Foxconn Executive Speaks to Difficulty of iPhone 5 Assembly

[MacRumors]

Following word that increased quality control standards for the iPhone 5 assembly process have slowed Foxconn's production and increased stress on workers, The Wall Street Journal shares comments from an unnamed Foxconn executive explaining the difficulty in assembling the device.

"The iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled. To make it light and thin, the design is very complicated," said an official at the company who declined to be named. "It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day."

The executive also addressed the scratching issues that have reportedly been the cause of the increased quality control standards, noting that it is "always hard to satisfy both aesthetic needs and practical needs."

Completed teardown of iPhone 5 (Source: iFixit)

The executive also acknowledged tensions between production line staff and quality control inspectors, but declined to offer additional information on the situation that was initially reported as a strike by several thousand workers but later denied by Foxconn.

Article Link: Foxconn Executive Speaks to Difficulty of iPhone 5 Assembly

[george-brooks]

I hope my iPhone 5 doesn't have issues down the road since I bought early. At least I have AppleCare+

[Michaelgtrusa]

So this is why it's not made in the USA! WOW!

[Ciclismo]

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

[Tobias Funke]

Originally Posted by Ciclismo

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

Did you see this when you visited the factory yourself ??

[Northgrove]

Originally Posted by Ciclismo

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

If it didn't help, they wouldn't have them.

I'm sure they fulfill their role, wherever in the assembly line they may work.

[scottwaugh]

Originally Posted by Ciclismo

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

While Foxconn shouldn't have been doing this - it wasn't at a factory that did Apple product assembly (Foxconn makes stuff for many companies, Microsoft etc.).

[eldaria]

Other manufacturers put a plastic film as protection during manufacturing, usually the first thing you peal of your electronics when you get them.

[carmenodie]

I'm waiting a few more months befor commitig cash for the new iPhone. Let them work out the effing kinks before laying out your hard earned cash.

[bryanescuela]

“It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day.”

I guess the first iPhone 5 assembled are not good then...

[Marcus-k]

Originally Posted by Tobias Funke

Did you see this when you visited the factory yourself ??

Why would he have to visit the factory? Foxconn has recently confirmed themselves that they have underage workers.

[juanmanas]

Originally Posted by Ciclismo

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

Steve Jobs phoned HP when he was 13, asking to have the chance to work at HP during summer time. That was his beginning in the industry

BUT, if that happens in China, then we are exploting them...

[everything-i]

Originally Posted by Michaelgtrusa

So this is why it's not made in the USA! WOW!

If factories in the USA made these things production would be highly automated, the only reason they use mostly manual processes in China is because labour is dirt cheap.

[RenoG]

Originally Posted by carmenodie

I'm waiting a few more months befor commitig cash for the new iPhone. Let them work out the effing kinks before laying out your hard earned cash.

This is the exact reason I'm waiting too, and the exact reason the genius at my local apple store is waiting. I'll grab one mid November early December..

[Lifequest]

While I do not condone child labour, the conditions at factories are at least humane. There is opportunity. Not every country is as fortunate as many of us; sitting where we are. Developing nations are developing.

While we sit on our high horse of justice, fail to see the true effects of our demands. What if that 14 year old's family couldn't afford an education. The problem stems much deeper than a simple employer-employee relationship.
What if, just what if, the 14 year old child that you indirectly-fired by your out cries has now cost that family there whole income. Mum is sick and dad has left her before she could even walk.

Before I get insulted and attacked, please just watch this talk from TED:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristi...y_slavery.html

Please focus your efforts on real problems, not those brought to the surface by front page coverage on newspapers.

[dolph0291]

Originally Posted by Ciclismo

Having inexperienced 14 year old kids on the assembly lines doesn't help either.

I live in México and there are 14-year old kids working in the tortilla factory next door. Call the cops! And boycott their tortillas!

[bmunge]

Originally Posted by everything-i

If factories in the USA made these things production would be highly automated, the only reason they use mostly manual processes in China is because labour is dirt cheap.

Yeah that's not at all accurate. The iPhone's precision and size doesn't allow for automated assembly. If they could make them with machines they would. Apple would be much happier not worrying about labor standards, strikes, and the bad press it gets from its human assembly force.

[downpour]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Foxconn Executive Speaks to Difficulty of iPhone 5 Assembly

Is it just me, or does that headline make no sense whatsoever?

Surely it should be:

Foxconn Executive Speaks About Difficulty of iPhone 5 Assembly

[needfx]

cry me a river?

[Macboy Pro]

Originally Posted by Northgrove

If it didn't help, they wouldn't have them.

I'm sure they fulfill their role, wherever in the assembly line they may work.

Because the mighty Apple could never do wrong!

[jonnyb]

Originally Posted by downpour

Is it just me, or does that headline make no sense whatsoever?

Surely it should be:

Foxconn Executive Speaks About Difficulty of iPhone 5 Assembly

It's the increasing creep of 'speaking to' something instead of speaking 'of' or 'about' something. It drives me nuts.

See also: 'Reaching out to' instead of 'contacting'.

[MJD Dawg]

Based on this quote from another statement I read elsewhere, it seems that rather than change the coating or anodization process (or whatever else would make it more scratch resistant), they'll simply be stepping up efforts to check for damage coming off the line. So consumers are left to deal with the susceptibility on their own. Thanks Apple. Why not just fix the susceptibility so we don't have to worry about it?

The Hon Hai official confirmed that the new coating used on the iPhone 5 is more susceptible to scratches but said that the company now has a new process to check for that type of damage.

[mccldwll]

The article is simply rumor-mongering by another (at one time respectable) Rupert Murdoch tabloid. It conflates statements to make it appear that both Apple and Hon Hai said things they never, in fact, said. An unnamed source never speaks for a company. Never. Further, WSJ ran essentially the same tabloid quality "supply shortages, difficult to make" piece about an iPhone5 over a year ago. That's right, in 2011.

http://www.slashgear.com/iphone-5-co...hort-06163274/

[rak007]

Does to imply that the early iPhone 5 owners are guinea pigs to check the quality of the phone ? I too have started to believe that the S cycle is one worth upgrading.

[Macboy Pro]

Originally Posted by bmunge

Yeah that's not at all accurate. The iPhone's precision and size doesn't allow for automated assembly. If they could make them with machines they would. Apple would be much happier not worrying about labor standards, strikes, and the bad press it gets from its human assembly force.

Uh, they can and do automate many things more precise than an iphone.