Apple Reportedly Axes Mixed-Reality Headset's Exclusive Manufacturing Partner
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron, which was believed to be the exclusive partner for assembly of Apple's mixed-reality headset, has been removed from the device's supply chain, DigiTimes reports.
The
paywalled report explains that Apple requested Pegatron to hand over manufacturing and final assembly operations to Chinese supplier Luxshare. This process apparently finished in March.
DigiTimes suggests that the change may be related to Pegatron moving some of its production capacity from China to other regions, which includes selling its factory in Shanghai to Luxshare.
Pegatron designed the production process for the headset that has now been handed-off to Luxshare, but the company may not see the loss negatively since manufacturing for Apple requires large volume to maintain profit margins. Since Apple's headset is expected to be manufactured in low volume as both the software and hardware have yet to mature and it is an unproven market, it may be initially unprofitable for suppliers, who have pinned their hopes on the long-term potential of headset devices.
Luxshare's takeover marks the first time a Chinese company will be solely responsible for the manufacture and assembly of a new Apple product at launch. To date, Apple device manufacturing has first been developed and undertaken by companies in Taiwan before gradually handing off to Chinese firms.
Luxshare already manufactures AirPods for Apple, alongside several iPhone and Apple Watch models. In the future, the company is also expected to help supply the iPhone 15 Pro Max, upcoming MacBooks, and even Apple's long-rumored electric vehicle.
Popular Stories
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
Apple headset concept render by Marcus Kane.
Top Rated Comments
I was like, wow, sounds like Apple will be back to being more focused again without nonsense products.
Then, I kept reading...