Foxconn is building a $2.6B display factory just for Apple [maybe – updated]
Update: Bloomberg has now removed Apple from the headline and has updated the piece to hint that Apple is the client without actually saying so.
Foxconn’s Taiwanese display subsidiary Innolux is investing $2.6B over the next two years in a new factory whose production will be exclusive to a single client, which Bloomberg reports to be Apple.
Equipment installation will commence next month with mass production of panels to start by the end of 2015 after an urgent request for exclusive capacity […]
Apple Inc., a Foxconn customer, has previously tapped suppliers for dedicated access to factories in a bid to avoid shortages that can crimp sales of its iPhones and iPads.
Shortages of the iPhone 6 Plus have been attributed to supply difficulties with the display, so a move to protect future display supplies would be a logical one for Apple, though Apple has mostly sourced its displays to date from Sharp, Japan Display, LG and Samsung.
Foxconn is Apple’s lead supplier for the iPhone, though secondary supplier Pegatron is believed to be playing a larger role than planned in a bid to help Apple keep pace with demand.
It was first suggested last month that Foxconn was hoping to make displays for the iPhone, along with other higher-end components – though this talk focused on China rather than Taiwan.
