Controversial Pegatron regains Apple’s assembling order of the upcoming iPhone 13 mini model – Report

Industry sources report that iPhone 13 mini model will still be part of the upcoming iPhone series despite lower than expected sales. A new report by DigiTimes also reports that Apple’s controversial assembling partner, Pegatron has acquired iPhone 13 mini orders.

Pegatron is a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company that assembles iPhones for Apple. But in November 2020, Cupertino tech company suspended all operations with the manufacturer because it was found guilty of several labor violations like low wages, long working hours, poor working conditions, and hiring students at its assembling factories in China. Pegatron was put on suspension until it meets Apple’s labor standards.

Off Apple’s suspension, Pegatron will handle production of the iPhone 13 mini

Based on supply chain reports, it can be assumed that Pegatron has improved its working conditions and is off Apple’s suspension to acquire assembling order of the smallest iPhone 13 model. DigiTimes writes that in addition to iPhone 13 mini, the manufacturer

Pegatron has obtained orders for the upcoming 5.4-inch iPhone model, as well as a portion of orders for another upcoming ‌iPhone‌ model that will feature a 6.1-inch display, according to market sources.

Earlier, Economic Daily News detailed that Hon Hai (operating as Foxconn) will manufacture Pro and Pro Max models of the new series. Pegatron will assemble iPhone 13 mini and will share the load of the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 with Luxshare.

In terms of the distribution of OEM orders, Hon Hai maintains its position as the main foundry, and Pegatron has exclusively won orders for the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 with the smallest screen. As for the red supply chain indicator factory Luxshare, which first assembles the iPhone this year, the shipment model is the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro, which accounts for about 40% of the orders.

Apple has reportedly stopped production of the iPhone 12 mini model because of very low sales. In spite of offering advanced technology like 5G network support, improved camera, A14 Bionic chip, and more, consumers mostly preferred that bigger iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max varients over the small screen, even in the low-spending trend during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is hard to guess that why is the company continuing with the bad performing model. But it can be estimated that it number of units of the iPhone 13 mini will be much smaller than the other models.