Foxconn Chairman Admits to 'Falling Short' of iPhone 5 Demand

Reuters reports that Foxconn chairman Terry Gou has acknowledged that his company is struggling to keep up with demand for the iPhone 5, echoing an earlier report addressing the difficulty of assembling the phone to meet strict quality control standards.

"It's not easy to make the iPhones. We are falling short of meeting the huge demand," Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou told reporters after a business forum.

However, he declined to comment on brokerage reports saying that the group's other unit, Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), had taken on some production.

foxconn workers
The Wall Street Journal has another report on Gou's comments, quoting him as saying that Foxconn is shipping "far fewer" iPhones than Apple has requested.

"Market demand is very strong, but we just can't really fulfill Apple's requests," Taipei-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Terry Gou told reporters on the sidelines of a local economic forum.

Mr. Gou declined to say which of the phone's design features has caused production issues and how long it will take for those issues to be solved.

Availability of the iPhone 5 remains tight some six weeks after the first round of launches, with Apple's online stores generally quoting 3-4 week shipping estimates and lines forming at some Apple retail stores on a daily basis as customers seek out available stock.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...

Top Rated Comments

FieldingMellish Avatar
162 months ago
The way Jony Ives designs phones so thinner and lighter, Apple will soon have to offer a "build it yourself" option. You pay $80.00 less and receive a box of parts and a link to online instructions.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kissaragi Avatar
162 months ago
Will this finally shut up the stupid conspiracy theorists that claim apple hold back supply deliberately?..... Probably not :(

*edit*... it didn't...
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
utwarreng Avatar
162 months ago
The way Jony Ives designs phones so thinner and lighter, Apple will soon have to offer a "build it yourself" option. You pay $80.00 less and receive a box of parts and a link to online instructions.

It'll be called the iKEAPhone.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Junkyman Avatar
162 months ago
The entire situation is ridiculous. It's almost impossible to get an iPhone currently. And we are talking about 1,5 months after the launch.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
William Gates Avatar
162 months ago
I walked into ATT Friday morning and bought a Black 64 GB no problem, except for all the problems the ATT sales staff caused me.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Thunderhawks Avatar
162 months ago
Why would it? It's not a conspiracy as much as a fact. Of course they hold back supply to create artificial demand. EVERY iPhone has had "supply issues," or so they call it. You'd think that if they really wanted to have enough, they'd make it so that there are enough made in advance.

Thank you for proving with your comment that you know absolutely nothing about production, sales , forecasting, supply chains etc.!

Take a business class and post again after that please.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)