Foxconn to Join Inventec as HomePod Assembler in 2018 [Report]

Apple is planning to add Foxconn as an assembler of its HomePod smart speaker in 2018, according to a report from Nikkei.

Inventec is expected to begin shipping HomePod later this year.

"We will finally ship the smart home device this year, but its contribution will be fairly limited and hopefully that will improve next year," Inventec Appliances President David Ho told analysts and reporters during an earnings conference.


Arther Liao, analyst at Fubon Securities predicts, "Inventec Appliances will likely only ship some 500,000 units of HomePod this year, and the device's contribution to the group's revenue will be less than 1%."

Currently, Inventec is the only assembler for the HomePod and AirPod; however, a source says that starting next year the company will split orders with Foxconn.

Company officials said that Inventec Appliances' total shipments of smart and connected devices would likely grow about 20% to a total of 70 to 75 million units, maintaining the company's forecast at the beginning of this year. They did not break down shipments between smartphones and Apple products.

Apple has said it will launch the HomePod smart speaker in December. You can learn more about it here.


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