Foxconn produces a majority of Apple’s iPhone 5 devices but has recently been hit with manufacturing delays. According to the company the issue isn’t with their workers or equipment but rather the “complex nature” of the devices including its new coating which appears to be prone to scratching.
An unnamed official for the company recently revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the iPhone 5 is “the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled.”
That same official notes:
“To make it light and thin, the design is very complicated. It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day.”
To avoid issues in the manufacturing process the speed at which the iPhone 5 is being developed has slowed.
The Foxconn source says it has been hard to “satisfy both aesthetic needs and practical needs.” Although they admit that Foxconn has been working to increase quality control at Apple’s request.
Not all delays are believed to be caused by manufacturing issues, Foxconn employees have been regularly striking and in some cases have become engaged in violent clashes over extremely poor working conditions.
Most recently Foxconn was found to be employing underage workers who were sent to its factories by schools. Students under the age of 16 have since been sent back to their educational facilities at the urging of governmental officials.
Tear downs of the iPhone 5 have shown a complex device that fits a lot of hardware into a very small space.
