14 DAY TRIAL // Foxconn Electronics, Apple’s primary partner for device assembly, has confirmed that it is recruiting employees but, at the same time, has downplayed rumors that the effort was to amass manpower for iPhone 6 production.
Earlier today news broke out that Foxconn Electronics, a division of Hon Hai Precision Industry headed by mogul Terry Hou, had begun production of the iPhone 6, a new version of Apple’s smartphone that isn’t expected to launch until 2014.
Two Chinese newspapers independently reported that Foxconn was staffing up at its plants in Zhengzhou, Henan province, where handheld gadgets are manufactured.
Speculation then broke out that the effort was to recruit enough workers to meet Apple’s stringent demands for iPhone 6 production. However, Apple is expected to launch the incremental “iPhone 5S” this year.
Regardless of the phone’s designation, a new iPhone is coming this fall, that much is known.
And now Foxconn has confirmed these developments to the media. All but the iPhone bit.
Via DigiTimes we find out that “Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is reportedly recruiting workers for its factory in Zhengzhou, northern China, specifically for production of a new iPhone model. In response, Foxconn confirmed the recruitment but stressed this is purely to meet seasonal labor demand.”
As always, Foxconn is mum when it comes to its business with longtime partner Apple, the Cupertino, California-based computer giant whose orders rake in a huge chunk of the profits reported each quarter by the Taiwanese assembler.
So no wonder it prefers to keep these contracts under wraps.
But the media is relentless, and recent rumors have centered around not one, but two new iPhones coming out this year.
This other new iPhone is said to be a cheaper version, made of plastic. Production of the “budget” device will be handled not by Foxconn, but by its neighboring rival, Pegatron, according to reports.
The two new smartphones, the iPhone 5S and the low-cost iPhone, are expected to launch in September at a special event in the U.S.