Reuters reports on a riot that broke out earlier today at Foxconn's facilities in Taiyuan, China, forcing the company to temporarily shutter the plant as it cleans up the damage and investigates the situation. The cause of the riot, which reportedly involved about 2,000 workers, remains unclear, with the company claiming that it began as a personal dispute between workers while other sources have indicated that it stemmed from security guards beating workers for unspecified reasons.
It was not clear how long the shutdown would last at the plant, which employs about 79,000 people in the northern Chinese city of Taiyuan, while police and company officials investigate the cause of the disturbance. [...]
"The plant is closed today for investigation," Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo told Reuters. An employee contacted by telephone said the closure could last two or three days.
M.I.C. gadget shares a number of photos and videos from the scene, showing overturned vehicles, broken windows, and small fires.
The report also claims that an iPhone 5 production line was damaged in the riots, but that information does not appear to have been confirmed. As detailed in an undercover report from earlier this month, Foxconn's Taiyuan facility is involved in the production of the iPhone 5 black plate, and a multi-day shutdown at the plant could potentially have an impact on overall device production depending on existing supplies of the part in the assembly chain.
Update 11:12 AM: CNET reports that Foxconn has issued a statement saying that production at the closed facility will resume tomorrow and confirming that there were no deaths from the rioting. Reports have, however, indicated that at least 40 people were injured.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
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We've known for quite some time about Apple's plans for a thinner "iPhone 17 Air" coming later this year, but wow, the latest dummy models give us our best look yet at just how thin this phone is going to be.
Other Apple news and rumors this week included another iOS 18.5 beta, the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch launch, and more management reshuffling in Apple's Siri division, so read...
Repression, riots, people no doubt hurt whats the headline "Impact on iPhone 5 Production Unclear" How sad to see everything reduced just so people can have the latest toy a bit earlier.
People in general seem to forget that Foxconn makes a lot more than just Apple products. To draw a connection that Foxconn = Apple is misleading at best.
I'm not really concerned about the supply chain (even if it's at all effected it would be minimal), but the cause of the riot is what I'm concerned about. Security guards beating workers? That's messed up. :(
I'd love to see Apple spend some of their $100B+ on bringing their manufacturing back to the US. Of course then they'd have to pay US taxes on that money....
Still, American company - and most valuable in the world - would be awesome to have their products (if not fully) at least mostly made in the USA.