Manufacturing

Foxconn is planning an expansion of its American operations. Foxconn is known for manufacturing Apple products, along with those from companies such as Samsung and HTC, and this news comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that one of Apple’s Mac lines will be manufactured in the United States starting next year, with Apple investing $100 million in that operation.

Recent research from iSuppli shows that even though the iPhone 4S is more expensive than the Lumia 900, Apple actually pays less per part than Nokia does. The biggest individual price difference is between displays; Apple pays $37 for theirs, Nokia pays $58. All told, Apple pays $190 in parts, while Nokia pays $209, which leads to Nokia making a $241 margin per device, and Apple making $459.

We've seen lots of the rumored iPhone 5's body by now, and now the front cover has been acquired and squared up against the iPhone 4S. The new FaceTime camera position lines up just fine with what we were seeing on the chassis, and when put on top of an iPhone we're all familiar with, we get a good sense of just how much bigger the iPhone 5 will be.

A rather concise walkthrough video of Apple's anodization process has been making the rounds, and may be relevant to our interest in the iPhone 5 if the latest rumors of colored models are to be believed.