The Taiwanese company tasked with manufacturing the iPhone 6 is set to start the mass production of the device later this month.
Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.), which has been tapped to manufacture Apple's next-generation mobile device, is expected to begin the production of 4.7-inch variants of the iPhone 6 by the third week of July. The mass production of 5.5-inch variants is said to begin on the second week of August.
The schedule was first revealed in a report published by a Taiwanese publication. The article said that the timeline for 5.5-inch iPhones was pushed back due to production delays.
For the iPhone 6, Apple will replace the Gorilla Glass 2 displays that it used on the iPhone 5 with sapphire crystal screens. Last April, a report from UBS Research said that GT Advanced Technologies, Apple's partner for its sapphire plant in Arizona, has started shipping small quantities of sapphire to Chinese plants.
There is still no official word on whether the sapphire displays would appear on both variants of the iPhone 6. However, analysts at JP Morgan predict that the displays would only be on 5.5-inch iPhone 6 devices, saying that the current production level of sapphire crystal displays is not enough to cover the demand for the new smartphone. The financial institution projects that the company will only produce 10 million sapphire displays in 2014. The figure is very low considering that Apple sold more than 50 million units of the iPhones during the first quarter of existence for the iPhone 5.
According to a report from Chinese state media, Foxconn is looking to hire 10,000 new employees to handle an expected uptick in demand for the device. The report, which contained comments from the head of the Henan Provincial Commerce Department, said that the devices will be manufactured in the company's facilities in mainland China. Aside from hiring more personnel, Foxconn will also install robots in its assembly line.
Just like Foxconn, Pegatron Corp., the Taiwanese manufacturer tapped to be the main assembler of the iPhone's low-cost version, has also started hiring 10,000 workers for its factories in China.
It is still not clear if the setbacks in production will delay the launch of the iPhone 6, which is expected in September. However, the manufacturing issues related to the 5.5-inch variants may lead to a later or more limited release for the device.
