‘iFactory: Inside Apple’
The ABC News/Nightline special report on Foxconn and Apple just aired on the east coast. This was, as a reminder, an unprecedented look inside Apple’s factories in China, led by ABC reporter Bill Weir. (Photos here, full episode video here.) It’s worth watching.
You see what you’d expect: Sterile-looking assembly lines, young Chinese people in white gowns putting Apple products together, dingy looking dorms, the suicide nets, and a few brief statements from Foxconn workers, tied together with some context about Apple and Foxconn, and what Apple’s doing about all of this.
The half-hour goes quickly, and thanks to quick editing, there isn’t really much time for detail or drama. I’d love to see an hour or two of raw footage, to get a better idea of what it’s really like inside one of those factories. But in general, I thought it was a fair report: It definitely doesn’t look like fun, but it doesn’t look like hell, either.
Weir works in lines like, “I don’t know about you, but when I’m enjoying a delicious steak, knowing where it came from changes the experience.” But I don’t think it will do any damage to Apple.
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