Foxconn Struggles to Meet Increased iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Demand

Apple received 4 million advance orders for the new iPhones in the first 24 hours, setting a new pre-order record for the company. With such demand, reports of suppliers not being able to meet Apple's increased orders are hardly surprising.

(Also see: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: Everything You Need to Know)

The iPhone 6 will go on sale starting September 19 in select countries and will be shipped with 7-10 days of the order, while the iPhone 6 Plus wait time has been advertised as up to a month on Apple's US website.

(Also see: Is Apple Embarrassed About the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Camera Bulge?)

A report claims that Foxconn, Apple's biggest assembler, is struggling to ramp up production to meet Apple's renewed demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, despite operating production lines across the clock.

WSJ in a report stresses that the biggest challenge for Foxconn (the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry) is to manufacture the "two complicated new iPhones on a large scale at the same time", pointing out that while Foxconn is the sole assembler for the iPhone 6 Plus, it handles the majority of iPhone 6 assembly as well.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, claims that Foxconn is hiring more workers to assemble the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at its Zhengzhou production site in north central China. The report notes that Foxconn already has over 200,000 workers at the Zhengzhou site for manufacturing the new iPhones and major components such as metal casings. The company is said to be operating 100 production lines around the clock in Zhengzhou.

(Also see: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Reportedly Come With 1GB of RAM)

One of the persons familiar with the matter said to WSJ, "We have been churning out 140,000 iPhone 6 Plus and 400,000 iPhone 6 every day, the highest daily output ever, but the volume is still not enough to meet the pre-orders."

(In comparison: iPhone 6 Plus versus iPhone 6 versus iPhone 5s versus iPhone 5c)

The sources tip that the biggest reason for struggling production has been the limited supply of 5.5-inch displays used on the iPhone 6 Plus. "For iPhone 6 Plus, we are still ramping up the production line. Another reason for the limited supply is the shortage of 5.5-inch displays," added the person.

Reportedly, the output rate of the iPhone 6 Plus' 5.5-inch display is only around 50-60 percent, while the output rate is 85 percent for the iPhone 6's 4.7-inch display.

The report quotes a person at a display component supplier, saying, "display makers have to scrap almost half of the substandard output."

Further, WSJ details "The production is complicated because the displays use in-cell technology. This allows the screens to be thinner and lighter by integrating touch sensors into the liquid crystal display, making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer."

Last year, Foxconn, despite of delay in the phone's limited supplies, gradually ramped up its production in a bid to reduce the iPhone 5s waiting time.

However, it is yet to be seen whether the Taiwan-based manufacturer is able to increase the production of the new iPhones before the second wave of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launches.

Apple announced that its new iPhones would be launched in at least 18 countries starting September 26 and 27.