Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Foxconn to exclusively manufacture ’s iPad mini 2, rumor has it


As we sift through ’sJune quarter sand decipher vague hints suggesting ablockbuster Fall, rumors of a next-eration iPad mini continue to swirl. And whereDigiTimes seesa Retina iPad mini in October, KGI’sMing-Chi Kuo seesa launch in March or April of 2014 given thebattery and performance challengesstemming from driving a much smaller, thinner and lighter Retina display.A pair of recent supply chain reports points to commissioning Taiwan’sHon Hai PrecisionIndustry Co. (aka Foxcon) with assembly of the second-eration iPad mini. The company is additionally said to have included new suppliers in the iPad supply chain…The Foxconn rumor originates in an article by Chinese web portalSohuwhich cites investors as speculating will exclude its other contract manufacturer, Pegatron, and instd ask Foxconn to exclusively manufacture the iPad mini 2.Rcting on the news, Pegatron’s stock price fell by the daily limit last Wednesday and slumped four percent the following day. The article re-iterrates that the device has beendelayed due to the limited production capacity of Retina displays, with total shipments expected to rch up to twenty million units.And if you askET News, Retina manufacturing challenges may have prompted to embrace as a supplier of iPad mini 2 screens, alongsideSharpand Display.For those not in the know, Pegatronassembles the iPhone 4S and iPad mini.According to theWall Street Journal, recently commissioned Pegatron to assemble a purportedmid-range iPhone. The claim isin line with whispers of moving away from Foxconn to Pegatronfor (some) assembly work.As for new iPad suppliers, Taiwan’sUnited Daily Newsreports thatChina-based Desay Battery will be included in the iPad supply chain in either the second half of 2013 or in rly 2014.Desaycurrently supplies iPhonebatteries.The United Daily News story also mentions thatJabil Circuit and Hi-P International have become chassis suppliers for the budget iPhone. This is interesting as we first rd aboutHi-P andJabil as suppliers of the budget iPhone’s polycarbonate body in April’sCommercial Times report.That is incrsing the of suppliers is no surprise to ssoned watchers.The current CEO Tim Cook was ’s op-chief under Steve Jobs’s regime so for a person tasked with making sure the trains run on time he is all to well aware of the strategic importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket.Under Cook’s watch, we’re now seeing a gradual diversifiion of ’s suppliers and manufacturers, perhaps even beyond Foxconn and Pegatron.The reliableKGI Securities analystMing-Chi Kuo acknowledgedas muchin a recent note to clients, writing in 2014 will commission Taiwan’s Compal Communiions, Wistron and Inventec Appliances to help build i, iPod touches and iPads.On top of that, ’s upcomingspace-age Mac Prohas brought some manufacturing jobs back to the United States. The cylindrically-shaped pro desktop will proudly br the ‘Assembled in the US’ label.

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