, by motor scooter and even by pedicab. They file steadily into dozens of factory sites, spread out across 2.2 square miles. At the peak, some 350,000 workers assemble, test and package iPhones — up to 350 a minute.

The government pays recruiters a subsidy for every worker they hire, Mr. Liu said. “If the demand is high, then they will pay more,” he said. “If the demand is low, then the payment will be low, too.”

One of the other major topics of the article centered around the help that Foxconn has received from the Chinese government in return for providing its services to Zhengzhou's financial and political surge over the years. Foxconn is said to receive a bonus for each export target it reaches, according to government records discovered by The New York Times, with subsidies totaling $56 million in the factory's first two years of iPhone manufacturing.

Foxconn, in a separate statement, said it was grateful for the support of the government, noting that it was “no different than similar tax breaks all companies get in locations around the world for major investments.”

In response to questions, Apple said it was aware of the government’s infrastructure support. But the company added that it had no knowledge of specific grants, subsidies or tax breaks given to its manufacturing partner.

Foxconn remains a loyal partner in Apple's manufacturing processes to this day, most recently considering expansion into the United States and gearing up to be a major supplier of the 2017 iPhone.

The rest of The New York Times' findings, discovered through over 100 interviews with factory workers, logistics handlers, truck drivers, tax specialists and current and former Apple executives, can be read in the full coverage here.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Samsung Display has again been rumored as the exclusive supplier of OLED panels for the 2017 iPhone, according to new claims made by sources in the Taiwan supply chain (via DigiTimes). Back in April, The Korea Herald reported that Samsung would supply Apple with OLED panels in 2017, furthering rumors from as early as January that Apple and Samsung were in talks for an OLED manufacturing partnership.

Next year's iPhone is said to come in 4.7-inch, 5.5-inch, and 5.8-inch sizes, with the last model believed to be the only iPhone with an OLED display. The OLED version's actual touch-sensitive screen real estate may in fact be closer to 5.5-inches, or possibly 5.1- and 5.2-inches, if the rumor of a curved display is true.

Samsung's current estimates place the company at manufacturing 20 million units per month, according to the supply chain sources. The company's shipments of OLED units are estimated to reach 590 million by 2019. As for benefits, OLED screens can be brighter, clearer, and lead to more energy efficient iPhones.

Samsung Display will become the exclusive supplier of AMOLED panels for use in Apple's new iPhone devices to be launched in 2017 and can supply 20 million units in maximum a month, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Apple will launch 4.7-, 5.5- and 5.8-inch new iPhone models in second-half 2017, with TFT-LCD panels to be used in the former two models and AMOLED for the 5.8-inch one, the sources said. Global shipments of the AMOLED iPhone in 2017 are estimated at 60-70 million units, the sources noted.

In a separate DigiTimes report posted today, Wistron is believed to be a potential third partner for the manufacturing of the 2017 iPhone, following Foxconn and Pegatron. Wistron was previously rumored to be part of Apple's diversification in its supply chain this year, but it seems like the company was left out of iPhone 7 manufacturing. In the past, Wistron helped supply the iPhone 5c and iPhone SE.