Robots, Not Humans Will Soon Build iPhones On Assembly Line, Says Foxconn Chairman

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and Apple’s primary iPhone supplier, is planning to shift to full automation. Speaking at Computex 2025 in Taipei, company chairman Young Liu said that robots and generative AI will soon take over much of the manual work replacing low-wage human labour in their factories. Liu highlighted that Foxconn’s integration of generative AI into its workflows is already boosting efficiency. He revealed that AI-backed software can perform around 80% of the work required to set up a new production and the AI is also saving time since it is relatively faster. Liu however acknowledged that the blend of “bots and brains” may not eliminate the need for people entirely, noting that it is already reducing reliance on low-skilled labour. “We thought maybe we could replace every human. We quickly realised we could not,” said Liu. Liu added that generative AI is helping the company resolve production issues more quickly. He highlighted that AI is also helping Foxconn save time, allowing its human experts to focus on more high-value tasks.