Apple Expands iPhone 13 Production In Unexpected Fashion
Apple is expanding its iPhone suppliers in China in relatively unprecedented fashion this year. It would appear that the new iPhone 13 Pro will be the main device that'll be manufactured by the company Luxshare Precision Industry, per reports from China. This is the first time Luxshare will have a contract handling a final product iPhone, meaning Apple must have the utmost faith in the company, even though the amount of devices the company has contracted is relatively small compared to Apple's expected first-wave orders with all suppliers combined.
Per a Nikkei Asia report, Luxshare will produce "up to 3%" of the total expected 90-93 million iPhone units ordered by Apple "through January." It's reported that Luxshare will handle manufacturing of a percentage of Apple's iPhone 13 Pro models to start. It is expected that Luxshare's recently acquired companies Cowell (camera modules), and Casetek (metal frames), will contribute to the manufacture of components for iPhone 13 units as well.
If Luxshare is, indeed, in charge of 3% of Apple's next iPhone, it's a distant third in the set of three main manufacturers Apple's contracted to make the new device family. The strange bit here is the possibility that the first full, final iPhone manufacturing job Apple would order from Luxshare would be their most extravagant device. In the past, the first full device order Apple's made from a supplier has (generally) been an already-established, older model that needed expanded or continued manufacturing after its initial run.
This is not the first time Apple will have worked with Luxshare for a top-tier device. They've been contracted to create plenty of components as well as AirPods and AirPower – though that particular product never really... made it to market. A report earlier this year suggested that Luxshare was responsible for a substantial portion of the display panels made for the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021.
Luxshare is also one of a list of brands that agreed to be part of a China Clean Energy Fund initiated in July of 2018. It's likely Luxshare will continue to become a bigger part of Apple's supply line if they're able to successfully ramp up production in new devices in the near future.