Chinese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn revealed that Apple's new iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled. An unnamed Foxconn executive complained to WSJ that the device's design is very complicated, but added that Foxconn's productivity has been improving day by day.
Everybody has their own theory about the iPhone 5 shortage that’s been plaguing all of planet Earth since the device hit stores last month. First, everybody thought that it was just the insane demand for the device that was leaving some to wait three or four weeks for their phone to be delivered. Apple even said it was “blown away” by how many people wanted to cough up hundreds of dollars for its new pocket computer. Then, as we got further and further from the launch date without any apparent change in delivery dates, other theories popped up. Some said it was Sharp’s fault for not manufacturing enough of the iPhone 5’s “4-inch low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) touch-panel display with in-panel switching.” Sharp quickly shot that theory down. When Apple’s stock price started to sink, it was time for somebody to speak up.
Foxconn stepped forward to take the fall in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “The iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn has ever assembled. To make it light and thin, the design is very complicated,” an unnamed Foxconn executive told the paper. “It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day.” The executive added, “It’s always hard to satisfy both aesthetic needs and practical needs.”
