DigiTimes says Apple is in the process of finalizing its supply chain plans for this year’s iPhone launch, and longtime Apple partner Foxconn is set to handle the lion’s share of iPhone assembly orders for the new, larger “iPhone 6.”
Foxconn is expected to build both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch varieties of the next iPhone, according toTaiwanese tech industry publication DigiTimes. Assembler Pegatron is also expected to pitch in, but will account for only 30 percent of the 4.7-inch model, and none of the 5.5-inch version, the report said, citing unnamed industry sources.
DigiTimes claims the current 4-inch screen iPhone will live on, referring to it as an “existing” model. This suggests that it may just utilize legacy hardware rather than sporting upgraded internal components. The report says Wistron will be handling orders for the 4-inch model into 2015.
Tuesday’s report also alleges that both the 4-inch and 4.7-inch models will be the “main sales force for Apple in 2014,” indicating that the 5.5-inch model may be targeted at a smaller segment of the smartphone market.
The report also notes that the Foxconn plants in Zhengzhou, China are expected to begin making the 4.7-inch iPhone in July, with the 5.5-inch model seeing manufacturing beginning in August.
