Traditional Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is, unsurprisingly, leading production of the 4-inch iPhone 5SE; however, Wistron has reportedly also took some orders for the small handset.
The report comes from DigiTimes, which has a good record with stories about Apple’s supply chain. According to the Taiwan-based news site, Apple has been aiming to divide its iPhone orders between different suppliers to avoid risks.
In fact, Apple appears to have been phasing in this kind of strategy for some time; it is said that, in February 2015, Compal Electronics was added as an iPad Mini supplier, while Wistron was tasked with conducting panel lamination for the iPod Touch.
According to “some market watchers”, Apple intends to more firmly establish Wistron as an iPhone assembler. A longer term aim is apparently for Wistron to manufacture units of the next-generation 5.5-inch iPhone, likely to be dubbed the iPhone 7 Plus. Foxconn will, however, remain the lead supplier, while also sharing production of the phone’s 4.7-inch counterpart with Pegatron.
DigiTimes reiterates news that the iPhone 5SE will debut at an event in mid-March alongside the iPad Air 3, though it is unclear whether the news outlet has got this claim from its own independent source.