Apple Awards $10 Million to COVID-19 Testing Kit Maker From Advanced Manufacturing Fund

Apple has announced it is awarding $10 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund to COPAN Diagnostics, a market leader in sample collection kits that play a critical role in COVID-19 testing across the United States.


The funding aims to allow COPAN to rapidly accelerate the supply of sample collection kits for hospitals across the U.S., expanding production from several thousand today to more than one million kits per week by early July.

Apple says it will also support COPAN's expansion to a new, larger facility in Southern California that will be built out with advanced equipment that Apple is helping to design.

"We feel a deep sense of responsibility to do everything we can to help medical workers, patients, and communities support the global response to COVID-19," said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. "COPAN is one of the world's most innovative manufacturers of sample collection kits for COVID-19 testing, and we're thrilled to partner with them so they can expand as we work to address this critical issue for our nation. I couldn't be prouder of our teams for bringing all of their energy, passion, and innovative spirit to supporting the country’s COVID-19 response."

"We're excited to forge this new relationship with Apple, whose teams are already making a huge difference with our efforts to scale up the production of our sample collection and transport kits," said Norman Sharples, CEO of COPAN Diagnostics. "Collection and transport kits are a critical component in the fight against COVID-19. At COPAN, we're excited and grateful for this partnership with Apple as our strong beliefs of innovation, quality, and excellence in manufacturing and design are perfectly aligned. Apple's operational expertise will help us increase delivery of important pre-analytical tools for medical professionals across the country at this critical time."

Apple is sourcing equipment and materials for the project from companies across the U.S., including including equipment Apple is helping design from K2 Kinetics, based in York, Pennsylvania, and MWES in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Apple has donated several million dollars toward the global COVID-19 response, including Global Citizen and America's Food Fund. It has also designed and distributed almost 10 million face shields, sourced over 30 million face masks for healthcare professionals, and developed a COVID-19 exposure notification API for use by public health authorities around the world.

CEO Tim Cook announced Apple's $1 billion Fund for Advanced Manufacturing Jobs in May 2017. The other major benefactor since then has been Corning, the makers of Gorilla Glass).

Tags: Advanced Manufacturing Fund, COVID-19 Coronavirus

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Kuo: Apple's Mini-LED Product Roadmap May Have Been Pushed Back to 2021

Apple's development of mini-LED display based hardware has not been significantly affected by the global health crisis but it may have delayed adoption of the technology in the short-term, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.


In a research note with TF International Securities today, seen by MacRumors, Kuo said mini-LED chip, panel, assembly, and terminal assembly are expected to begin mass production in the third quarter of 2020, the fourth quarter, the end of the fourth quarter, and the first quarter of 2021, respectively.

"We believe that investors do not need to worry too much about the extension of the mini LED schedule, because mini LED is a key technology that Apple will promote in the next 5 years, so even if the short-term schedule is affected by the new coronary pneumonia, it will not damage the long-term positive trend."

Apple is said to be planning four to six products with mini-LED displays over the next two to three years, according to Kuo. The analyst previously said Apple planned to release a high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an A14X chip in the third quarter of 2020 and an updated 16-inch MacBook Pro with a mini-LED display in the fourth quarter.

However, today's note suggests Apple's roadmap for the mini-LED versions of these products may have been pushed forward slightly. In March, DigiTimes said that Apple would launch multiple Mac notebook models with mini-LED backlit displays by the end of 2020, while Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said Apple plans to introduce a new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ in October or November, but without specifying which display technology it could use.

Along with a mini-LED 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, Kuo believes Apple is planning to introduce a 14.1-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with a mini-LED display, although he hasn't provided launch information for the 14.1-inch model that Apple is working on, beyond suggesting there are several mini-LED devices in the works for 2020 and 2021.

Future mini-LED displays will use approximately 10,000 LEDs, with each one below 200 microns in size. Mini-LED displays will allow for thinner and lighter product designs, while offering many of the same benefits of OLED displays used on the latest iPhones, including good wide color gamut performance, high contrast and dynamic range, and local dimming for truer blacks.

In today's note, Kuo advised investors to pay attention to the trend of mini-LEDs and reiterated that they are positively looking at the growth momentum of Apple's mini LED product roadmap.

The analyst estimates that Apple mini-LED product shipments will grow significantly by about 300 percent and 225 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Apple's active mini-LED product strategy will also force competitors to launch similar products in the next few years, which is also the key to accelerating the growth of mini-LED applications, accordinf to Kuo.

Tags: Ming-Chi Kuo, Mini-LED

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Apple Watch Continues to Dominate Global Smartwatch Market in Q1 2020

Strong online sales ensured a growth in worldwide smartwatch shipments in the first three months of this year, despite the impact of the global health crisis, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics.


Shipments grew 20 percent year on year in the first quarter, reaching 13.7 million units, up from 11.4 million units in the previous quarter. Apple Watch retained its dominant top spot with 55 percent market share, following by Samsung, with Garmin rising to third place.

In Q1 2020, 7.6 million ‌Apple Watch‌ units shipped, a 23 percent increase from the 6.2 million shipped in the same quarter a year ago. ‌Apple Watch‌'s market share was up marginally from 54 percent to 55 percent.

Samsung shipped 1.9 million smartwatch units, up from 1.7 million last year, but its market share declined from 15 percent to 14 percent, due to a combination of the health crisis in South Korea and strong competition from Garmin and other rivals.

Garmin shipped 1.1 million units, compared to 800,000 units a year ago. That's a 38 percent increase year on year and a growth in Garmin's market share from 7 to 8 percent.

Strategy Analytics predicts a slowdown in growth in the second quarter of 2020, with a recovery in the second half of the year as retail stores reopen and consumers look to smartwatches to help monitor their health.

Steven Waltzer, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, "Global smartwatch shipments grew 20 percent annually from 11.4 million units in Q1 2019 to 13.7 million in Q1 2020. Despite considerable headwinds from the Covid-19 scare, global demand for smartwatches continued to grow. Smartwatches are selling well through online retail channels, while many consumers have been using smartwatches to monitor their health and fitness during virus lockdown."

Apple is expected to launch ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 6 this fall with more rumored health-related features taking top billing, including blood oxygen level tracking, sleep tracking, and a new fitness app.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6

Tag: Strategy Analytics

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

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New MacBook Air With 512GB of Storage On Sale for $100 Off [Deal]

Apple's new gold MacBook Air with 512GB of storage is on sale for $100 off today. That brings its price down from $1299 to $1199.

The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance, letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games. Now starting with 256GB of storage, MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. With its brilliant 13-inch Retina display for vivid images and sharp text, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life combined with the power of macOS Catalina, it’s the best MacBook Air ever made.

Features:
● Stunning 13.3-inch Retina display with True Tone technology
● Backlit Magic Keyboard and Touch ID
● Tenth-generation Intel Core i5 processor
● Intel Iris Plus Graphics
● Fast SSD storage





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Ring Launches New and Improved Video Doorbell

Ring has announced the release of a new and improved entry-level Video Doorbell.

With 1080p HD video, better image quality in day and night modes, and updated motion zones, this second generation Ring Video Doorbell takes your home security to the next level. And all for the same affordable price.

“We think customers should expect more from their Video Doorbell – better hardware, improved motion detection, and easy installation – but shouldn’t have to pay a premium for it,” said Jamie Siminoff, Chief Inventor and Founder of Ring.





Spotlight Deal:
Anker SoundCore Pro+ Bluetooth Speaker On Sale for 43% Off [Deal]

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