Apple is reportedly changing up the way it produces camera modules for its iPhone, now opting to individually produce each of the camera lenses separately, rather than procure them together and have them pre-assembled, according to a report from The Elec.
The report notes that up to last year, Apple's iPhone camera lenses were produced by its suppliers LG InnoTek, Sharp, and O'Film. The lenses were "pre-assembled." Now, Apple is consolidating the production of its camera modules to its largest supplier, Foxconn, to save costs.
Up to last year, Apple has procured double and triple camera modules from its suppliers LG InnoTek, Sharp, and O'Film that are pre-assembled.
But it is now procuring these camera modules individually and gave the job of assembly to Foxconn. The measure is being done to save cost.
Foxconn, in preparation for its new camera assembly responsibility, has received new inspection equipment from the South Korean firm Hyvision System. The new system will check whether the wide, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto cameras' lenses, including their optical axis and image sensors, are correctly aligned on higher-end iPhone models. An incorrect alignment could result in drastically reduced image quality.
The new changes are being done to "save costs," but it remains unclear if those savings would be presented to customers. It's also unclear whether the new production methodology and Foxconn's role in camera assembly will be in practice for the upcoming iPhone 13. Given that the new iPhones are already in production, that's unlikely to be the case.
Tuesday January 18, 2022 2:41 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's largest manufacturing partner Foxconn is again offering bumper signing bonuses to new and former workers in an effort to boost recruitment at its Zhengzhou campus, one of its main iPhone factories in China, according to the South China Morning Post.
The report claims Foxconn is giving returning workers a signing bonus of 9,500 yuan ($1,470), in addition to a monthly income of 6,865...
Wednesday September 29, 2021 5:27 am PDT by Sami Fathi
The newly launched iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro are apparently hitting a snag in production, mainly due to a new wave of health concerns and limited manufacturing capacity for the devices' camera systems in Vietnam, according to a new report from Nikkei Asia. The iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max all feature sensor-shift optical image stabilization, a feature...
Tuesday December 21, 2021 12:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple will see flagship iPhone 13 production begin on Indian soil early next year, courtesy of Foxconn's factory in Chennai, reports the Economic Daily News.
The plans come following a reported improvement of semiconductor supply in the region, as well as a successful trial production run of the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 by Foxconn. Mass production is set to start in February, and the Foxconn...
Wednesday August 25, 2021 2:09 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple supplier Luxshare has reported record revenue and profit in the first half of 2021, thanks largely to the Chinese assembler's increasing involvement in Apple's supply chain.
From a new report by Nikkei Asia:
The Guangdong-based company sometimes called "Little Foxconn," which has been deepening its relationship with Apple and is assembling iPhones for the U.S. technology giant for the ...
Friday October 1, 2021 4:27 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple supplier Foxconn has agreed to buy a former General Motors factory in Ohio, a move that potentially puts it in a better position to assemble cars for Apple, should the tech giant choose to formally enter the automotive sector in the future (via Bloomberg).
Image credit: Dustin Franz/Bloomberg The purchase is part of a $280 million deal Foxconn has agreed with embattled automaker...
Apple has put Foxconn's factory near Chennai in southern India on probation following worker protests and the discovery of substandard living conditions (via Bloomberg).
The factory in Sriperumbudur, which assembled iPhone 12 models prior to operations being suspended, has been shut down until "necessary improvements" are made. An Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg:Following recent concerns...
Apple's largest manufacturing partner Foxconn is offering "record-high" signing bonuses in an effort to recruit workers for iPhone 13 production over the next few months, according to the South China Morning Post.
iPhone 13 Pro in Matte Black render via EverythingApplePro The report claims Foxconn is offering up to 8,000 yuan ($1,235) as a signing bonus to former workers willing to return...
Thursday August 12, 2021 4:59 am PDT by Sami Fathi
Foxconn, one of Apple's largest suppliers, has said it will begin construction of all-electric vehicle plants in the United States and Thailand this year, with hopes of them being operational by 2023, according to a report from Nikkei Asia.
From the report: Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics producer, on Thursday said it will build electric vehicle manufacturing facilities...
Apple's AirPods have been credited with saving a woman's life after a potentially fatal fall, People reports.
When a 60-year-old florist in New Jersey tripped and hit her head in her studio, she lost consciousness and awoke heavily bleeding. With nobody around to call for help, she realized she had her AirPods in, and used a "Hey Siri" command to call 911. An operator was able to stay on the ...
Apple will no longer include EarPods with every iPhone sold in France, starting on January 24, according to a notice posted by a French carrier (via iGeneration). Apple was previously required to include EarPods in the box with the iPhone due to a French law that required every smartphone sold in the country to come with a "handsfree kit," but the law has now been changed in favor of reducing the ...
Following months of bleak news about Peloton's "precarious state," including the revelation that it has halted production of its bikes and treadmills, Apple is being floated as a potential buyer of Peloton's troubled fitness business.
Yesterday, CNBC reported that Peloton will temporarily stop production of its connected fitness products due to a "significant reduction" in consumer demand, a ...
Sunday January 23, 2022 2:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has always emphasized the depth of thought that goes into the design of its products. In the foreword to Designed by Apple in California, a photo book released by the company in 2016, Jony Ive explains how Apple strives "to define objects that appear effortless" and "so simple, coherent and inevitable that there could be no rational alternative."
But every once in a while even Apple...
Thursday January 20, 2022 8:32 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Earlier this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tweeted that Apple "will be holding a spring event" to announce a new iPhone SE and other hardware. In a recent edition of his newsletter, Gurman said the event is likely to occur in March or April.
Gurman did not elaborate on what "other hardware" will be announced at Apple's purported spring event, but rumors suggest at least four products are...
Sunday January 23, 2022 10:32 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a number of new products that are set to launch this fall, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that it will be "the widest array" of new devices that Apple has introduced in its history.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explains that Apple is working on four new flagship iPhones (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max), an updated low-end Ma...
Thursday January 20, 2022 4:01 pm PST by Juli Clover
The watchOS 8.4 release candidate that was seeded to developers and beta testers this morning addresses an ongoing bug that could cause some Apple Watch chargers not to work properly with the Apple Watch.
Back in December, we reported on a growing number of charging issues that Apple Watch Series 7 owners were facing. Since watchOS 8.3, there have been a number of complaints about...
Thursday January 20, 2022 1:30 pm PST by Juli Clover
The macOS Monterey 12.2 and iOS 15.3 release candidates that came out today appear to address a Safari bug that could cause your recent browsing history and details about your identity to be leaked to malicious entities.
As shared last week by browser fingerprinting service FingerprintJS, there is an issue with the WebKit implementation of the IndexedDB JavaScript API. Any website that uses...
Friday January 21, 2022 12:43 pm PST by Juli Clover
Earlier this week, Apple began requiring that customers taking advantage of educational discounts in the United States verify their status as a teacher, student, or school staff member through UNiDAYS.
The requirement was a major change as Apple had never asked customers to go through a verification process in the United States before, and now, just three days after verification was added,...
Top Rated Comments
iPhone 12 is $829, up from the $699 iPhone 11.
Oh wait.