Luxshare won Vision Pro role by testing 'crazy' Apple ideas

Foxconn rival Luxshare is believed to be the sole assembly partner for the Apple Vision Pro headset, and a new report says its flexibility in prototyping earned it the order.

Apple has not confirmed previous reports that Luxshare is the sole manufacturer for the Vision Pro. However, a new profile of the company by the Financial Times repeats the claim and says that Luxshare has been steadily building up its relationship with Apple after starting to manufacture simple connectors in 2011.

Based in Shenzhen, China, Luxshare has reportedly been working with Apple through the development of the Vision Pro and the many issues over manufacturing such a complex device. As previously reported, issues with the headset's micro-OLED displays has meant Apple having to slash its production estimates.

The Financial Times quotes an unspecified supply chain worker as saying that Luxshare's growing relationship with Apple is in part by how it has been prepared to test "crazy" ideas in its factories. There is no more detail about what those ideas could be, but Luxshare has been steadily producing more complex Apple devices, such as the iPhone.

Luxshare was co-founded by Grace Wang, who was previously one of the first workers on Foxconn's initial production lines in 1988. Wang is now chair of Luxshare, and is reported to have raised annual revenues from 350 million in 2011 to $30 billion in 2022.

Described an unnamed but long-time employee as "attentive and strong," Wang has also led Luxshare into diversifying away from its home China base. She is said to have cautioned that India's supply chain is not yet sufficiently mature, but Luxshare is expected to take on production of the iPhone 16 Pro Max for 2024.

Wang says that at present Vietnam is "the best option" for relocation of manufacturing, although the country has recently been asking Luxshare and others to reduce electricity use.

At the same time, Wang's Luxshare is continuing to grow in China, and the Financial Times says the initial assembly of new products still being carried out there. That may include the iPhone 15 series, and Luxshare is said to have received a record number of orders for the phones from Apple.

Separately, Digitimes reported in April 2023, that Apple had been intending to use its AirPods supplier Pegatron for the headset, but switched to Luxshare. It's not clear how that fits with the claim that Luxshare has been working closely with Apple over the initial development of the headset.