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I do appreciate the technological innovations but at some point business efficiency effectively cannibalize their very customers. It's a virtuous circle as Jobs used to say. This constant drumbeat of cost savings in the end amounts to "F you, I got mine." Walmart didn't get to be Walmart without the average person thinking they could get cheap products and everyone else pick up the tab.
My eyes are wide open to reality. I find irony in all the rubes who want factory jobs to come back, that they think it will magically happen without big government regulation (which they loathe so much), unionized worker protection which has been demonized and dismantled, or without consumer sentiment changing and not demand ever-cheaper goods. The consumer must also put up or shut up, for meaningful change.

I think you are a little ignorant to the way business works...

Stereotyping an entire group of people and acting like you know what's best for them probably isn't helping your case either - it just makes you sound snooty.
 
Finally! The rural people who go to work in the cities at Foxconn for a few years to accumulate a small windfall for their dirt poor families back on the farm will be liberated from their jobs and have no money! Suicide rates will surely go down now. We did it! This is what everyone wanted, right? Oh and it will be easy to bring the Apple jobs back to America! All 100 of them! Woohoo! Everyone wins. America is gonna be so great now you guys, and all the Chinese are gonna be really happy to not have jobs. This is a win-win for all involved.

(Not to toot my own horn or anything but I've been calling this for a while now.)
 
So are the conditions endured by factory workers transition from the iPhone production lines to the robot assembly line?

Apple, (& tech companies in general): "That's not our problem."
 
Customers should expect a drop of at least 65% off the current iPhone, iPad and other device pricing.

The robots are replacing a human workforce because it is cheaper to replace humans with robots. There is no other reason. Naturally, everyone, all Apple customers, should expect a huge drop in the cost to buy iPhone.

I suspect iDevices will cost ~80% less than today.

True

Yeah, would be nice... Or, and get this: increase margins and the prices mostly the same unless other factors like even further increase of market saturation force them to lower the prices SLOWLY. :rolleyes:

Glassed Silver:mac
 
It will be interesting to see what the quality equation looks like. But, the main motivation here is to reduce the costs even further. If quality was front and mind, Apple wouldn't have battery issues, screen problems etc. In most cases, those parts are already automated. This conversion to robots it about reducing costs. Likewise customers should expect huge price reductions.
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Really? Manufacturing is a huge cost. With the threat of onshoring to the USA, robots aim to mitigate that cost.

The other person is right. It costs Apple about 30$ Per iPhone in manufacturing costs (not including parts). The labour portion of the total cost is between 2-5%. So for a phone that costs 300$ overall to build we're talking between 6 to 15$.

At best, automation will keep prices stable against inflation.
 
I'm no expert - but I understood the whole reason Foxconn et al. exist in their current state is because the labour in China is so cheap I that it makes financial sense to manufacture there. But if the bulk of the labour expense is taken out of the equation what's the benefit of having the manufacturing in China anyway? Why not build the automated factories in the US?

I'm asking seriously as I don't know.

There are a lot of reasons.

Chinese infrastructure is vastly superior to the US'... I'm talking ports, railway, etc. They've invested heavily in this. No other country compares really.

Materials are cheaper there, due in part to the lack of environmental regulations (those that exist are rarely enforced). Many of apples products use aluminum, which China produces more than 50% of the worlds supply. Factor in rare earth metals, which China pretty much has a monopoly on... you see where I'm going with this.

Almost all electronic parts are made there, or in that general area, which saves a ton on shipping. Manufacturing an iPhone in the US would require that all those parts be made in the US, or ship them from abroad ($$$).

In addition to low wages, Chinese workers have no rights and few benefits, which not only makes running factories cheaper, it makes their factories highly customizable (ie you can lay off workers at need, etc). Unions are illegal. They aren't entitled to vacations, sick leave, etc. There's no employment insurance to pay or disability benefits to pay, etc. Coupled with this is an ample supply of both skilled and unskilled workers.

The government is very pro manufacturing. Meaning that (usually with a small bribe of course) you can build a shop with very minimal pushback. Coupled with the lack of environmental regulation (think of waste dumping)... makes for a lot of convenience... and savings.

There are more I'm probably not thinking about..

Essentially, unless Americans want to sacrifice their environmental laws, invest trillions in infrastructure and force everyone to make electronic components in the USA (which would take a long time), it's not going to happen. It's definitely not going to happen while paying its workers a living wage.
 
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Customers should expect a drop of at least 65% off the current iPhone, iPad and other device pricing.

The robots are replacing a human workforce because it is cheaper to replace humans with robots. There is no other reason. Naturally, everyone, all Apple customers, should expect a huge drop in the cost to buy iPhone.

I suspect iDevices will cost ~80% less than today.

These machines still cost money and need to be maintained. All that isn't cheap.
 
Probably a good idea since robots can't commit suicide. Watch people complain about the lost jobs thoigh.
 
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Customers should expect a drop of at least 65% off the current iPhone, iPad and other device pricing.

That doesn't make any sense.

Current assembly cost per iPhone is only about $5.

Essentially, unless Americans want to sacrifice their environmental laws, invest trillions in infrastructure and force everyone to make electronic components in the USA (which would take a long time), it's not going to happen.

Many of the individual parts can still be made overseas, then shipped to the US to be assembled.

It's definitely not going to happen while paying its workers a living wage.

The head of the Moto X factory said it only cost an extra $13 to assemble them in Texas vs. China.

And if they're being shipped to North American customers, lop a few dollars off that because of cheaper shipping inside the same region.
 
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How long before we see robots in the suicide nets?
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It won't. To think otherwise is naive. This will simply centralize profit into fewer pockets. The former factory workers will be thrown into the street. There will be no compensation for the loss of income due to robots. In fact, If I were under the age of 45 I would be worried. You kids have been forced into a nightmare scenario of skyrocketing fees for college, skyrocketing rental prices, and a President who is set on removing healthcare from you if you are unemployed. And you're going to be unemployed. You will be out on the street just in time for middle age. Me, I am from another generation and I will be fine. But you won't be. I'm sorry that this is happening to you.
Lol, if you are under 45 YOU WILL BE UNEMPLOYED. Don't blame trump yet, he hasn't even taken office. What's your solution to having healthcare for unemployed? Make people with employment pay more to cover the cost? I blame the last 5 generations for putting us in the hole we are in, not the president who hasn't taken office yet.

To clarify, I'm not sure we disagree about the fate of the nation but the people saying we are screwed are often the ones with no solutions. Oh and this is about Foxconn, located in China, not sure why you want to talk about US policies here.
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Trump will force all iPhones to be built by American robots thereby securing the robot vote in 2020.
"We are proud to announce today we will be following the footsteps of Jyna and mandating all companies automate the labor section of their companies. It's going to be YUGE."
 
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Less suicides, too!
Probably not true, actually. Think of how many will off themselves without a job.

Not saying this is good, bad, whatever, but this will put 350k people out of work. This is the future reality. Do you do things that help that economy, or are you biological additions to the machine line? The planet's overpopulation is going to be a long glut of unemployed people, and it isn't like we're all gonna stop making babies suddenly.
 
I don't really think taking peoples jobs away by robots is a remotely good idea unless they can get new jobs doing something else.
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It won't. To think otherwise is naive. This will simply centralize profit into fewer pockets. The former factory workers will be thrown into the street. There will be no compensation for the loss of income due to robots. In fact, If I were under the age of 45 I would be worried. You kids have been forced into a nightmare scenario of skyrocketing fees for college, skyrocketing rental prices, and a President who is set on removing healthcare from you if you are unemployed. And you're going to be unemployed. You will be out on the street just in time for middle age. Me, I am from another generation and I will be fine. But you won't be. I'm sorry that this is happening to you.

Or a solution will be found or there will be violence. There are 300 million guns in America. Plenty to take out the government if it no longer offers a reasonable life with enough to eat and a roof over their heads.
 
How long before we see robots in the suicide nets?
[doublepost=1483200119][/doublepost]
Lol, if you are under 45 YOU WILL BE UNEMPLOYED. Don't blame trump yet, he hasn't even taken office. What's your solution to having healthcare for unemployed? Make people with employment pay more to cover the cost? I blame the last 5 generations for putting us in the hole we are in, not the president who hasn't taken office yet.

To clarify, I'm not sure we disagree about the fate of the nation but the people saying we are screwed are often the ones with no solutions.
[doublepost=1483202270][/doublepost]

It's okay to sometimes realise a situation is dire, be concerned/stressed about it, voice that concern, and not have or not *yet* have a solution. And honestly some situations are so complex, there is no clear "solution" or solution at all. I'm not even talking about Trump, I'm just talking about life.

Screwed. It happens.
 
It's okay to sometimes realise a situation is dire, be concerned/stressed about it, voice that concern, and not have or not *yet* have a solution. And honestly some situations are so complex, there is no clear "solution" or solution at all. I'm not even talking about Trump, I'm just talking about life.

Screwed. It happens.
Agreed, there is nothing wrong with voicing an opinion but all the post that I quoted was doing was being dramatic and referenced trump directly which is why I said anything about him. The post I quoted wasn't wrong but it's that kind of thinking that keeps us exactly where we are. I believe there is a solution to every problem we just aren't willing to change anything
 
I don't really think taking peoples jobs away by robots is a remotely good idea unless they can get new jobs doing something else.
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Or a solution will be found or there will be violence. There are 300 million guns in America. Plenty to take out the government if it no longer offers a reasonable life with enough to eat and a roof over their heads.
300 million guns will not stop an army of tanks and warheads. Good luck getting those guns pointed in one direction, the propaganda machine we call the government has a pretty big cult like following who would believe anything they say.
 
300 million guns will not stop an army of tanks and warheads. Good luck getting those guns pointed in one direction, the propaganda machine we call the government has a pretty big cult like following who would believe anything they say.

It did in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan...
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Makes sense for them, long term it should save them money and increase efficiency.

Increase efficiency but reduce employment and their customer base.
 
There will be redundancies no doubt.

How will it reduce their customer base?

If you take jobs away from 25% of the people then those people can't buy stuff.

We already see this due to inequality.

And ordinary people are angry already. So much so they've voted for Trump.
 
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It did in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan...
[doublepost=1483282710][/doublepost]

Increase efficiency but reduce employment and their customer base.
Not sure what you mean by 300 million guns won Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan so please elaborate. Our military is made up of more than hunting rifles and pistols. If you think 300 million guns means 300 million people using them in a unified manner under one cause you misunderstood what I was saying. if it comes down to people versus the government, neither side will win. There would be massive gang violence and more divisiveness then ever before. There is no way to control an army that vast with no chain of command. The only way would be to communicate through the internet and that would just make power grids vulnerable to attack.
 
Not sure what you mean by 300 million guns won Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan so please elaborate. Our military is made up of more than hunting rifles and pistols. If you think 300 million guns means 300 million people using them in a unified manner under one cause you misunderstood what I was saying. if it comes down to people versus the government, neither side will win. There would be massive gang violence and more divisiveness then ever before. There is no way to control an army that vast with no chain of command. The only way would be to communicate through the internet and that would just make power grids vulnerable to attack.

True. But the US (or any developed country) could desecend to be like Syria quite easily.

And the army wouldn't necessarily win.
 
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