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ABC Previews ‘Nightline’ Visit to Foxconn’s Chinese Factories
Over the weekend, ABC announced that it had been granted exclusive access to Foxconn's factories in China where the company assembled products for Apple, with the segment scheduled to air on a special edition of Nightline on Tuesday night.
ABC has now posted a preview of the segment, along with a teaser video from Nightline co-anchor Bill Weir.Apple promised complete access, no dog-and-pony, no Potemkin Village, but they denied my repeated requests to interview Apple CEO Tim Cook or the senior vice president of industrial design, Jony Ive.
In a three-golf-cart convoy, both Apple and Foxconn reps took us around to a half dozen production lines in Shenzhen and Chengdu, and there were always five to six people with us as we toured the factories and dorms. But aside from suggesting a visit to the counseling center or canteen, they never steered us to interviews and never interrupted.
The extensive preview offers comments from several Foxconn employees, as well as Louis Woo, a former Apple executive who now serves as an advisor to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, and Fair Labor Association president Auret van Heerden.
Nightline's "iFactory: Inside Apple" segment airs tomorrow, February 21, at 11:35 PM Eastern and Pacific on ABC.
Meanwhile, IDG News reports that Apple sent a letter to Proview today threatening a lawsuit over defamation charges. Apple had previously won a case over the trademark rights in a Hong Kong court, and Apple's threats claim that Proview has issued false public statements regarding the dispute.On Monday, Apple sent a letter to Chinese display vendor Proview, demanding its founder Yang Rongshan cease releasing what it said was false information to the media. Apple then warned it would sue for damages caused by "defamatory statements."
"It is inappropriate to release information contrary to the facts to the media, especially when such disclosures have the effect of wrongfully causing damage to Apple's reputation," said the letter, which was provided by a person familiar with the matter.Apple claims that a shell company it set up for the purpose of anonymously acquiring intellectual property rights purchased the iPad trademark rights in China and a number of other countries from Proview in 2009 for $55,000. But Proview later reported that the subsidiary making the deal did not hold the Chinese rights and demanded that Apple pay $10 million before a different subsidiary would transfer the rights.
The Hong Kong court ruled last year that the various Proview subsidiaries colluded in an effort to extort millions of dollar out of Apple, a figure that has now risen to $1-2 billion as Proview has continued to press its case. Chinese courts have so far sided with Proview, however, with Apple continuing to appeal there using the Hong Kong ruling to demonstrate the strength of its case.
Update: Financial Times clarifies that the court ruling today specifically related to a single retailer, Sundan. While the impact of the decision is limited due to its effect on a single retailer in a single city and the fact that it can still be appealed by Sundan, it may provide Proview with leverage as it pursues other lawsuits against resellers to try to halt the flow of iPads and force a settlement from Apple.
Last week, a Digitimes report claimed that Intel was going to delay mass availability of its new Ivy Bridge processors until after June. Ivy Bridge represents the next generation processors from Intel and are expected to power any new Macs in the coming few months. The original target date for Ivy Bridge shipments was in April.
VR-Zone now reports that the report wasn't entirely correct and that Intel will only be delaying the release specifically of mobile Dual-Core Ivy Bridge processors.Remember that article from the other day that made some people panic as Intel might've delayed Ivy Bridge to June? Well, there's no need to be worried if you're planning on getting a new desktop system, as none of the desktop parts that were originally meant to launch have been delayed and on the mobile side, only the dual core models have been pushed back.According to the site, the reason for the delay of those specific processors is due to an overstock of the previous generation chips.
What that means is that it may not have an effect on Apple's release plans for updated MacBook Pros and iMacs. Apple currently offers Quad-Core processors in their iMac, so that product line should see no added delays. The iMac was last updated in May, 2011 and is getting due for a refresh. Meanwhile, in the MacBook Pro line, the 13" model is the only MacBook Pro that currently uses a Dual-Core processor.
As it turns out, we previously reported that Intel's new Quad-Core Ivy Bridge processor will be heat efficient enough to fit in Apple's 13" MacBook chassis for the first time. The limiting factor for a Quad-Core 13" MacBook Pro had previously been the heat output of the processor. If Apple chooses to go this route, they could eliminate Dual-Core processors entirely from their MacBook Pro line, side stepping any delays.
However, this line of reasoning assumes that Apple will not be making any dramatic changes to the MacBook Pro enclosure. Persistent rumors have suggested that Apple may be considering more MacBook Air-like designs for at least some of the new MacBook Pro models. Such a drastic change would change Apple's choice of processors considerably.
It's also worth noting that Apple isn't a typical Intel customer and has, in the past, been able to secure chips earlier than the rest of the industry.
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A date code of "1146" on the A5X indicates that it was manufactured in the 46th week of 2011, which would have corresponded to November 14-20.
An "A5X" as a step-wise upgrade to the A5 corresponds with progression of processor part numbers as revealed by BGR in February. At the time the A4 was known to be the S5L8930X, the A5 as the S5L8940X and the new iPad processor as S5L8945X.
Several other features are also visible on the logic board, including a pair of 16 GB flash memory chips from Hynix and a rectangular Apple-branded chip. That chip appears to correspond to power management chips found in previous iPad teardowns but which carries a higher part number, suggesting an upgraded part.
Apple is expected to introduce the iPad 3 at a media event on March 7, with the device also receiving an ultra high-resolution display and LTE capabilities. Other claims have suggested that it will carry a slightly more tapered case design and perhaps offer an 8-megapixel rear camera.
The shell should look familiar as it seems to be the same part we previously published. The lighting, however, is much better in this shot, and reveals the more subtle changes. There are notably no markings on the back of the case besides the Apple logo, itself.
The iPad 3 enclosure seems to have a more gradual taper to the edges than the iPad 2. The taper is seen better on the top overview photograph. As a result of this longer taper, the iPad 3's camera rests on the taper itself. We saw this before but due to the dark lighting of that image, the taper seemed more exaggerated.
The absolute positioning of the camera doesn't seem that far off from the iPad 2, but the lens does appear larger. According to NextMedia, the new iPad 3 camera will see a significant upgrade to 8 megapixels. The current iPad 2 back camera is 1 megapixel in resolution. The site also summarizes many of the other expectations for the iPad 3, such as an improved display, quad-core CPU, and a March 7th announcement date.
We've seen a rumor from the site only once before. They predicted new MacBooks, MacBook Pros and MacBook Air models back in April 5, 2010. The MacBook Pros (alone) did launch 8 days after that report, though some of the details (hard drive sizes) didn't match up to the report. Overall, the images here seem to match up to other parts that have been floating around China. Apple Daily is described, however, as a "tabloid-style" newspaper, but the Hong Kong edition is said to be quite popular as the second best selling publication.
CNet reports that Apple has settled a class action suit over the iPhone 4's antenna. The settlement comes from 18 separate lawsuits that were consolidated into one. All share the claim that Apple was "misrepresenting and concealing material information in the marketing, advertising, sale, and servicing of its iPhone 4--particularly as it relates to the quality of the mobile phone antenna and reception and related software."When the iPhone 4 launched in 2010, some customers were affected by low signals and dropped calls that were believed to be related to the iPhone 4's external antenna. At the time, Apple's response was a press conference as well as a refund offer for iPhone 4 customers or free bumper cases.
Based on the preliminary approval, U.S. residents who bought the iPhone 4 will be entitled to $15 in cash or a bumper case provided by Apple. The lawyers claim that the 25 million customers may be eligible.
Update: The Loop's Jim Dalrymple has obtained a statement from Apple on the settlement:“This settlement relates to a small number of customers who indicated that they experienced antenna or reception issues with their iPhone 4 and didn’t want to take advantage of a free case from Apple while it was being offered in 2010,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison told me on Saturday.
ABCNews reports that Apple has given Nightline anchor Bill Weir exclusive access to their suppliers' factories in China."For years, Apple and Foxconn have been synonymous with monster profits and total secrecy so it was fascinating to wander the iphone and iPod production lines, meet the people who build them and see how they live. Our cameras were rolling when thousands of hopeful applicants rushed the Foxconn gates and I spoke with dozens of line workers and a top executive about everything from hours and pay to the controversies over suicides at the plant and the infamous "jumper nets" that line the factories in Shenzhen. After this trip, I'll never see an Apple product the same way again" said WeirThis special edition of "Nightline" will air Tuesday, February 21st at 11:35pm ET on ABC.
Apple and Foxconn have been under fire due to working conditions in the factories that manufacture iPads and iPhones. Apple has also allowed the Fair Labor Association to start auditing their factories. FLA has reportedly uncovered "tons of issues" that will need addressing. A full report is to be coming in the next few weeks.
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