Skip to main content

COVID-19

See All Stories

‘Exposure Notifications Off’: iPhone users notified as COVID-19 public health emergency expires

With the release of iOS 16.4 in March, Apple added the ability for health authorities to end their support for Apple’s COVID-19 Exposure Notifications feature.

Now, following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency in the United States on Thursday, many iPhone users are now receiving push notifications on their devices informing them that exposure notifications have been disabled in their area…

Expand Expanding Close

Sick iPhone workers expected to keep working, refrain from COVID-19 testing, claims report

Sick iPhone workers

A report claims that Foxconn is asking sick iPhone workers to turn up for their shifts in the Zhengzhou plant, with at least one report stating that workers are being advised not to take COVID-19 tests.

Foxconn’s campus in Zhengzhou, China, is the largest iPhone assembly plant in the world, estimated to produce around 80% of the world’s iPhone supply – including all iPhone 14 Pro models …

Expand Expanding Close

Most iPhone City COVID restrictions end, including controversial point-to-point system

iPhone City COVID restrictions | Office building in Zhengzhou

Foxconn has ended most iPhone City COVID restrictions, after the local government removed its Zhengzhou plant from a “high risk” classification. The Chinese government also finally appears to be ending the ultra-strict COVID Zero policy which was behind the restrictions.

Of particular note, the iPhone assembler has ended its controversial point-to-point system, which was a significant source of worker unrest at the plant …

Expand Expanding Close

iPhone City lockdown ended, as Foxconn plant troubles estimated to cost Apple $1B/week

iPhone City lockdown | Zhengzhou skyline

The iPhone City lockdown has ended, allowing free movement of residents and workers in Zhengzhou, China. The move will help relieve pressures at the Foxconn plant after a massive production disruption that is estimated to have cost Apple around a billion dollars a week in lost iPhone sales.

The ending of COVID-19 restrictions in the city will allow Foxconn to exit the closed-loop production process, which has been a key factor in the plant’s recent troubles

Expand Expanding Close

Foxconn admits pay error; offers compensation to those wanting to leave; Apple team on-site

Site default logo image

Foxconn admits it made a “technical error” that resulted in newly recruited iPhone workers being paid less than they had been promised. The admission follows violent clashes between workers and police at the world’s largest iPhone plant in Zhengzhou, China.

The company has pledged to correct the error for those who stay, and has offered compensation to any new recruits who no longer want to work there …

Expand Expanding Close

Violent clashes between iPhone workers and police over unpaid bonuses, lack of food, poor COVID-19 management

Site default logo image

Violent clashes between iPhone workers and police have been seen in video footage from Foxconn’s primary iPhone assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China. You can see the video clips below.

Workers say that promised bonuses (referred to in local reports as “subsidies”) have not been paid; that there is inadequate food and medical supplies for workers locked into the facility; and that the company is failing to properly separate infected and uninfected employees …

Expand Expanding Close

iPhone 14 production hit badly enough to reverse revenue growth, warns Foxconn

iPhone production | Downward trend on iPad graph

The COVID-19 disruption to iPhone 14 production at Foxconn’s primary assembly plant was bad enough for Apple to issue a warning about limited availability, and Foxconn has now issued a warning about the impact on its own prospects for the current quarter.

Foxconn says that revenue from consumer electronics assembly will fall in the all-important holiday quarter, which is usually a busy one for the company …

Expand Expanding Close

iPhone City lockdown after COVID outbreak; unclear whether total closure

Site default logo image

The Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou – colloquially known as iPhone City – is entering a week-long lockdown from today, following a growing COVID-19 outbreak within the facility.

Given that the plant was already operating closed-loop production, where workers live and work within the campus for up to a month at a time, it’s not immediately clear what form the iPhone City lockdown takes, but one report refers to it as a “seven-day closure” …

Expand Expanding Close

iPhone worker bonuses up by 1,000% as Foxconn fights to retain staff

iPhone worker bonuses

Foxconn has more than tripled iPhone worker bonuses as it fights to persuade them to remain working in extremely tough conditions amid a COVID-19 outbreak within its largest iPhone assembly plant.

For those who go further, and agree to forgo their leave this month, the bonus could amount to a 1,000% increase – from 1,500 yuan ($200) to 15,000 yuan ($2000) …

Expand Expanding Close

iPhone workers walking out after COVID-19 outbreak; Foxconn offers bonuses for staying

iPhone workers walking out | Doctor in PPE

iPhone workers have reportedly been walking out in significant numbers after an outbreak of COVID-19 at the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China.

Some are worried about the risk of the infection, while others are unhappy about Foxconn’s stringent lockdown policies, which allow the plant to continue operations …

Expand Expanding Close

Foxconn COVID-19 outbreak inside plant; impact on iPhone 14 production is ‘controllable’

Foxconn COVID outbreak | Nurse in PPE

A reported Foxconn COVID-19 outbreak in Zhengzhou – known locally as iPhone City – has been confirmed by the company, with some impact on iPhone 14 production.

However, Apple’s primary iPhone assembler says that the number of cases is low, and iPhone 14 production remains “relatively stable.” Foxconn has introduced tough lockdown rules to minimize the spread …

Expand Expanding Close

Twitter COVID-19 errors; Jack Dorsey’s regret; minor victory for Musk

Twitter COVID | Abstract image

Twitter COVID-19 misinformation labeling has got the company more into trouble as it made literally dozens of embarrassing errors this week. It mistakenly applied the label to factually correct tweets from doctors and scientists, in some cases suspending their accounts.

Twitter has offered its apologies to those affected, and promised to review its procedures to prevent any repetition …

Expand Expanding Close

Apple drops mask requirement for corporate employees ‘in most locations’

Apple Park | AAPL (9to5Mac image)

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has enforced a masking mandate for its corporate employees and retail staff. Although this mandate has been revised multiple times since then, there are still some locations where Apple employees were required to wear a mask. Now the company is dropping the mask mandate “in most places” for corporate employees.

Expand Expanding Close

Foxconn COVID-19 latest: New outbreak prompts a return to closed-loop production

Foxconn COVID | Masked woman behind glass barrier

Full-on Foxconn COVID-19 precautions are back in effect, at the request of the city government in Shenzhen, China. The company has been asked to return to closed-loop production, where workers live in dormitory accommodation on the campus, and are prohibited from physical contact with anyone outside the factory complex – including family members.

While Foxconn is downplaying the measure, it is raising concerns about a repetition of Shanghai-style lockdowns that could create extremely difficult conditions for workers and other residents, as well as significantly disrupting production …

Expand Expanding Close

Shanghai COVID-19 lockdowns see Apple move some iPad production to Vietnam for the first time

new iPad pro rumors

The Shanghai COVID-19 lockdowns have caused massive disruption to Apple’s supply chain in China, and the company has reportedly responded by moving some iPad production to Vietnam – the first time it has ever done so.

Apple suppliers have also been asked to stockpile components in readiness for any further supply chain disruption, which is causing concern for some …

Expand Expanding Close

The three reasons MacBook Pro workers broke out of plant and fought with guards

More details have emerged following eye-opening video footage of MacBook Pro workers breaking through barriers and fighting with guards at a Quanta plant in Shanghai.

While frustration at highly-restrictive ‘closed-loop’ production practices was the key issue for workers, it appears that two other factors played a role …

Expand Expanding Close