Foxconn machinery and assembly instructions reportedly leaked in photos

Apr 14, 2014 07:00 GMT  ·  By

Weibo users in China have leaked what is reportedly a set of die blocks, molds, and schematics for manufacturing and assembling parts of the upcoming iPhone 6 for Apple. The photos cannot be verified, but they appear to be legitimate.

One set of images stems from an account that seems to enjoy a great deal of popularity on the Weibo network, which shares a few similarities to the Twitter service we all know and love in this part of the world.

Five photos in total are leaked, with a sixth image coming from a separate user. For one reason or another, the second post requires a subscription to be viewed, but the image has been obtained by 9to5mac, whose reader Tristan reportedly clarified that “the part is a die block to hold the phone while it is machined.” That image is posted at the very top of this article.

Having seen machining footage released by Apple, we conclude that the part is legitimate. It’s therefore natural to assume that the other assembly line tools are legitimate, given the timing of these leaks.

iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
However, the iPhone may not be the only smartphones to be cast-died / machined using this type of hardware, so there’s at least a small degree of uncertainty that these are assembly tools for Apple’s upcoming smartphone.
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
As for the photos depicting drawings of the smartphone, they seem detailed enough to pass for legitimate leaks as well. While everything in there seems to be written in Chinese, the appearance of the schematics does make one think “iPhone.”
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leak
It is not unusual for these leaks to occur weeks or even months before Apple orders Foxconn to start production of an upcoming iPhone model, so we have every reason to believe that we are looking at real iPhone manufacturing hardware.

The Cupertino giant is reportedly planning to land not one, but two different versions of the iPhone 6, with the larger 5.5-inch model being delayed. If these rumors are accurate, then we should be looking at the cast dies used for producing the smaller, 4.7-inch model.

It is still unclear as to when Tim Cook & Co. plan to actually announce the phone. Some analysts believe WWDC14 will be the time and place this year, while others maintain that Apple will march forward with its fall refresh cycle.

The device itself is said to be completely redesigned, thinner, faster (in terms of processing power), and may actually cost more than its predecessors, at least in its larger (high-end) form.

Photo Gallery (6 Images)

iPhone 6 leak
iPhone 6 leakiPhone 6 leak
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