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Apple is tapping more Chinese suppliers as it seeks to meet ambitious targets for iPhone 13 production, according to a new report by Nikkei Asia.
Apple is set to produce between 90 million and 95 million iPhones through January, according to a previous Nikkei report, and China’s Luxshare Precision Industry has won 3% of orders away from Taiwanese rivals Foxconn and Pegatron.
Luxshare will start building the iPhone 13 Pro — as the premium model is expected to be called — this month, according to sources, a major breakthrough for a company that has never produced iPhones on its own. Newcomers to the Apple supply chain normally start out making older iPhone models. Two companies that Luxshare acquired last year, South Korean camera module maker Cowell and metal frame maker Casetek of Taiwan, will also supply key components and parts for this year’s new iPhones, sources familiar with the matter said.
Despite Luxshare’s small percentage of iPhone production this year, its involvement has reportedly rattled rival iPhone suppliers are said to be wary of the Chinese manufacturer’s competitiveness and the possibility that it could steal away bigger chunks of orders in the future.
Luxshare’s ability to break into iPhone production comes despite U.S. trade restrictions on China, whose increasing involvement in Apple’s lucrative supply chain has reportedly come at the expense of rivals in the U.S., Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
For example, China-based Lens Technology has only supplied glass backs and cover glass for iPhones in the past, but this year it will also supply metal casings for the first time, according to Nikkei.
Meanwhile, China’s biggest maker of smartphone camera lenses, Sunny Optical Technology, is also said to have entered the iPhone supply chain for the first time, supplying a small amount of rear came
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Read the original article: Apple Brings China’s Luxshare Precision into iPhone 13 Supply Chain to Meet Production Targets