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Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Foxconn Expects to Resume Normal Production at Chinese Plants by End of March

iPhone assembler Foxconn expects its Chinese plants to resume normal operation by the end of the month after fixing labor shortages resulting from the coronavirus outbreak (via Bloomberg).

The first quarter of the year is typically quiet for Apple and its Taiwanese ‌iPhone‌ supplier after a boom in sales over the holiday season. However, ongoing delays from the coronavirus outbreak in China could cause Apple to miss its schedule for mass producing its upcoming low-cost iPhone, according to at least one report.

"As of today, the production resumption has reached 50% of seasonal required capacity. Based on the current schedule, we shall be able to reach full seasonal capacity by the end of March," [Foxconn] said in a stock exchange filing. "There are still plenty of uncertainties which we cannot quantify around the potential impact on the full year."

Apple was planning to begin mass production on the low-cost ‌‌iPhone‌‌ in February, but sources that spoke to Nikkei last month said that meeting that target was "very challenging" and production could be delayed until March.

Current rumors have suggested Apple plans to unveil the new ‌‌iPhone‌‌ at an event that's set to take place in March, perhaps on March 31, with Apple then releasing the device on April 3. Though there are issues with production, multiple sources have said the new ‌‌iPhone‌‌ is still going to launch on time.

Foxconn slashed its 2020 revenue outlook in early February after it imposed strict quarantines at its main base in China to guard against the coronavirus outbreak. The manufacturer previously claimed the viral outbreak had had a "fairly small impact" on ‌‌iPhone‌‌ production, but since then the virus has spread to 70 countries and is responsible for 90,000 infections and 3,000 deaths, most of which have occurred in China.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE 2

Tags: Foxconn, bloomberg.com, COVID-19

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Limited iPad Pro Availability May Suggest Imminent Launch of New Models

iPad Pro models are currently showing limited availability at stores in major cities in the U.S., Australia and across Europe, Boomberg's Mark Gurman reported today.

According to a review of Apple's website that was conducted on Monday, the non-cellular 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with 512GB storage is sold out at all Apple stores in the Los Angeles area, while the same model and other versions are also sold out at many stores in New York City.

Some Apple store employees said they started noticing reduced ‌iPad Pro‌ inventory in the last week. They asked not to be identified discussing private product information.

Gurman's report leads by speculating that the supply constraints may be a possible sign of the coronavirus outbreak's impact on Apple's manufacturing supply chain, but he also concedes that the shortages could be due to new incoming ‌iPad Pro‌ models. Apple sometimes slows the flow of product units coming into its various sales channels as the next-generation models approach launch.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to launch an upgraded ‌iPad Pro‌ during the first half of 2020, perhaps as early as this month, with Apple planning to release a next-generation model with a rear-facing time-of-flight (ToF) camera system supporting 3D sensing for immersive augmented reality experiences.

Recent rumors suggest Apple is planning to hold an event on Tuesday, March 31, so if new iPad Pros are in the works for the first half of 2020, they could well be announced at this event.

However, even if an announcement is imminent, it's still possible the new ‌iPad Pro‌ model supplies could be constrained or delayed due to a slowdown in production caused by the coronavirus outbreak in China. A DigiTimes report last month claimed the new ‌‌iPad Pro‌‌ models have been slow to ramp up following the extended Lunar New Year holiday, although the Taiwan-based website maintained that launch of the new devices is expected "around March."

Gurman notes that AirPods Pro and built-to-order Macs are also continuing to show shipping delays, and some Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 5 models are listed as unavailable to buy online, although the Series 3 watch and Airpods Pro were constrained before the viral outbreak was reported.

Apple's latest iPhones and other iPads remain widely available in the U.S., although the iPhone 11 is listed as unavailable in some European countries and Australia.

In addition to the new ‌iPad Pro‌‌, rumors suggest Apple is planning to release a new low-cost iPhone and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, while more outlying launch possibilities for the first half of 2020 include a MacBook Air update, Apple's Tile-like "AirTags" item trackers, and perhaps a wireless charging mat.

Apple recently said it wouldn't meet its guidance for the March quarter due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus, citing both constrained iPhone supplies worldwide and lower customer demand for Apple products in China as the main impacts on performance for the quarter.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro

Tag: bloomberg.com

Buyer's Guide: 11" iPad Pro (Don't Buy), 12.9" iPad Pro (Don't Buy)

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Twitter Tells Employees Worldwide to Work From Home As Coronavirus Death Toll Climbs

Twitter has announced that employees are encouraged to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of a novel coronavirus that has infected at least 105 people in 15 states and killed six people in the U.S. The San Francisco-based social media company is believed to be the first major U.S. firm to announce a…

New HyperJuice USB-C and 18W Lightning Battery Pack Offers 100W of Power and 10,000mAh Capacity

Hyper has announced the launch of its HyperJuice 100W USB-C + Lightning Battery Pack, described as the "world's first" battery with an integrated 18W Apple MFi Lightning and USB-C Cable.

Around the same size as the iPhone 11, the HyperJuice can charge an iPhone from empty to 50 percent charge in under 30 minutes, and comes with an integrated 18W USB-C cable that can charge any USB-C devices including iPad Pro and Android devices.

The 10,000mAh battery pack can be easily recharged at 18W speed using the same built-in USB-C cable or using an additional USB-C input charge port.

It also supports pass-through charging, so users can charge both their HyperJuice battery pack and ‌iPhone‌ at the same time using a single USB-C charger with the cables already built into the HyperJuice.

The battery pack has a 4-stage LED battery level indicator, and weighs just 225 grams. The HyperJuice USB-C + Lightning Battery Pack (10000mAh) is now available on HyperShop.com for US$59.99.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Hyper. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Tag: Hyper

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Monday, 2 March 2020

NYC Regulators Sue Airbnb Software Partner Guesty, Accusing It of Illegal Business Model

The New York City government has been battling short-term rental service Airbnb, which has been blamed for an explosion in illegal hotels that have helped drive housing scarcity and rising rent in the city, for years. Now it’s suing Guesty, a concierge service and Airbnb preferred software partner that the city…