Foxconn is a very large supplier of parts to many different smartphone makers, including Apple. Now there are reports that the company is developing an all glass phone chassis in preparation for a drastic redesign of the iPhone. To try and be a little clearer than others reporting this same story. It’s not speculated that Apple commissioned the development of a glass phone chassis rather it’s rumored that Foxconn is developing the glass phone chassis to pitch the technology to Apple or other smartphone makers.
Determined to secure its position as a key iPhone assembler, Foxconn is developing its glass casing technology. “Foxconn has been trying glass chassis since last year,” a person with knowledge of the Apple supply chain in Taiwan said.
Another source said: “It is only natural that Foxconn is trying to come up with glass chassis as the capabilities to provide more components will bolster its standing within the supply chain and help with more orders.”
The reason the speculation that Foxconn may be developing the glass phone chassis for Apple is due to the fact that Apple accounts for 50% of Foxconn’s revenue. If you think of it in those terms, it does make sense that the company would target Apple’s iPhone for this technology. That being said, it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t snag a deal from someone else if the tech proves to be implementable.
Now, on to the bigger question. How much sense would a glass phone chassis make? There is certainly very strong glass out there that can take a beating but it’s a different beast once you take some sort of metal frame out of the equation. Even the best Gorilla Glass can still be broken and having an entire phone made of glass could mean a lot of broken iPhones. Yes there are advantages to glass with reception and wireless charging but you have to wonder how strong can it actually be made.
What do you think? Does an all glass phone make sense? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
[button link=”http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Foxconn-develops-glass-casing-as-iPhone-redesign-expected” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Nikkei[/button]Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
