The iPhone 5 is Apple’s most recent and advanced gadget on the market, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that that it was difficult to produce. What is surprising is the supply shortage of phones, but there might be an explanation for that.
One unnamed executive from Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) reported to the Wall Street Journal that it was the most difficult device to produce. He was quoted, “The iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled. 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.”
Last September, before the sixth generation smartphone was released, there were reports of heated debates regarding the metal casing and quality issue at the Zhengzhou plant. The executive played down the issue by saying “The Zhengzhou site, which was set up in 2011, is still pretty new to us. We are still learning how to manage the work force there.”
It’s interesting to see that Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) pened up about what it was like to build the iPhone 5. Everyone knows that working for Foxconn is no easy task, and the company has landed in hot water many times. The most recent incident was over hiring young teenagers as interns.
No company is perfect, and I think Foxconn Technology Co., Ltd. (TPE:2354) knows that. Perhaps that is why the executive opened up a little about the iPhone 5. Maybe he just wanted to remind people that the employees and other executives who work for Foxconn are human, and even they struggle from time to time. Or maybe they were looking for an excuse as to why there is a shortage of phones. The good news is, that he also reminded us that they are improving their productivity rates every day, hopefully this means they will increase production rates for the iPhone 5 and Apple can pick up sales.
