Foxconn

iPhone 5 easier to find in stores, analysts say

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

There is at least a 7-in-10 chance that you can now find an iPhone 5 on store shelves, according to one analyst Wednesday. The once-elusive smartphone may soon be available for same-day purchase from Apple Stores, the Wall Street observer told investors. The report by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster (I know, don't start) follows news that iPhone 5 units ordered through Apple's website have a two-week shipping delay, down from as much as three weeks. His comments echo those by fellow Apple watcher Shawn Wu of Sterne Agee, who described the wider availability of the iPhone 5 as "much improved"...

Foxconn begins deploying robots to replace factory workers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 14, 2012

Back in August, Cody told you that Foxconn, Apple's favorite component-making company, was intending to replace an unspecified amount of its assembly line workers with one million robots over the next three years. Today, a new report out of China claims the contract manufacturer has begun deploying sophisticated machines that will take care of labor-intensive assembly work. The move is intended to improve manufacturing efficiency and combat rising labor costs while also ensuring the best possible build quality so issues like Scuffgate might become a thing of the past...

Apple catching up to iPhone 5 demand at US Apple Stores

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 9, 2012

After Foxconn admitted to falling behind iPhone 5 orders, it seems that supply of Apple's popular handset is finally catching up with demand. That's the word from one veteran Apple watcher who told investors Friday that inventory of the smartphone at Apple's brick-and-mortar stores are at their highest level yet. For the first time, availability of iPhone 5 models for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint customers topped 20 percent.

The iPhone 5 version for Sprint remains the most available, with 84 percent of Apple Stores reporting inventory for that model. The AT&T version followed with 54 percent and Verizon with 24 percent, according to a Wall Street survey conducted by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster...

Foxconn reportedly looking to build factories in the US

Cody Lee ∙ November 8, 2012

One of the hot button economic and political issues in the US right now is how do we bring back manufacturing jobs? The unemployment rate is extremely high right now, and a lot of folks are suggesting we try to get back the thousands of manufacturing positions that have been sent overseas.

Apple is frequently brought up in this conversation due to its size and visibility. The company now sells some 50 million iDevices each quarter, and they're all made outside of the country. But that may not be the case much longer. According to a new report, Foxconn is looking to build plants in the US...

The Fair Labor Association accused of being too easy on Apple and Foxconn

Cody Lee ∙ November 8, 2012

The working conditions inside Foxconn's plants are constantly under scrutiny. But different reports seem to paint different pictures about what it's really like beyond the gates. One month we'll hear that Apple isn't doing enough to prevent child labor and long hours inside the factories. And the next we'll hear the opposite, with the factories passing inspections and praised for their improvements.

So what gives? Well according to a new study, the Fair Labor Association — the group responsible for holding Apple and its supply chain accountable for this stuff — has been going way too easy on them and has even been fabricating its reports...

Foxconn admits to falling behind iPhone 5 demand

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Terry Gou, the CEO and chairman of Foxconn which assembles Apple's iPhone and many other products, admitted in an interview with Reuters today that his company continues to face production hurdles meeting the massive iPhone 5 demand. It's not surprising that the world's largest contract manufacturer is coping with production issues.

The company recently acknowledged that the iPhone 5 is "the most difficult device" it has ever assembled. In particular, the sophisticated handset with its in-cell display assembly technique and the excquisite Unibody chassis is proving challenging even for Foxconn to make in enough quantities. On top of that, Apple has tightened quality control following reports of teething issues with scratches and nicks from "normal" wear and tear...

Did Apple bail out Sharp to the tune of $2 billion?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

A detective story of sorts is unfolding in Silicon Valley. Did Apple spend $2 billion to prevent Japan's Sharp going under and putting the iPhone 5 in jeopardy? That's the belief of one analyst who did what all good investigators do: follow the money. Sharp was in financial trouble. It lost $1.3 billion in early 2012, was facing another $2.3 billion due in 2013 and lost a potential lifeline from Foxconn.

In late August came word that Sharp's production of touchscreens for the then unreleased iPhone 5 had slowed. A delay could crimp the Cupertino, California company's ability to meet the expected high demand for its new product. But just weeks after that dire warning, news broke in September that Sharp was producing "mass quantities" of the displays. What caused the sudden turn-around? Apple, some say...

Foxconn’s profits rise sharply on new Apple product launches

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2012

Shares of Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer that assembles Apple's iPhone, iPad and a number of products for other big names in tech, posted its third-quarter earnings yesterday. The results are stronger than expected and attributed to high demand for the iPhone 5, warm iPad mini reception and the incoming new iMac, which arrives in November and is already predicted to be in short supply.

On the other hand, investors are also concerned over Apple's long-term growth prospect and Foxconn becoming too dependent on the Cupertino, California designer of shiny gadgets...

Journalist tours Foxconn’s Shenzhen campus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

If you were to ask someone what they thought of Foxconn today, chances are their response would be negative. And for good reason. Over the past few years, we've heard horror stories about the manufacturing giant regarding terrible working conditions and child labor, and we've seen the pictures of the windows with prison bars and the suicide nets.

And that's exactly the kind of scene James Fallows, a journalist for The Atlantic, prepared himself for, as he set out on a tour of Foxconn's famous Shenzhen campus. He was ready to see the dark, depressing work environment and the somber, joyless employees that he had read so much about in other reports. But it didn't go at all how he expected...

Foxconn’s comment on iPhone 5 production woes: “practice makes perfect”

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 17, 2012

Media reports about Scuffgate related to the widely reported quality-control issues with iPhone 5 manufacturing have subdued a bit as we head into the iPad mini press conference next Tuesday. That said, it's a tad surprising Apple's favorite contract manufacturer Foxconn would agitate spirits by explaining to The Wall Street Journal why the iPhone 5 is so difficult to manufacture.

Apple's phone, in Foxconn's words, is "the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled". Workers are assembling iPhones in two new plants they are not familiar enough with, using brand new production processes that take time to perfect. Build quality will improve over time as workers advance their skills, but only to the extent of the limitations regarding the handset's anodized coating...

Foxconn admits to hiring teens to do the work

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 16, 2012

Foxconn is the world's largest contract manufacturer and Apple's favorite contractor. Its sweatshops in China are under a constant barrage of criticism regarding labor conditions. Apple and Foxconn have been working to cut long hours and increase wages (twice), but when you have to deal with a workforce of approximately one million individuals, it's virtually impossible to deal with individual abuses that may occur.

Except, of course, that Foxconn has a pattern of underage labor and other serious workplace violations. Also, being the world's biggest manufacturer doesn't help because the media tends to zero in on Foxconn and Apple to make an example. The following story underscores how the two parties have not done nearly enough to prevent workplace abuses...

Apple reportedly looking to expand iPhone production to Foxconn subsidiary

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 22, 2018

Over the past few weeks, we've been hearing about problems within Foxconn's production lines regarding the iPhone 5. Workers are unhappy with the complicated manufacturing procedures, and higher quality standards, and thousands have even gone on strike.

These problems are said to be one of the main factors in the iPhone 5 supply constraint Apple is seeing worldwide. It's three weeks after launch, and the handset is still seeing shipping times of 3-4 weeks. But rumor has it that Apple is working on a solution...