Foxconn, for the first time, admitted that it can't meet the huge demand for Apple's new iPhone 5 due to design-related production difficulties. The Taiwanese manufacture said it is shipping "far fewer" new iPhones than Apple has requested.
"We can't really fulfil Apple's requests. Our shipments are insufficient given the huge market demand," Foxconn chairman Terry Gou told reporters. Talking on the sidelines of a business forum, Gou said, "It's not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand," Reuters reported.
The admission came just days after an anonymous Foxconn official told the Wall Street Journal that iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that the company has ever assembled. The extreme light and thin design makes it very complicated, the official said. The latest version of the iconic Apple product is 18 percent thinner than the iPhone 4S. It weighs about 112 grams, 20 percent lighter than the previous model. The device is made of aluminium and glass instead of just glass.
Foxconn, considered to be the best contract manufacturer on the planet for its speedy and cutting-edge factories, finds it difficult to meet the massive demand for the device while maintaining the quality. Reuters reported that the company chairman refused to comment on rumours that the group's other unit, Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), had taken on some production. However, Foxconn shares surged on Monday as much as 35 percent on reports that the company will start manufacturing more iPhones.
