Report: Apple Demands Suppliers Switch to Robotics for Manufacturing

[cjsuk]

Marx explained this in Das Kapital and had a solution

Yes and where did that go? Well it lead to an extremist ideology where peaceful revolution failed to work. So they went for violent revolution instead. Through classicide, followed immediately by mass starvation because the apparatus of society collapsed as it was being consolidated into yet another power structure. Good job. Really worked well that one.

Holiday photo from 2023 in Bishkek - Engels and Marx discussing to this day where they screwed up.

 

[Happy_John]

Marx explained this in Das Kapital and had a solution

I've spent time in communist countries. Marx may have had a theoretical solution, the reality of that solution applied to the real world was.... not good.

There's a reason why any Central and Eastern European country that had a communist system are now countries where the general population despises communism.

The reality of communism is not something we should aspire to. It was tried, it failed.

And supposedly communist countries in the world today are realistically capitalism but where the state ( i.e. the government) does not allow a separation of government and corporate. China is a rabidly capitalistic country.

Then you have North Korea, that is just a feudal monarchy pretending to be a "people's republic".

 

[alphaod]

Surely organically grown robots are okay? Even comes with advanced intelligence if needs upgrades without having to manually reprogram.

 

[Ctrlos]

iPhone 18: Built for Apple Intelligence by Apple Intelligence.

 

[timber]

Yes, this is the huge problem, and as yet we don't have a convincing solution for it.

We can't simply make "fake jobs", we can't tell people to dig a hole and then fill it in.

Wehn. I started out in work, I was working in printing and publishing ( hence Macs). I remember very early on meeting an older guy who was, frustrated, to say the least. He was a typesetter. He physically set type and made plates for printing. And his job didn't exist anymore. Telling him to learn DTP wasn't a valid option because 1) that wasn't what he'd spent his working life doing up until now and 2) there were hundred sof young design school graduates who did know their way around DTP packages coming up behind him.

Yes, companies manufacture products to sell. But there needs to be people with enough disposable income to buy the things that are manufactured. People get an income from working.

The robots don't get paid, and, even if they did, they have no burning desire to buy cars or laptops.

I'm in electrical engeneering namely power systems. My first job was doing grid planning studies in our TSO (transmission systems operator).
We had a couple of guys that used to draw grid maps. They had large offices with gigantic drawing tables but they didn't really have anything to do. By that time the simulation software (PSS/E) outputed everything you needed.
I was just fresh out of school and perhaps to better use space they put me with one of them.
He was a nice guy hanging there until retirement (as far as I know at some time they got offered early retirement).
I didn't really know what he did everyday (besides collecting and consuming almost every existing cigarette brand) until one day he asked if I liked girls. I say... yes... of course. Then I got an endless stream of powerpoints. Now I knew what he did everyday. A few weeks later it dried out when I didn't send anything in return.

 

[Happy_John]

Surely organically grown robots are okay? Even comes with advanced intelligence if needs upgrades without having to manually reprogram.

Organically grown robots? You mean "humans"?

The Origin Of The Word 'Robot'

'Robot' was the brainchild of the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, who introduced it in a 1920 play.

www.sciencefriday.com

 

[Kottu]

Good move. Hope that Apple won’t force suppliers to integrate SIRI to control Robots!

If iPhones can be assembled only with robots, they can open a factory in US.

 

[klasma]

Meanwhile, Apple themselves haven’t managed to release any robot yet.

 

[klasma]

Organically grown robots? You mean "humans"?

Humans are infested with antibiotics and microplastics, hardly “organic”.

 

[now i see it]

I dunno. There’s a certain satisfaction screwing millions of tiny screws into tiny electric gadgets by hand

 

[Downundermac]

So extremist right wing politics, starvation, unemployment, recession and regional conflicts are growing massively. Is this what tech companies want? Because they are supposed to be the guys offering solutions for humanity. Instead all we see are huge corporations like Apple outsourcing jobs to robots and siding up to populist leaders who talk tough but just capitulate to corporate wish lists. That’s not a workable plan for the future of anything…

 

[randomname67873]

That’s the thing isn’t it, that everyone wants those jobs to exist but nobody wants to do them.

I disagree. I had a family member working at a manufacturing job for $30 an hour. He did that job for over 20 years. Just this year his big corporate employer moved the plant to China. Now they can pay someone $30 a month to do the same job. 🤦‍♂️

 

[coolfactor]

Long overdue. Apple should have already built a fully automated assembly approach.

The early Macs in the 1980s were built on assembly lines powered by Macs.

 

[jamesnajera]

The subsidization is an interesting point. I wonder how much of TSMC’s/Foxconn’s success is attributed to Apple’s subsidies? I also wonder how many other companies have benefited from this since Apple helped build up these companies.

On the other hand, will quality and tolerances go down?

 

[coolfactor]

I disagree. I had a family member working at a manufacturing job for $30 an hour. He did that job for over 20 years. Just this year his big corporate employer moved the plant to China. Now they can pay someone $30 a month to do the same job. 🤦‍♂️

Making a point only works if you adhere to facts. The average factory worker salary is closer to $600+ per month.

Still very low, but a far cry from these $1 a day that you suggested.

 

[HarryPot]

I disagree. I had a family member working at a manufacturing job for $30 an hour. He did that job for over 20 years. Just this year his big corporate employer moved the plant to China. Now they can pay someone $30 a month to do the same job. 🤦‍♂️

And now they don't even want to pay the employees in China.

The commodity we all have in this modern world, I sometimes wonder, if it truly is just a never ending burden. Constant online meetings, having to check and respond to emails constantly. Everyone expects an answer within minutes because well, they can reach you instantly thru instant messaging.

We are living most of our days seeing a screen that gets bigger each year. Be it our smartphone, PC, TV... do we really need that? Does having thousands of tv shows available make me happier?

Capitalism undoubtedly will only take us further down on this road.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Yeah the "financial burden", the financial burden of providing a living wage, health benefits, safe working conditions, quality products, poor Apple.

 

[randomname67873]

Making a point only works if you adhere to facts. The average factory worker salary is closer to $600+ per month.

Still very low, but a far cry from these $1 a day that you suggested.

Okay my bad. I didn’t look up the exact pay they get. So at 50 hours per week that’s $3 an hour if my math is correct. That makes it so much better. At that pay rate I don’t even think suicide nets will be necessary.

 

[ppdix]

Apple is significantly accelerating the rollout of automation and robotics across its manufacturing supply chain, DigiTimes reports.

Those poor Chinese girls in the photo are not going to be smiling much longer...

 

[ppdix]

American Robots are going to Look like Hound from Transformers...

 

[rp2011]

With robotics and automation, this is the only way Apple or any manufacturing could ever return. And that's what all American companies have been waiting for, for the cost of automation to become viable enough to return. In such a case it makes no sense to manufacture overseas with shipping cost to bring back to the US. That is why he tariffs have been so moronic. If China or whomever wanted to subsidize manufacturing and lose money, that's fine. Thank you Tina for losing your *ss on out trinkets. I don't know how long that would be be viable for them, but hey you do you. The American public has greatly benefited. But with industrial 3D printing and other new technologies, there is a possibility for some African manufacturing to return.

 

[ifxf]

so why can't we build robots in America? If labor is the biggest cost why can't factories with robots work in America?

American companies would rather repurchase stock.

 

[Naraxus]

Many many companies are switching to robotics/automated "employees" these days. Apple's just doing the smart thing and automating their line. Smart play.

 

[TVreporter]

Tim’s version of Terminator won’t be so bad since the robot takeover will be led by Siri.

 

[canadianreader]

Meanwhile, Apple themselves haven’t managed to release any robot yet.

They kinda built 2 robots Liam and Daisy for iDevices recycling.