Image via Luxshare
9 to 5 Mac had some bad news for Luxshare on Monday. According to the site, the contract manufacturer has lost its high-end iPhone orders. The piece says:
Apple last year promoted Luxshare from a component supplier to an iPhone assembler, including some iPhone 13 Pro units.
This year though, anything Pro is a no-go for Luxshare. Citing a report from the Chinese-language United News Digital, 9 to 5 Mac says Luxshare orders will probably be limited to the base model iPhone 14.
Why do they think so? Because iPhone 14 is said to be in trial production and Luxshare’s not on that last.
You know, I might have buried the lede. iPhone 14 is said to be in trial production, by the way. Also, Luxshare looks locked out of the luxe end of the line.
A lot of alliteration for a playful person!
Feels kind of early to be talking about iPhone 14 production. Again though, this is trial production - making sure things’ll go together when it’s time to put a bunch of them together. 9 to 5 Mac says there are four main goals in trial production:
Test the planned assembly process to identify any problems encountered
Spot opportunities for improving efficiency
Collect data, such as the number of units produced per hour
Establish a suitable quality monitoring process
As for why missing out on Pro production is bad news for Luxshare - just as the Pro phones cost consumers more money than the lower end models, contract manufacturers make more money making higher end models.
Again though, it is early, and this whole thing could be wrong.
“Where Do You See Yourself in Five-Years?”
If you’re wondering about Luxshare’s plans for the future - nerd! But, it’s a slow day, so I’ll tell you anyway. A piece from Apple Insider says the company is planning to set up “new production lines aimed at smart wearable devices, mobile terminal components, and high-voltage connection systems for vehicles…”
More than one article I saw said Luxshare was eyeing Apple Watch production, though that appears to be a guess based on the company’s continuing relationship with Apple. And seriously - who wouldn’t want to be in on Apple production?
The only thing standing between Luxshare’s dream and reality - about $2 billion. Citing a Reuters report, Apple Insider says the company plans to issue as many as 2.1 billion shares to as many as 35 investors to raise the do-re-mi.
