Looking back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes iPhone manufacturing issues, MacBook’s new home, iPhone 14 performance slowdowns, foldable iPads forgotten, Apple’s Includes Homepod plans, and the best fonts for your iPhone.
The Apple Loop is here to remind you of some of the many, many discussions that have taken place around Apple over the past seven days (and you can read my weekly Android news digest on Forbes ).
Ongoing problems in China hit iPhone production
Apple is facing further delays in both its current iPhone 14 lineup and the impact on iPhone pre-production, partly due to China’s approach to CoVID-19. An 8% drop in sales over the season and a 9% drop in iPhones made in China reported a drop of 9%, an area with medium- to long-term impact.
“The US tech giant has had to deal with more than a month of disruption at its main assembler Foxconn’s gigantic factory in Zhengzhou, China, known as ‘iPhone City’, after an outbreak that began in October. Did…as the Chinese government implements its zero-coronavirus policy, a longer-term risk looms: Parts factories and assembly plants across the country may run out of workers.”
(FT.com).
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 7: Apple has announced four new iPhones, three new Apple Watches and an refresh. … [+]
MacBook production is moving
Also, against the backdrop of China’s problems, Apple plans to move some MacBook production to Taiwan for 2023. Whether this is a combination of products or a single model for a specific region to “test” Foxconn’s capabilities remains to be seen.
“Apple has tapped its top supplier, Taiwan’s Foxconn, to begin manufacturing MacBooks in the Southeast Asian country as early as May, said a source briefed on the matter. , the last one, the MacBook, took a long time to make because of the complexity of the supply chain required to make laptop computers.”
(Nikkei Asia).
Poor performance on iPhone 14 Plus
Alongside the supply chain impact, Apple faces a bit of a misfire with the iPhone 14 Plus. The large “base” iPhone has proven not to be as attractive a smartphone as we hoped. And that could have ripple effects on the iPhone 15 product mix:
“Apple is reportedly ‘seriously’ concerned about the sales performance of the iPhone 14 Plus, the 6.7-inch non-Pro version of the iPhone 14 lineup. As a result, we’re looking at ways to rebuild the iPhone lineup for next year. ”
(MacRumors).
No Foldable iPad for You
While the Android world continues to innovate and expand the meaning of mobile devices with foldable phones, Apple has not firmly entered the development race. Many of the Geekerati hope for change in the future, but it seems that is not the case.
“I think it’s unlikely that Apple will replace the iPad mini with a foldable iPad in 2025. This may go against what some media outlets had previously predicted. The foldable iPad will outperform the iPad mini.” Due to the significantly higher price, such a substitute is not reasonable.”
(Ming-Chi Kuo via Barons).
get big and smart
Fans of Apple’s smart speakers can expect a 2023 update. His next HomePod could return to the previously canceled larger speaker format.
“… Apple is working on a HomePod that is larger than the HomePod mini and close in size to the original HomePod. It provides an option for those who want something bigger but not as expensive as the original HomePod.”
(MacRumors).
And finally…
Do you know what your smartphone needs? Do you know what the world needs? You know what has to be the number one option in the zeitgeist? Comic Sans on iPhone:
“If you like your iPhone and hate the San Francisco typeface, developer Zhuowei Zhang has posted a great tool on Github. This tool temporarily “overwrites” the iOS system font with a different one. , is an app that can give your phone a new non-Apple font. Licensed Appearance. ”
(Arstecnica).
Apple Loop brings you 7 days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me for future coverage. You can read last week’s Apple Loop here. This week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
