macnn
08/04/2008, 11:50am, EDT
Monday, August 4th
Apple supplier building 800,000 iPhones per week?
The Taiwanese company that handles iPhone assembly, Foxconn, has dramatically increased its production levels, a new report claims. Citing a source "close to Apple with direct knowledge of the numbers," the report suggests that Foxconn is now expected to build some 800,000 iPhone 3Gs per week. This is said to be "above current full capacity" of the company, according to the source, and could be risking quality problems. A number of iPhone owners have been spotting cracks in the casing.
While Foxconn is said to be capable of upgrading production to meet Apple demand, the current rate may be unsustainable, as it would result in over 41 million phones built per year, well over the 25 million lifetime units predicted in a Commercial Times story from April. Apple does intend to ship to at least 70 countries by the end of the year however, and may add more going into 2009.
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Whoops!
Here comes another hit to Apple's quality control.
As if they need another one (after MacBook & iMac screens, Mobile Me, iPhone activation . . . .)
Exactly
I'd much rather have heard that they were "ramping up" the quality control measures than production. I was planning on buying an iPhone 3G (and one for my wife) but had to travel on the day of the launch. So far, I must say my inability to get them that day has proven a strange blessing indeed.
Re: Whoops
It is unfair to clump together Mobile Me and the iPhone activation with the QC problems with their hardware. They would be completely handled by two different groups.
And isn't Foxconn the company that builds apple's MacBooks and iMacs? So we shouldn't have any concern, should we?
gift giving...
If Apple are ramping up production towards what c|net refers to as the "gift giving" season, I have one question. How do you purchase an iPhone as a gift exactly?