Difficulties with the release of the iPhone 8 brought down the production schedule for a month, but Apple does not intend to postpone the planned September 12, 2017. presentation of. Supply shortages can occur in the first days of sales, warns WSJ.
Subcontractors fail.
Apple can not cope with the required volumes of new generation of smartphones iPhone. The deficit may occur in the first days of delivery after the presentation, which Apple officially appointed on September 12, 2017. and do not intend to move, said the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) with reference to its own source, familiar with the situation.
Deficiency with the necessary volumes of iPhone shipments may arise due to the fact that the contract manufacturer, the Taiwanese Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai Precision), has started manufacturing smartphones with monthly lag behind the schedule, reports WSJ.
The key problem in the production of WSJ sources is the complexity of the assembly of the iPhone 8, as well as a number of technical features of the design of new smartphones, the solution of which lasted until the last moment.
Rescue the drowning.
Currently, Foxconn Technology is doing everything possible to eliminate the backlog of the schedule and increase production, said the source of WSJ. In particular, the company's management expanded production at its Chinese factory in Zhengzhou, increasing the number of employees to 250 thousand. people (data for June 2017 g.
In addition, the management of Foxconn has also expanded its staff incentive program. Bonuses payments, according to the source WSJ, are designed to stimulate the productivity of employees and attract new employees to the factory.
Despite all the measures taken, the WSJ expert notes, this may not be enough, and the terms for the delivery of the necessary quantities of the first lots of the new iPhone can be broken.
Technical difficulties.
Among the production difficulties that led to the failure of the schedule, the expert WSJ, in particular, calls the design of the OLED screen: in the new iPhone, the touch layer (digitizer) is not separated from the display, while in Samsung smartphones, the display and digitizer are integrated into a single unit. The production of such displays involves additional actions and increases the risk of marriage and errors.
In addition, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst of KGI Securities, which appeared on the web today, Apple purchases OLED displays for a new generation of smartphones exclusively from Samsung Display, which, using a monopoly, asked for about $ 120- $ 130 for each OLED module for iPhone 8. For comparison: 5.5-inch LCD displays for the iPhone 7 Plus cost Apple about $ 45-55 each depending on the vendor.
Another issue in the preparation for the production of new smartphones Apple was the question of the location of the physical button with a fingerprint sensor, said the source WSJ. The button was planned to be removed, but the sensor was built directly into the screen, but in time it failed, so unlocking the iPhone 8 will likely be done with the usual password or with the new 3D scanning and face recognition technology.
Apple, Foxconn and Samsung Display declined to comment on WSJ this information.
All will be revealed in the next two weeks.
Apple began sending out official invitations to present their new gadgets on August 31, 2017. The event is scheduled for September 12.
It is expected that the line of new smartphones of the company will include at least three models:
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone Edition, although the exact names of gadgets are still kept in the strictest secrecy.
In addition, Apple also plans to introduce a new "smart watch" Apple Watch, equipped with an integrated LTE-modem, set-top box Apple TV with support for 4K resolution and HDR technology. In the framework of the presentation, details about the new version of the mobile operating system iOS 11.
Sales of new versions of the iPhone, according to WSJ, may begin as early as September 22, 2017.