The world is now filled with various technology that we use on a daily basis. One of the most popular gadgets that have become a necessity for most people is the iPad. Have you ever wondered how this amazing device is made? Let’s take a look inside Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen, China, where the iPad is manufactured.
Foxconn’s lone hua factory campus is a vast area where nearly a quarter million people work. The workers are mostly migrant workers who have travelled across China to earn money to send back home. The average age of the workers is between 18 to 25 years old. The factory is responsible for producing various electronic gadgets, including the iPad.
At the start of the assembly line, workers are given their daily assignments. The first part of the assembly line is the floor where workers assemble the iPad’s motherboard. Foxconn recently introduced machines to help with part of the work on this line. Here, a machine attaches a tiny buckle to the motherboard. If anything goes wrong with a particular iPad, Apple uses this buckle to trace the machine back to this line on this date.
Later on in the assembly line, the motherboard and other components are installed inside the iPad housing. Each step in the line adds a new component, and some steps take just seconds to complete. Workers usually rotate their jobs every few days. Workers on this line start out making around $14 a day, and after a couple of years, their salary doubles.
After workers install the LED touchscreen display, the iPad is nearly completed. However, before it is boxed up and sent to addresses throughout the developed world, it takes a ride on a machine that tests the gyroscope, which is used when playing video games. A few more screen tests, and the iPad is ready to be shipped.
The work is tedious and boring, but every day, hundreds of people line up outside the factory to apply for jobs. On one day, 500 applicants, many of them tired from traveling days from their home village, arrived with the hope of working here. The supply of workers is continuous because, compared to other Chinese factories, Foxconn is considered to be one of the best. The company has invested millions in new amenities like athletic fields for its workers, and it pays its workers on time.
However, more workers these days are leaving Shenzhen to return home to work. Foxconn has picked up on this trend and has located its newest factories in China’s interior to be closer to where much of China’s labor supply comes from.
In conclusion, the iPad may seem like a simple gadget, but the process of making it is complex and involves many workers and machines. Thanks to their hard work, we can enjoy the convenience of using an iPad every day.