> “For Chinese Android phones, we only have to assign 100 workers per production line, but we need 1,200 for the iPhone,” Chiang said, underlining Apple’s exacting demands.
I'm not sure that this _necessarily_ says that much about "exacting demands"; a lot of that could come down to different design compromises (a once-piece plastic body would presumably require a less complex line than Apple's glass-and-metal one, say).
I'd imagine Apple's quality requirements _are_ higher than the average OEM, but you can't say that much about that just based on production line size.
Even so this is not exactly an apples to apples (pardon the pun) comparison. There's no reason to assume Chinese Android phones refers to any devices built for the international market or that the Android phones in question are built to the same standard as those for the international market. Since iPhones for the Chinese market are likely built to the same standard as iPhones sold internationally (as Apple would likely not want lower quality iPhones to end up being resold to US customers) this may very well be a completely meaningless comparison.
I don't doubt Apple has higher requirements than even Android for the US market but the article is built around a quote that doesn't actually demonstrate that.
I feel like I’d like a like vs like comparison here. It’s unsurprising that there’s more QA than at the cheapest penny pinching end of the android market, but how does this compare to the various flagship models?
Are these production lines running at the same scale, in terms of phones per hour? There aren't many Android phones being produced in volumes anywhere near Apple's.
I'm not sure that this _necessarily_ says that much about "exacting demands"; a lot of that could come down to different design compromises (a once-piece plastic body would presumably require a less complex line than Apple's glass-and-metal one, say).
I'd imagine Apple's quality requirements _are_ higher than the average OEM, but you can't say that much about that just based on production line size.