DigiTimes

Last month, Japanese blog Mac Otakara reported that Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models featuring USB-C ports based on the Thunderbolt 3 protocol by the end of June, and begin shipping the notebooks to retailers in August. It is now seven weeks later, however, and the rumor has yet to materialize. But if a new report from Taiwanese website DigiTimes is to believed, Apple still has ...

Apple is planning to unveil the second-generation Apple Watch in September or October, according to a new report from DigiTimes citing supply chain sources in a wider piece on weakening demand for tablets and wearables. Component makers and Apple suppliers are said to be seeing "rather conservative orders" for the new Apple Watch despite its upcoming release date, information that directly...

Apple is demanding price cuts on components for the new iPhone from its overseas suppliers to maintain its high profit margins, despite a global slowdown in smartphone sales, according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes. The report claims several large Taiwan-based component suppliers such as Foxconn, Largan Precision, and Pegatron have already been affected, while strong competition in Greater...

Samsung Display will remain the global leader among AMOLED display suppliers over the next few years, with shipments estimated to increase to 560 million units by 2019, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes Research. Samsung Electronics, which produces the company's lineup of Android-based Galaxy smartphones, is expected to remain Samsung Display's largest customer over the next few years,...

Apple may switch to micro-LED displays for the Apple Watch in the second half of 2017 at the earliest, moving away from the current OLED technology used, according to supply chain sources for Taiwanese website DigiTimes. The timeline suggests that the much-rumored Apple Watch 2 lineup expected to debut in the second half of 2016 will continue to have OLED displays, with the move towards...

Apple will rely on multiple manufacturing partners to assemble the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, including Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron, according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes. The new 4.7-inch model will reportedly be assembled by Foxconn and Pegatron, while the 5.5-inch model will be made by Foxconn and Wistron. Apple typically diversifies suppliers to aim for a smooth iPhone launch....

In line with Apple CEO Tim Cook's recent comments about "very strong" iPhone SE demand exceeding supply, the company has reportedly increased orders for the low-priced 4-inch smartphone in the second quarter of 2016. DigiTimes claims that the second-quarter outlook for iPhone SE-related chip orders has been revised to more than 5 million units, up from 3.5-4 million, and the upward trend is...

Less than five months before Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, supply chain rumors continue to suggest that the next-generation smartphones will be both fully waterproof and dustproof. Apple is also reportedly testing a touch-sensitive home button for its upcoming flagship handset, possibly meaning the iPhone 7 could have a flush home button, according to Taiwanese...

The launch of the iPhone SE in China has squeezed market share from local brands causing handset makers to rein in their inventory stockpiling for future component shipments, according to sources in the supply chain (via DigiTimes). The introduction of the relatively low-priced iPhone SE into the Chinese market has reportedly affected the performance of brands including Huawei, Xiaomi...

Last November it was reported that Apple was working with suppliers to "fully redesign" many of the MacBook's internal components to achieve a slimmer design. Today, DigiTimes reports one of those redesigns is a move to metal injection mold-made hinges. Metal injection molding is a metalworking process that's used to create very small metal pieces that are typically used by Apple for the...

With the Apple Watch 2 expected to launch in the second half of 2016, supply chain informant DigiTimes reports that Samsung and other overseas manufacturers have secured component orders for the next-generation device. Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering will fulfill the majority of system-on-a-chip production, while Amkor Technology and STATS ChipPAC will share a portion of...

Apple is reportedly working with China-based server vendor Inspur to help transfer its iCloud data services in-house, according to sources out of the China supply chain (via DigiTimes). Currently Apple is thought to rely heavily on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host many of its cloud server requirements, but the company’s data center plans suggest it is looking to scale back the money it...

Following multiple reports claiming Apple will release its first OLED-based iPhone as early as 2017, DigiTimes Research says that Apple manufacturer Foxconn will develop AMOLED displays through its recent investment in troubled Japanese electronics maker Sharp.Sharp will set up one 4.5G and two 6G AMOLED production lines with monthly capacity of 13,000, 11,500 and 34,500 glass substrates...

Chip orders from Apple for the second quarter of 2016 have been notably slow, according to unnamed sources in the integrated circuit supply chain (via DigiTimes). Overall, chip orders placed by Apple for Q2 are expected to be only slightly higher than those for Q1, despite the launch of the company's 4-inch iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro earlier this month. First-week sales of Apple's new...

While some customers were hopeful that Apple would release new Macs at its "Let Us Loop You In" media event yesterday, the product announcements were focused on the new 4-inch iPhone SE, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and additional Apple Watch bands. But those waiting patiently for a Mac refresh may not have much longer to wait, as DigiTimes today reported that Apple will begin shipping new "ultra-thin"...

Communications chip maker and Apple supplier Broadcom is planning to phase out its Wi-Fi chip business in order to streamline its workforce and product line, according to industry sources in Taiwan (via DigiTimes). The move follows the company's recent acquisition by Avago Technologies and forms part of a larger strategy to allocate more resources for research and development in the...

Apple is rumored to be further expanding the iPhone's screen size beyond the current 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, moving to 5.8 inches in a future device that could launch "in 2018 or even earlier in 2017." The news comes from a pre-publication report by DigiTimes that has been obtained by The Motley Fool, and it states that the 5.8-inch iPhone will include an OLED display, in line with previous...

Apple will ship 9.8 million iPads in the first quarter of 2016, potentially its lowest quarterly tablet sales since the iPad 2 in mid 2011, according to Taiwan-based DigiTimes Research. The research note claims Apple will account for 21% of global tablet shipments, trailed by Samsung Electronics with 14% market share. If the sales prediction proves to be accurate, 9.8 million iPad sales...

Taiwan-based Largan Technology as well as Japan- and China-based camera lens makers have sent dual-lens camera test samples to Apple for potential inclusion in its next-generation iPhone, according to sources from the upstream supply chain (via DigiTimes). The same source notes that Largan currently supplies over 60 percent of Apple's smartphone cameras, leading some market analysts to believe ...

Apple is expected to refresh its MacBook lineup in 2016 with Intel's faster Skylake processors and Thunderbolt 3 with USB-C, and supply chain sources now indicate the updated notebooks may see a staggered launch throughout the year. The company's manufacturing partners are expected to start producing new 12-inch MacBook and 13-inch MacBook Pro models around late March or early April, followed...