Foxconn to Suppliers: iPad 2 Production (and Next iPhone?) Will Not Be Delayed Due to Explosion

5740110700 a1c1c2ed5b o 1Photo via MIC Gadget

Beyond the obvious human toll of last week's Foxconn factory explosion, there's been speculation about how the incident may affect Apple's iPad 2 production.

Some analysts have already suggested that the production impact should be minimal, but now China Times is reporting more definitively that the iPad would not be affected based on comments from Foxconn to suppliers.

Sources said the explosion at Foxconn Technology Group’s Chengdu plant did not affect the assembly line of iPad. Foxconn assured major suppliers at an online meeting yesterday that under the principle of “orders placed and goods delivered as usual”, the production of iPad 2 would not be delayed and related iPhone devices and new iPad products would still be in mass production in the third quarter.

"Related iPhone devices and new iPad products" appears to be sufficiently vague, but Apple, of course, is expected to launch a new iPhone around September this year which is likely to be manufactured by Foxconn.

The explosion which rocked Foxconn's factory on Friday night killed 3 people and left 15 injured. Apple has issued a statement expressing their condolences to the victims and family and that they are investigating the event.

Popular Stories

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 ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...

Top Rated Comments

BigPrince Avatar
181 months ago
Well they are certainly NOT going to get up on stage and state that production WILL be affected...which would immediately:

1)drop Foxconn's stock
2)drop Apple's stock
3)cast doubts (inside Apple and other customers) on why Foxconn doesn't have a backup plan

It would be nice (for Foxconn) if production will not be affected but it seems crazy to think so...an explosion that kills 3 and injures dozens?...that's at least going to shut the plant down for days (weeks?) as investigations happen...then they have to rebuild the plant.
Maybe there would be an investigation that would perhaps "shut down" a plant if this was the US....

and most customers have no idea whatsoever that some plant in China "exploded" or what the heck "Foxconn" is
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
181 months ago
Take a friggin guess,

People who want to buy one maybe? Like me FFS!

Why am I meant to give a **** about someone I don't even know

Yeah, lets not worry about people having thier lives potentially at risk, as long as the *******s get thier Ipads ASAP!

Hey good news! I do not know you! Enjoy the delay!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisA Avatar
181 months ago
it seems crazy to think so...an explosion that kills 3 and injures dozens?...that's at least going to shut the plant down for days (weeks?) as investigations happen....

The plant is the size of a city. tens of thousands of people work there. It may likely be this explosion was in a store room where they keep paint Likely not even near where Apple products are made.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
181 months ago
You seem to be under the assumption that Foxconn only has one plant, and that that one plant only makes ipad 2s.

For scale, it looks like Foxconn had nearly 1 million employees in 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn

arn

And also the Shenzhen factories are the main iPad 2 factories.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
181 months ago
It would be nice (for Foxconn) if production will not be affected but it seems crazy to think so...an explosion that kills 3 and injures dozens?...that's at least going to shut the plant down for days (weeks?) as investigations happen...then they have to rebuild the plant.

You seem to be under the assumption that Foxconn only has one plant, and that that one plant only makes ipad 2s.

For scale, it looks like Foxconn had nearly 1 million employees in 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn

arn
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericinboston Avatar
181 months ago
Well they are certainly NOT going to get up on stage and state that production WILL be affected...which would immediately:

1)drop Foxconn's stock
2)drop Apple's stock
3)cast doubts (inside Apple and other customers) on why Foxconn doesn't have a backup plan

It would be nice (for Foxconn) if production will not be affected but it seems crazy to think so...an explosion that kills 3 and injures dozens?...that's at least going to shut the plant down for days (weeks?) as investigations happen...then they have to rebuild the plant.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)