According to a new report, Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn has been having tons of trouble with the iPhone 5’s production methods. Apple described its very complex manufacturing process when the iPhone 5 was first unveiled last fall. While the beautiful design of the device has definitely paid off, Foxconn continues to have issues with its production.
“Foxconn has apparently botched a batch of iPhones, which Apple returned to the contract manufacturer because they were not fit for sale.
Details of just what went wrong are sketchy, as the source for this tale is an anonymous Foxconn staffer chatting to China Business. That report, after being forced through a couple of translation engines, suggests Apple sent back at least five million iPhones, and maybe as many as eight million, “due to appearance of substandard or dysfunctional problems.”
If the report holds any truth to it, this is definitely a lose-lose situation. With each phone costing around $200 to produce, a whopping 5 million damaged devices adds up to a huge loss for the Chinese manufacturer. However, it also hurts Apple, as it leaves the company with less iPhone supply.
It’ll be interesting to see how the production of the iPhone 5S plays out. If Apple keeps the same design on the new device as the current iPhone, I would imagine that manufacturing problems may ensue again.
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