14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone is made in just a few places around the world, mainly Brazil and China. We have heard countless stories about under-aged stressed workers and those issues are about to stop.
The solution found by Foxconn, Apple's main iPhone manufacturer, is to replace the workers with highly specialized robots. This story published by Chinese website IT Home.
The articles says that over 10,000 employees may be in danger to lose their jobs because of this move. "The Foxbots" are faster and more reliable than humans. One of those robots will be able to assemble around 30,000 devices. The announcement was made by the CEO of the parent company of Foxconn at their shareholders' meeting.
There is a problem with Foxbots. They are too expensive. Buying just one robot may cost Foxconn anywhere from $20,000 up to $25,000. But Apple can afford it.
This move is considered another step towards ending leaks and smuggled iPhone parts. China is the main gateway for iPhone leaks even when the device is in testing. Tim Cook has promised last year that Apple will double down on secrecy.
There are usually no leaks from Apple's headquarters in the United States. New stuff like the Mac Pro, which was designed and produced on American soil, or software news about Apple's Programming language, Swift, have not been revealed until Apple decided to show them up at the WWDC.
On the other hand, we already know what the display of the iPhone 6 may look like, how the back case is going to be designed and what the final sizes are, and we have seen the case for the new iPad Air 2. Those are all parts taken out from the factories in China.
According to Appadvice, this is not the first time Foxconn is interested in buying robots for their manufacturing lines. Back in 2011, the company has installed over 1 million robots to help the regular employees.
Foxconn also recently hired a lot of workers to ramp up production for the upcoming iPhone 6 and other devices Apple may have in store for their fans this fall.
According to the same source, Foxconn may start manufacturing the new devices in August. There are rumors that the iPhone 6 will be revealed in a Press Conference on September 19th and will be in stores on September 25h 2014.