iPhone 14 production begins with trial phase; Luxshare will reportedly make only low-end models

The very first phase of iPhone 14 production is reportedly underway, in a stage known as trial production. In this phase, a small number of devices are assembled in order to gather data that will guide later mass production.

Trial production has four main goals …

First, test the planned assembly process to identify any problems encountered. Second, spot opportunities for improving efficiency. Third, collect data, such as the number of units produced per hour. Finally, establish a suitable quality monitoring process.

Apple last year promoted Luxshare from a component supplier to an iPhone assembler, including some iPhone 13 Pro units. The Pro Max was still exclusively assembled by Foxconn.

However, the company’s hope to see a boost in iPhone orders this year appears to have been dashed: UDN reports that Luxshare will this year likely only get assembly orders for the base-model iPhone 14.

Apple iPhone 14 has recently entered the OEM trial production operation. It is reported that the [Chinese] factory Luxshare has not yet obtained the new product trial production import mass production service order (NPI), and will miss the [opportunity to manufacture Pro models, which are the most profitable to make].

For the high-end iPhone 14, this year, it may only get orders for the basic iPhone 14 and become the second supplier. [Foxconn is] firmly seated as the leading iPhone OEM, and this year’s iPhone 14 orders are “safe.”

Trial production starting toward the end of February is in line with previous years, suggesting all is so far on schedule for this year’s iPhone 14 line-up.

We’re expecting to see a new design, the familiar notch replaced with either a punch-hole for the camera, a pill-shaped cutout for camera and other tech, or a combination of the two. You can read more about what we anticipate in our recent roundup. Subsequent reports suggest interesting possibilities on the SIM front and a potential RAM boost.