Computerworld reports that the shutdown of a Chinese manufacturer may affect inventories of Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks.
Taiwanese company Catcher Technology has had to temporarily close down a factory in eastern China due to complaints of a "strange odor" coming from the building. Catcher is said to be responsible for 60% of Apple's uni-body aluminum casings for Apple's notebook line. In a statement, Catcher admitted that customer supplies would be affected.
"Shipments to our customers will inevitably be affected. We already asked them to make adjustments to their (casings) procurement," Catcher President Allen Horng told a news conference.
It's not clear when the plant will resume full operations. Apple obtains the other 40% of its case supply from Foxconn.
The timing is unfortunate as we've been hearing rumors that Apple was planning on a small MacBook Pro refresh as early as this week. Rumors had suggested a processor bump was due late this year, and new part numbers have suggested an imminent launch.
Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
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The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
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Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro.
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Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup.
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Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
These are the factories we've read about where workers are constantly inhaling aluminum dust, getting sick, and even dying. The fact that authorities in China have shut it down tells you it's a pretty bad situation. What's unfortunate is that people are sick from factory work.
When the Foxconn factory exploded, there were reports that workers there too were inhaling aluminum dust and they found a lot of huge safety violations.
This factory is only finally getting attention because the smell was so bad it was bothering neighbors near the factory--imagine what it's like inside.
There is a precedent for this situation: late 19th century/early 20th century United States. It was a moral tragedy. And it was for the sake of greed. And saying the timing is unfortunate now because you are worried an unannounced, very slightly speed bumped MBP will be delayed is also greedy.
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"The timing is unfortunate as we've been hearing rumors that Apple was planning on a small MacBook Pro refresh as early as this week."
I don't remember any reporting on these rumors either. Isn't this MacRumors?
One thing is for sure. I don't want AAPL to tank because of this. I think that most investors were hoping for a homerun earnings report on Tuesday... and a small bump in the stock price. Now... who knows?
I hope someday they can bring production to the states.
Made and Designed in California
As long as people everywhere demand quality products at cheaper & cheaper prices it'll never happen.
Unless Americans want to get paid peanuts so that the cost of the products don't dramatically rise forget about it.
Greed, in terms of the profits demanded by corporations & shareholders, & the desire for cheap products demanded by consumers is the enemy of morality in business.
This factory is only finally getting attention because the smell was so bad it was bothering neighbors near the factory--imagine what it's like inside.
It was fine inside. Passed all the air-quality tests. It stunk outside because they were doing a real good job of exhausting whatever it is. Typical Chinese corruption...move the problem around instead of fixing it. In the USA we rely on Congress to do that for us.
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I hope someday they can bring production to the states.
Made and Designed in California
Well, they could move it to Canada. I understand there's a good-sized phone/tablet factory there that's not doing much these days. ;)
I hope someday they can bring production to the states.
Made and Designed in California
The only problem would be that as they are going to pay the minimum salary, nobody would like to work there. So, they'll hire illegal Mexicans. Then, Americans are going to complain that Mexicans steal their jobs.
