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Foxconn Facing Display Shortages as it Struggles to Meet iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Demand

Vanilla Face said:
And in a few years Apple will bring production of the iPhones to the US because automation will make it cheaper to assemble here than to assemble in China and ship them.
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Considering Apple does not make most of the components in America, assembling them here in the US will not make it any faster.
 
"Foxconn reportedly has hired more than 200,000 workers"

So 200,000 of us are getting a phone which is the first one these new employees are building - employees who probably know there's going to be out of a job as soon as the big rush is over...
 
bbeagle said:
So should Apple release the iPhone 6 on October 19th when they have enough made to meet demand? What would be your solution?
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There is no solution. This is how they want it. Every news channel across the globe will be covering the huge lines and talking about how "you can't get the iPhone 6 if you wanted it". All TONS of free advertising for Apple.

If you think a company as big as apple couldn't hire another company to help foxconn manufacturer 50% more phones, you're crazy. They could. They're making less than 10% more than they did for the 5 and 5S. They knew this would sell more and they knew how many they were making. It's ingenious. Not many companies can pull it off because they don't have the following that apple does, but Apple pulls it off, time and time again.

Think about it. They can throw 3 billion at beats to acquire them...they can make more than 10 million iPhones in the timeframe they had if they wanted.
 
xeroxrk said:
There is no solution. This is how they want it. Every news channel across the globe will be covering the huge lines and talking about how "you can't get the iPhone 6 if you wanted it". All TONS of free advertising for Apple.

If you think a company as big as apple couldn't hire another company to help foxconn manufacturer 50% more phones, you're crazy. They could. They're making less than 10% more than they did for the 5 and 5S. They knew this would sell more and they knew how many they were making. It's ingenious. Not many companies can pull it off because they don't have the following that apple does, but Apple pulls it off, time and time again.

Think about it. They can throw 3 billion at beats to acquire them...they can make more than 10 million iPhones in the timeframe they had if they wanted.
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bingo, not many other companies can tell their customer that will be 3-4 weeks without fear of losing them to the competition
 
hotpotato123 said:
1 Million workers in China.

Imagine if Apple assembled the iPhone in the U.S. and its shareholders were willing to accept lower profits. Instead of insisting on a cash-stash of $200 billion, what would have been so wrong with a cash-stash of, say, $110 billion? And if every major corporation did that for the U.S.?

If that had happen, the supply chain -- which has now shifted to China -- would have not disappeared from the U.S. Remember, the U.S. had that supply chain before but it was left to languish because of the chase for maximum profits, without heed for any responsibility of maintaining local manufacturing jobs.

Look, I realise there's a lot of ways to justify why having a national debt of $17.5 trillion is ok, because it allows U.S. corporations to maximise shareholder profits.

But consider this: historically there is such a phenomena as entire empires going down sink hole because the majority of people in that culture thought in the same rut, and could not see what was happening to their own culture, because their concepts appeared to be the norm because everyone around them thought the same way. For a nation to disintegrate, there has to be a critical mass where suddenly the majority of people buy into the destructive concept. Then collectively the civilisation drowns like a frog in the kettle.
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Who brought this wet blanket?
 
scott911 said:
"Foxconn reportedly has hired more than 200,000 workers"

So 200,000 of us are getting a phone which is the first one these new employees are building - employees who probably know there's going to be out of a job as soon as the big rush is over...
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I would not worry about that, I am pretty sure Foxcoon assembly line workers are not employees with much tenure, most of the first 1 Million workers are making iphones for the first time as well
 
scott911 said:
So 200,000 of us are getting a phone which is the first one these new employees are building - employees who probably know there's going to be out of a job as soon as the big rush is over...
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I have had the pleasure of working on a production line, and I can assure you that the products I helped produce were no better or worse on my first day than 6 weeks later when I was "experienced". There are very few positions on a typical production line where any level of experience is actually required.

"Can you lift your arm? Yes? Can you move it back down? Yes? Can you lift this object and place it into this enclosure in the one and only way that it can fit in there? Yes? Well, congratulations, you're hired!"
 
Three days after iPhone 7 goes on pre-order I will write a report that the factory has shortage of supplies due to high demand. I will beat everyone to it and get the most page views. Woo!

I feel as if this article should just be a template for every iPhone as i've read this every single year.
 
Coreless apples said:
So horrible to say but very true, I remember watching a video on one of the Foxconn factories and people would line up like crazy as if there was a new ride opening up at an amusement park. If people keep coming back and wanting to work there then there must be something positive to it.
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It's better than starving...?
 
540k Phones a day and each one of them with impeccable build quality!.

Impressive!
 
scott911 said:
"Foxconn reportedly has hired more than 200,000 workers"

So 200,000 of us are getting a phone which is the first one these new employees are building - employees who probably know there's going to be out of a job as soon as the big rush is over...
Click to expand...

Sad but true...
 
xeroxrk said:
Am I the only one who knows that most of this is by design on Apples end? Human beings tend to always want what they can't have...so by making supply shorter, it creates a mini panic and people who were on the fence suddenly HAVE to have it. It's simple psychology. The day apple meets demand on launch day is the day people start saying "Eh, maybe next year". Fantastic marketing.

Take a look at Playstation and Xbox launches..they do the same thing. All intentional to drive demand higher.
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I will never believe that. All companies are in it to make money. They would not limit their cash flow on sales just to appear popular. All you have to do is look at news articles showing how Apple is at max capacity. Airplane flights are so booked Apples competitors can't get their products out of China. Apple buying out flash storage/displays/raw materials. Foxconn workers are already working overtime months before the launch.
 
xeroxrk said:
Think about it. They can throw 3 billion at beats to acquire them...they can make more than 10 million iPhones in the timeframe they had if they wanted.
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How is buying beats for $3B in any way related to the logistics of manufacturing 10M iPhones?

heisenberg123 said:
bingo, not many other companies can tell their customer that will be 3-4 weeks without fear of losing them to the competition
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A new iPhone adopter is much more valuable to Apple than a returning one. If iPhones are sold out, Apple run the risk of losing that new iPhone adopter.
 
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In other words, I have to order almost immediately on Sept 26 if I want the iPhone as soon as possible. Probably gonna take a few weeks to arrive.
 
xeroxrk said:
Am I the only one who knows that most of this is by design on Apples end?
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There is a difference between knowing and assuming.. What you are doing is assuming.

Human beings tend to always want what they can't have...so by making supply shorter, it creates a mini panic and people who were on the fence suddenly HAVE to have it. It's simple psychology. The day apple meets demand on launch day is the day people start saying "Eh, maybe next year". Fantastic marketing.

Take a look at Playstation and Xbox launches..they do the same thing. All intentional to drive demand higher.
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Again these are only assumptions. What you don't factor into your reasoning is the scale of manufacturing that needs to be built up. All Foxconn factories are on hyperdrive to produce iPhones (this is fact, not assumed) the moment it is ready for production. There is no artificial scarcity when a company is introducing the world's most popular smartphone in many countries simultaneously.

What you are also forgetting to include in your argumentation is that Apple is one of the few manufacturers that has a pure one-year refresh strategy for phones. If Apple would wait with the launch until it can satisfy global demand, than the update cycle would be closer to 1.5-2 years and Apple would have problems keeping the devices attractive in terms of specs and functionality. Samsung, LG and HTC would be running circles around Apple in terms of specs and updates.

This is not nearly as simple as you make it out to be.
 
MentalFloss said:
I have had the pleasure of working on a production line, and I can assure you that the products I helped produce were no better or worse on my first day than 6 weeks later when I was "experienced". There are very few positions on a typical production line where any level of experience is actually required.

"Can you lift your arm? Yes? Can you move it back down? Yes? Can you lift this object and place it into this enclosure in the one and only way that it can fit in there? Yes? Well, congratulations, you're hired!"
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exactly, I don't think some people know how easy these phones are to essemble if you have all the parts

any issues with the phones will be due to the parts them self not how they were screwed into place
 
MrX8503 said:
How is buying beats for $3B in any way related to the logistics of manufacturing 10M iPhones?
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I think that he meant (correct me if I'm wrong) that Apple has a bunch of money the bank. Apple appears that it could easily afford to invest in more manufacturing/assembling plants to produce more iPhones. I admit, I don't know how easy/expensive it is to do that, but Apple does make quite a bit of $$$
 
MrX8503 said:
How is buying beats for $3B in any way related to the logistics of manufacturing 10M iPhones?



A new iPhone adopter is much more valuable to Apple than a returning one. If iPhones are sold out, Apple run the risk of losing that new iPhone adopter.
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nobody is returning their adapter, apples customers at any launch are the die hards not the casual customer that may or may not purchase.
 
xeroxrk said:
If you think a company as big as apple couldn't hire another company to help foxconn manufacturer 50% more phones, you're crazy.
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How many smartphone factories do you think there are on the planet? And don't you think those factories are not already busy?

I think you underestimate the amount of setup, testing, training, lead-time and scale-up time needed before a factory can produce iphones at acceptibel quality. This is not a case of calling Pegatron or Foxconn and sending over some schematics.

It takes several months to do this, and if you follow APple a bit you know that the time between DVT, EVT and formal production start is only a few months at best. Not nearly enough time to "just start up a few extra factories".
 
peterdevries said:
How many smartphone factories do you think there are on the planet? And don't you think those factories are not already busy?

I think you underestimate the amount of setup, testing, training, lead-time and scale-up time needed before a factory can produce iphones at acceptibel quality. This is not a case of calling Pegatron or Foxconn and sending over some schematics.

It takes several months to do this, and if you follow APple a bit you know that the time between DVT, EVT and formal production start is only a few months at best. Not nearly enough time to "just start up a few extra factories".
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this is true it would need to be planned months in advance, but this delay game has been going on for years so apple clearly likes it and does not see the need for more plants
 
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