Is Foxconn Sneaking Up On Apple?

Could another of Apple’s suppliers be turning into competition?

Fact:

Japan is one of Apple’s hottest markets worldwide. In fact, the iPhone continues to govern the Japanese smartphone market year-after-year.

Rumour:

Foxconn, a company most famed for manufacturing Apple’s devices (mainly the iPhone) is gearing up to sell its own smartphones in Japan.

Background:

Almost since the beginning of iPhones, Foxconn which now employs around 1.3 million people and 40,000 robots, has been playing a vital role as the supplier for Apple’s device manufacturing.

Foxconn recently acquired Sharp, reportedly to provide a helping hand to launch Foxconn’s own line of smartphones. Not only that, Sharp may even be involved in the manufacture and distribution of the handsets.

If reports are to be believed, then Foxconn is claimed to be working on launching entry-level and mid-range phones, expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2017. No specific dates can be pinned down at this stage, nor can the device specifications or features.

In fact, the brand name itself is a mystery — according to the sources within the Japanese manufacturing industry, it “remains unclear as to which brand Foxconn will use” to market the devices, though it is possible that Foxconn might sell them under Sharp’s branding — perhaps owing to the recent acquisition and it’s brand positioning in the market.

This is clearly a bold move and clearly a long-planned overture.

You may not know it, but one of Foxconn’s subsidiaries, FIH Mobile, purchased all of Microsoft’s feature phone business earlier this year (for approximately USD 350 million) and is almost set to roll out its first Android phone under the Nokia brand name!

Let’s surprise you once more.

If you head over to Snapdeal’s site, you’ll see over 15 smartphones and features phones by the the brand name of InFocus. That’s Foxconn too!

In fact, InFocus’ latest mobile phone is the M535+. Launched in July 2016, this smartphone comes with a 5.5 inch display, 3 GB of RAM and packs a 13 megapixel primary camera on the rear and an 8 megapixel front shooter for selfies. The phone runs on Android 6.0. Overall, fairly decent specs for it’s price point.

Back to the mystery at hand.

Foxconn’s plans to introduce its own cheaper set of smartphones in collaboration with Sharp could also counterbalance Sharp’s own Aquos line of devices, which holds a major section in the high-end market in Japan but leaves the company the leeway in their product lineup to introduce entry-level and mid-range devices for consumers.

If sources are to be believed, the inclusion of Foxconn’s smartphones “will enrich Sharp’s product portfolios”, if the reports are true and the company is really the brand attached to the new handsets.

Adding to the triangle, Apple was long rumored to be in talks with Sharp to provide OLED displays for its next-generation iPhones — the deal relying on Sharp’s ability to produce a lot of displays. Apple currently uses LCD screens on its smartphones and tablets, and it’s move to OLED can’t seem to happen via it’s existing supply chain.

In fact, Sharp, the electronics manufacturer is said to have plans to spend a whopping USD 570 million on it’s OLED panel production capabilities, although the output goal is 2018.

Thinking tangentially, does this mean that Apple will not use OLED screen in the next iPhone (8?) launch in the next year? Hmmm.

Now for the other important question: Would Apple be worried about Foxconn’s intentions of launching its own smartphones?

Nope.

It wouldn’t be that huge a concern — because if Apple can manage to work in a comfortable space with its global rival Samsung, to produce iPhone’s components, then it sure can handle Foxconn’s nascent forays. I doubt Apple feels insecure anyway.

Originally published at Chip-Monks.