Luxshare could produce the iPhone 12 mini for Apple earlier than planned



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Apple Watch assembly partner Luxshare expects to be able to work on the iPhone supply chain ahead of schedule, and is now preparing to begin work on manufacturing the iPhone 12 mini following the acquisition of a Wistron facility earlier of its acquisition.

In July, it was reported that Luxshare will acquire an iPhone production plant in China from Wistron, in a purchase valued at 3.3 billion yuan ($ 499 million). While the acquisition has yet to be completed, it appears Luxshare is eager to get iPhones production up and running on premises as quickly as possible.

A team of Luxshare employees is observing production at the plant, Nikkei Asia reports, a move that is unexpected for a few reasons. To begin with, the study of the production lines would not be expected to occur before the purchase has been finalized.

Second, Apple’s enhanced levels of secrecy surrounding the supply chain generally mean that it is rare for employees outside of one company to go to another to see how production takes place. This is doubly true for the end of the year, which is when iPhone production is at its peak.

The report’s sources also claim that the team is heavily vetting the production of the iPhone 12 mini. This may be a change in Luxshare’s plan, as it was believed that it would start producing older iPhone models from 2021, not current-generation models.

It was thought that Luxshare would follow the same path as others who joined Apple’s iPhone supply chain, assembling older models to prove their worth to Apple before moving on to newer models. Sources say the original plan was for small-scale production of older models, followed by large-scale manufacturing in 2022.

The plant’s current production is claimed to handle roughly 20% of total iPhone 12 mini orders, so continuing production at the plant seems plausible.

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