Apple COO Visits China Again, Exploring Long-standing "Apple Supply Chain" Partners Foxconn and Xinhongda

In less than half a year, Apple executives have launched a new round of visits to China.

On March 17, Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan visited the Xinwangda battery factory in Shenzhen, the iPhone assembly line at Foxconn, and the iPad assembly operations at Foxconn’s Chengdu factory.

These are two highly experienced Chinese “fruit chain” companies. Xinwangda’s partnership with Apple began with the iPod and has lasted for 20 years. Currently, they supply finished batteries for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and other product lines. Foxconn has been the core contractor for iPhone assembly, and now their cooperation covers a broader range of business.

Khan’s itinerary covered key segments from battery production to full device assembly, providing a comprehensive view of the latest developments in China’s supply chain in smart manufacturing.

At Xinwangda’s battery factory, the iPhone battery production line has undergone multiple rounds of automation upgrades. Unlike the traditional long, noisy production lines, the equipment layout here is more compact, operates at a faster pace, and overall noise has been significantly reduced. The main reason is Xinwangda’s upgrade from traditional belt conveyors to magnetic levitation (maglev) production lines, which use electromagnetic forces to move objects.

Xinwangda staff told Jiemian News that this production line has undergone four iterations over the past decade. It started with manual processes moving to automation, then introduced rotary lines to save space, followed by the first-generation one-dimensional maglev lines, and now the latest fourth-generation lines with high flexibility and high precision, featuring six-dimensional maglev technology.

Currently, the one-dimensional maglev lines are fully applied to the iPhone production line. The six-dimensional maglev lines, with their multiple degrees of freedom and higher adjustability, can quickly deploy production programs for batteries of different sizes and shapes. Deployment time has been reduced from 2 hours to 6 minutes, a 95% reduction.

Xinwangda also actively uses digital twin technology as a key support tool for production line operation. By collecting real-time data from equipment and creating models, engineers can use Apple Vision Pro to access real-time data and visuals for remote diagnostics and debugging, reducing equipment troubleshooting time by 72%. Additionally, digital twins are used for optimizing line design by simulating different parameter combinations to find better operational solutions.

In quality inspection, Xinwangda and Apple jointly developed an automatic optical inspection device called “iPhone Detecting iPhone.” It uses an iPhone as a visual capture terminal, leveraging its built-in GPU and neural engine for local inference, taking photos and inspecting all six sides of the battery.

Next, Khan visited Foxconn’s Guanlan factory in Shenzhen, where he toured the iPhone motherboard production line and full device assembly line.

As a partner involved in manufacturing since the first-generation iPhone, Foxconn’s investments in automation and digitalization mainly focus on system integration capabilities. The fully automated motherboard factory, which operates in the dark, exemplifies this capability.

In a control room of about a few dozen square meters, two walls are covered with electronic screens, and a large transparent glass window forms the control center of the “lights-out” factory. From here, one can see neatly arranged flexible production lines, automated material transport vehicles, and collaborative robots handling loading and unloading.

The entire process—from loading and unloading, robotic arm handling, logistics transfer, to carrier board recycling—is fully automated. The control center manages production status through digital twin technology, enabling real-time, centralized control of equipment operation, cycle times, and exception handling.

In Chengdu, Foxconn’s factory is operating the full assembly line for the recently launched MacBook Neo. The engineering teams collaborated on automatic screw technology to develop screwless fastening methods and simplify processes. This factory has been assembling iPads since 2010, and later expanded to MacBooks, Apple Watch, display panels, and shell production lines.

Khan recalled that his earliest visit to Shenzhen was in the late 20th century. The long-term cooperation between Apple, Xinwangda, and Foxconn exemplifies how these companies have achieved great success together. “Working together creates greater value than working alone. Our relationship is symbiotic.”

Regarding the achievements of Chinese suppliers in smart manufacturing, Khan expressed high recognition and mentioned that he has studied China’s new five-year plan, which emphasizes manufacturing, talent development, and “Artificial Intelligence+” goals, all reflected in the production workshops of Apple’s Chinese suppliers.

In an increasingly intelligent manufacturing environment, public concerns about workers’ value and job security are common. Khan believes that the core work for the company is to continue talent development programs and invest in education funds, promoting skills through courses in AI, programming, leadership, and communication to support long-term career growth for workers. By 2026, the company plans to launch new “AI+” training courses with suppliers.

In fact, amid the trend of globalized supply chains, Foxconn and other key Apple suppliers’ overseas expansion efforts have attracted particular attention. How manufacturers position Chinese factories within the global production network and set development priorities has become increasingly important.

Jiang Jiheng, General Manager of Foxconn’s Business Group, summarized that the company’s nearly 40 years of development have been centered on aligning strategies with customers, industry trends, and national development directions.

He told Jiemian News that AI will play an extremely important role in Foxconn’s future development. “This is an industry trend and a huge opportunity. I think everyone should embrace this technological revolution.” Besides, improving product engineering services, maintaining talent cultivation, and green manufacturing are also key tasks for the company.

Regarding the trend of globalized supply chains, Jiang believes this is a stage that different industries must go through. Among them, Foxconn’s Chinese factories remain the core base for engineering validation, development, and manufacturing. This is supported by China’s advantages in technological talent accumulation, government support, and a complete industrial ecosystem.

“Any innovative concept can be rapidly turned into a mass-produced product in China. That’s truly remarkable,” Jiang said.

Beyond manufacturing capacity, green production is also a key focus of this visit. Xinwangda has achieved 100% renewable energy use in its production processes for Apple through solar systems and has established a recycling system covering the entire battery lifecycle. Foxconn’s factories in China have also achieved 100% renewable energy supply and participate in waste zero-landfill projects.

Apple disclosed that over the past year, its Chinese suppliers saved approximately 55 billion liters of freshwater through clean water projects—equivalent to filling West Lake four times.

(Source: Jiemian News)