“Apple’s future plan to introduce a plastic iPhone is confirmed within this morning’s shocking report into labor abuses at manufacturing partner, Pegatron,” Jonny Evans reports for Computerworld. “As part of the investigation, China Labor Watch inserted people inside three of Pegatron’s factories. In one of these reports it confirms the future debut of a plastic iPhone: ‘Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone’s plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple,’ the report explains.”
Evans reports, “That’s not to say working conditions are as expensive as they should be. Pegatron is accused, among other things, of deliberately misleading Apple on such matters as employee overtime. ‘Pegatron has a falsified attendance recording system in which workers’ overtime is recorded to be less than the real amount. Each week, all workers are required by an HR assistant to check yes and sign their names on an overtime form. Workers are required to sign and are not to pay attention to the number of overtime hours written on the form; the document’s only purpose is to deceive Apple during inspections,’ the report explains.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Photo of ‘iPhone 5C’ packaging appears online (with photo) – July 28, 2013
Purported low-cost iPhone image appears with FCC certification on polycarbonate case – July 26, 2013
Apple to discontinue iPhone 5 with launch of iPhone 5S and low-cost polycarbonate models, report claims – July 24, 2013
Apple’s low-cost polycarbonate iPhone compared to other iPhones, iPod touch (with video) – July 24, 2013
Latest purported ‘iPhone Lite’ polycarbonate rear casings show different colors (with photo) – July 10, 2013
Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!
This can not be happening! Don’t do this Apple!
Crap…
Great a Lexan(r) phone. It is going to feel like having an RC car to my face.
Do you normally use your phone with back side against your face? Lexan is an incredible engineered plastic. It’s literally bullet-proof. There will still be a high end aluminum/liquid metal version for you. Viva plastic iPhones!
Funny… Voting down my post. So Apple fans want Apple to make carappier phones and dilute the brand? Not very smart.
You obviously know nothing of Apple’s brand or m.o. Look at the iPod or Powerbook/Macbook or the desktop computer lines. Apple always makes a more affordable product, and always makes the same margins. None of their products could be considered “crap”, just less expensive. I fully expect this phone to be somewhere around the 4s-5 in power/functionality at 1/2 the price.
Do you really think they’re going to make a low-cost iPhone Out of aluminum?
Can’t wait. The iPhone lineup IMO should be as diverse as the iPod. I just wish it hadn’t took so long for Apple to reach the same conclusion.
Colour me impressed
So what is the red Chinese governments end game? What do they want.
Weird only iPhone 5c are leaked and no leaks about iPhone 5s/6.. no news either. Secrecy to the max.
LOL! Apple gets accused of labor abuses but the stock gets a bump because the accusations confirm production of a cheaper iPhone.
A plastic iPhone.
This is Apple quality?
I’m going to wait and see.
IMHO I’d rather see the trash foisters, Samsung ad nauseam, screw over customers with cheap crapware, NOT Apple.
Meanwhile, this typical sick shite:
Workers are required to sign and are not to pay attention to the number of overtime hours written on the form; the document’s only purpose is to deceive Apple during inspections,’ the report explains.”
China.
Are you ready to try a better country for third party manufacturing yet Apple? I hope so.
This could be the beginnings of the Bean Counters controlling Apple. Why goe high end materials when you can get a larger profit margin by going cheap plastic builds. I hope I’m wrong that Apple isn’t making decisions to make the Bean Counters happy.
It sucks when the bean counters take over. Like when that one bean counter, Steve Jobs, was in charge and tortured us by using plastic cases for the flagship iPhone 3G and again 3GS. Nobody counted beans like Steve.
/s ? I hope!
1997 is not 2013. What a dumb comparison, but all inline with your thinking.
At first, the idea of a plastic iPhone after the metal/glass phone seemed like a bad idea and it still may be but looking at the rendered phone from the article and I would be impressed.
I was also not impressed by using polycarbonate as I would prefer metal and glass for environmental reasons but polycarbonate is highly recyclable.
Waiting to see if the plastic phone rumor is actually true.
I am staggered at the number of people here whining like little girls about Apple making a plastic phone. ‘Oh noes! The bean counters are taking over! The death of Apple, making a plastic phone!’ Have these people got the attention span of a fucking goldfish? Or are they just completely ignorant of anything that Apple has made prior to two years ago?
Have none of you idiots ever seen an iPhone 3? Or an iPhone 3GS? Did you think that curved, shiny, black back was some magic ceramic or metal? Well, wake up at the back there,It’s PLASTIC! Yes, Victoria, Apple actually had the cheek to make a plastic phone, that ran for two iterations, and none of you half-wits seem to have noticed. I even clearly remember people on here snivelling about the iPhone 4 not having a nice, curved, plastic back, but a horrid, flat, glass back with flat metal sides that, oh, horror! might hurt their delicate little girly fingers.
Pathetic, truly pathetic. Some of you really need to grow a pair.
Or grow up.
Anecdotal evidence points to the finding that curved back was very popular and missed by quite a few people.
Plastic or glass, whatever Apple makes will be a nothing less than a BMW among the sea of Hyundai phones.