Smartphone Manufacturing Process
Most smartphone companies assemble their phones in East Asia due to the cheap costs of labor. However, smartphones don't just come assembled out of a machine. Most cell phone manufacturers order different parts from different companies for their phones. However, the smartphone manufacturing process in China is brutal, however thanks to leaders in the tech sector, it is improving. For example, Apple uses the manufacturing company, Foxconn, to make its smartphones. However, Foxconn is known to use cheap labor a lot. They have factories in China, Taiwan, and Brazil. However the Chinese one is the most brutal. Employees work very long hours at low wages, yet they still can't afford the smartphone they are making unless they save up for several months. An iPhone costs about 700 dollars in China. Employees work about 49 hours a week including overtime. They make only about 400 dollars a month. However, this is significant improvement. Apple's CEO Tim Cook really helped improve working conditions at Foxconn, unlike HP CEO Meg Whitman and Dell CEO Michael Dell (Even though they use Foxconn manufacturing too). Foxconn hours used to be 60 hours a week in order to make about 300 dollars a month. Workers were committing suicide due to the tough working conditions. The photo to the left shows Tim Cook visiting the Foxconn factory to assess working conditions. American Smartphone companies such as Apple are beginning to slowly shift operations back to the United States. This year, Apple plans on producing its entire iMac line in Texas.