AppleInsider Staff
During a recent shareholder meeting, president and CEO of Apple partner manufacturer Foxconn said his company plans to roll out robots on assembly lines responsible for products like the iPhone, possibly in time for production of the so-called "iPhone 6."
According to CEO Terry Gou, the robots — dubbed "Foxbots" — are in the final stages of testing and could see deployment in at least one major Foxconn factory in the near future, with lines dedicated to Apple devices getting first priority, reports IT Home.
For the initial rollout, Foxconn is said to be planning an installation of 10,000 robots to replace human workers, possibly including those who make Apple's popular iPhone product range. Each Foxbot can complete an average of 30,000 devices per year, meaning a release of 10,000 would theoretically yield 300 million iPhones if completely tasked to that production line.
At a cost of $20,000 to $25,000 each, the robots could also represent a substantial savings for Foxconn, which currently employs more than 1.2 million workers at its various factories across China. Aside from overtime wages, housing and production line stoppages, the introduction of a fully automated manufacturing solution could solve the company's ongoing workers' rights troubles.
Foxconn's robot initiative has been delayed since it was first announced in 2011. At the time, Gou said the company had about 10,000 units already in operation, a number that was supposed to rise to 300,000 in 2012, then one million by 2014. The current number of robots being used in Foxconn's factories is unknown.
Despite the reported advancement in its robotics project, Foxconn will still have to rely on human hands for the foreseeable future. In June, a report claimed the firm would be hiring some 100,000 employees in ramp up to production of Apple's next-generation iPhone, which is rumored to start in July.
Apple's iPhone 6 is expected to boast a completely revamped design with a thinner chassis and next-gen "A8" SoC. New for this year may be the introduction of two new models in a 4.7-inch version and a 5.5-inch "phablet" variant, the latter of which could see differentiation through optical image stabilization and a higher 128GB storage option.
Recent rumors have pegged a release date for Sept. 25, while others claim launch will occur on Sept. 19.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
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Malcolm Owen
109 Comments
Those robots look just like real people¡
Each Foxbot can complete an average of 30,000 devices per year, meaning a release of 10,000 would theoretically yield 300,000 iPhones if tasked to that production line.
That math doesn't really work out. Unless you're only assuming 10 such robots will be working on iPhone production.
That is one way to solve problems related to worker's rights - get rid of the workers.
This is great news if it turns out to be true!
Last I heard, robots do not get a salary, they do not require room and board, they do not strike and they do not jump off of roofs.
In one of the previous threads about Foxconn from a while ago, I'm pretty sure that I mentioned something that Foxconn should get rid of as many human workers as possible.
This is also great news for those people who like to slander Apple and complain about Foxconn workers being underpaid. Now they don't have to be paid at all! Haha, that's awesome! Perhaps one of the slanderers of Apple can hire them now, unless they're all talk and no action.
I'd much rather have robots making my devices than humans. Robots are more precise, they're not affected by mood, and they can complete the same boring task over and over again without any complaints.
Foxconn gets two thumbs up from me if they do go ahead with this move!
I believe a few zeroes were left off the number of devices 10,000 robots could produce in a year. ;)