‘Apple has cheap iPhone mainly made by Pegatron’

Apple would have plans to have the production of a cheap iPhone mainly carried out by the Taiwanese Pegatron instead of Foxconn. In recent years, Foxconn produced Apple’s smartphones for the most part, but the relationship is said to have cooled.

According to The Wall Street Journal would Pegatron want to manufacture Apple’s products at a lower price than Foxconn. In addition, the mutual relations between Foxconn and Apple would be less close than before, which would also be a reason for Apple to distribute production more evenly.

The cooperation between the two groups is more difficult, among other things, because the iPhone 5 is difficult to manufacture and it is difficult for Foxconn to meet Apple’s demand. Apple would also have returned millions of iPhones to Foxconn because the phones did not meet the company’s quality requirements. That message was contradicted by Foxconn, the trade name under which the Taiwanese Hon Hai operates. By having Pegatron carry out a larger part of the production, Apple wants to become less dependent on Foxconn. It is unclear whether the total production capacity will also be increased.

Apple and Foxconn were reprimanded in 2012 by the Fair Labor Association when it emerged that working conditions in the factories did not comply with at least 50 Chinese rules and laws. A year earlier, production of the iPad 2 was completely halted after an explosion at a Foxconn factory.

Pegatron has been manufacturing Apple products since 1999, but has done so on a smaller scale than competitor Foxconn in recent years. The company produced iPhones in 2011 and started producing iPad minis in 2012. Pegatron also manufactures other devices, including Asus’ Zenbook and Microsoft’s Surface tablets.