China

Popular Chinese mobile app company WeChat [Direct Link] congratulated Apple on ten years of the iPhone earlier this morning, with founder Allan Zhang posting photos online from the iPhone's unveiling in January 2007. Simultaneously, WeChat parent company Tencent Holdings launched a suite of cloud-based smartphone apps that analysts believe suggests WeChat intends to "play a leading role in...

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...

Apple recently struck a deal with Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, known as the world's largest wind turbine maker, which will bring clean energy into the production processes and manufacturing plants of Apple's partner facilities in China (via South China Morning Post). Specifically, Goldwind's wholly-owned subsidiary Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment will transfer a 30 percent...

As Apple's iPhone 6s is facing scrutiny in China over a battery issue that causes unexpected shutdowns, a Chinese consumer group has complained of a separate problem with the iPhone 6 - spontaneous battery fires. According to the The Wall Street Journal, the Shanghai Consumer Council says it received eight reports from Chinese users claiming their smartphones spontaneously caught on fire, but...

Apple has announced it will be opening a new retail store at Vanke Mall in Qibao, an ancient town and popular tourist destination in the suburbs of Shanghai, China, on Saturday, December 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The location will become Apple's seventh retail store in Shanghai and its 489th store overall. Apple is closing in on 500 retail stores worldwide following the grand openings of...

Apple has hired a former reporter and columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Wei Gu, to its public relations department in Shanghai, China. Gu's role, per LinkedIn (via TechCrunch) will be PR Director, which she began this month. Gu's professional history spans 18 years and includes jobs at CNN and Reuters, working as a video journalist and reporter to break news regarding technology companies ...

A collection of companies based in the United States could face "impaired" blowback if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign plan of imposing a 45 percent tariff on imports from China, as well as considering China "a currency manipulator." According to Chinese newspaper Global Times, these actions will not only negatively affect China's reputation, but "the trade...

Xiaomi surprised at its Beijing event today by announcing the Mi Mix, the "world's first edgeless display" phone, alongside the company's new Mi Note 2. Designed by French designer Philippe Starck, the Mi Mix is a 6.4-inch device that features a 2040x1080 pixel, 17:9 aspect ratio borderless display that takes up 91.3 percent of the front of the handset. The only significant bezel sits at the...

Xiaomi unveiled its latest phablet phone, the Mi Note 2, at an event in Beijing today, with the clear intention of filling the void left by the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The Note 2 is the newest model in Xiaomi's premium Mi line and features a 5.7-inch flexible OLED display that sits under a panel of wraparound glass and curves around the sides of the handset. On the rear is a...

China has "shattered" records with the highest iOS revenue quarter reported to date, for any country that has been tracked by app intelligence firm App Annie. In total, the country is now the number one largest market in the world for App Store revenue on Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, with its record-breaking number sitting at $1.7 billion for Q3 2016. China is now 15 percent ahead of the...

Apple announced tonight that it would open a new research and development center in Shenzhen, China, continuing attempts to boost its presence in the country, reports Reuters. The move comes a couple weeks after Apple opened a Beijing R&D center, which was announced in August. Shenzhen's High-Tech Industrial Park, >Photo by Brucke Osteuropa Cook announced the new Shenzhen plan during a...

Apple has set up its first research and development center in China in Zhongguancun Science Park, according to a statement released by the Zhongguancun Park Management Committee (via DigiTimes). Zhongguancun is a technology hub situated in the Haidian District in northwestern Beijing and is very well known in China. Often referred to as "China's Silicon Valley", the area has gathered nearly...

Apple today announced that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018. The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China. Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable ...

Apple is planning an all-new research and development center in China, attempting to boost its presence and market share in the country following multiple reports of the iPhone's dwindling returns as users flock towards low-cost alternatives. The R&D center, said "to be built by the end of the year," will mark Apple's first location of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region (via Reuters). The...

In China, low-cost smartphones have brought an overall uptick in sales in the second quarter of 2016, while high-end devices -- from companies like Apple and Samsung -- continue to face declining sales numbers in the country (via DigiTimes). Local vendors in China are said to be "focused on promoting entry-level and mid-range 4G models," instead of trying to convince the Chinese public that Apple ...

Over the weekend we reported that Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing had agreed to acquire the Chinese operations of rival Uber in a deal worth $35 billion. In a Reuters story filed yesterday, sources close to both companies revealed that Apple's $1 billion investment in Didi Chuxing was the driving factor in Uber's decision to agree to the deal, in return for a one-fifth stake in a...

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi had a surprise in store for attendees of its new Redmi Pro smartphone launch event today, unveiling its first ever PC laptop, named the "Mi Notebook Air". The familiar-named $750 aluminum notebook closely resembles a MacBook and features a 13.3-inch 1080p display, up to 2.7GHz Intel Core i5-6200U processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB solid-state storage, and a...

In today's third quarter earnings report, Apple revealed a significant drop in revenue from Greater China, which is down 33 percent year over year. Revenue from China was at $8.9 billion in Q3 2016, down from $13 billion in Q3 2015. During the followup earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company continues to be encouraged about growth in the country despite the decline in revenue and...

Apple became a target of anti-U.S. protest in China this week, following an international ruling against the country's controversial territorial claims. Reuters reports that a "handful" of unofficial Apple stores were picketed and social media users encouraged each other to destroy their Apple products, as the company became a symbol of perceived injustice in its biggest overseas market....

Apple is being sued by a subsidiary of China's broadcasting regulator over the showing of a propaganda film more than 20 years old, according to the Associated Press. A Beijing court told AP on Saturday that the case had been brought by a state-run production center which alleges Apple has infringed on its exclusive online rights to broadcast Xuebo dixiao. The title loosely translates as...