Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is rumored to be making a significant change to the battery assembly process for the upcoming iPhone 6. DigiTimes reports the tech giant will switch battery assembly to automated production.
Apple could change battery production assembly
The main reason behind this purported move is to save Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) the rising costs of minimum wage. Another reason is because many young employees in China tend to avoid manufacturing jobs. This leads to labor shortages and high employee turnover.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) already has automated production for other products like iMac and MacPros. Although this move would also allow the company to move manufacturing wherever the company would like, however it is still highly Apple would move automated assembly factories away from China.
iPhone 6 speculation heats up
Fans have a lot to speculate about as to what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will bring with the upcoming iPhone 6. There are many rumors and reports indicating the phone will feature a larger screen to compete directly with many popular Android phones. Earlier this month, analysts made a prediction of a huge iPhone 6 launch.
BGR summed it up with the following: “An analyst at Citigroup Global Markets quoted by the Chinese paper said that the iPhone 6 will help Apple further grow in the smartphone business, with shipments expected to rise 23% this year, compared to 13% growth posted a year earlier. Meanwhile, the growth rate of global smartphone shipments will slow to 28% this year, compared to 40% in the previous period.” Smartphone sales in mature markets are “likely to edge up to 4%, down from 5%” in 2013, the same analyst said.
And Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) isn’t the only company to switch manufacturing over to robots. It wasn’t all that long ago that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Bill Gates made the prediction that more jobs will go to robots instead of humans. He explained that twenty years from now, technologies will replace low skilled workers. He said software substitution is progressing.
