Apple iPhone XR Reportedly Shifting Production to Foxconn From Pegatron Due to Manufacturing Issues

Apple has reportedly shifted its production plans for the iPhone XR after one of its suppliers ran into manufacturing issues. The Cupertino giant is said to be switching a big chunk of iPhone XR’s production to Foxconn from Pegatron. Apple at its launch event earlier this month unveiled three new iPhone models – iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. While the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max started shipping from September 21 for the first wave of launch countries and in India it will become available from September 28. However, the iPhone XR will be available for pre-orders starting October 19, and its shipments will begin from October 26 in over 50 countries and territories, including India. According to a new report, one of Apple’s manufacturing partners have been facing production issues.

Citing a report from Chinese language Economic Daily News, Digitimes said that Apple had handed roughly 50 percent to 60 percent of the whole production of iPhone XR to Pegatron and about 30 percent to Foxconn. However, because of delayed shipments of key components as well as capacity constraints, the company was forced to switch the orders. After the decision, Pegatron is now dealing with less than 30 percent of iPhone XR’s production. The report noted that Pegatron’s production has been affected by a “lower-than-expected yield rate and shortages of workers at its plants in China.”

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The new iPhone lineup amounts to an upgrade over the iPhone X, with the premium iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models shipping this month itself. However, the relatively cheaper variant called the iPhone XR that shares a similar design but misses out on a few features, will not be available until late October. To recall, a previous report had claimed that the reason for a delay in iPhone XR’s shipping date could be both hardware and software issues.

As it is, LCD display panels are not as easily bent as the OLED panels (like the ones used on iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max), essentially making a bezel-free design a challenge for the iPhone XR. In addition to the above, the latest report claims that the supply of the LCD displays used for the iPhone XR from Japan Display (JDI) has reportedly not been steady. Hopefully, Apple will be able to resolve the issues in iPhone XR’s production before it available for preorder next month.

Will Apple ever launch reasonably priced iPhones in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.