Foxconn ramping up staff numbers to produce Apple iPhone 5s for summer release

Apple's contract manufacturer of choice gearing up for new iPhone 5s

Foxconn, the contract manufacturer used by computer giant Apple to make its popular range of iPhones, is ramping up hiring in advance of the summer launch of the iPhone 5s.

According to reports, the Taiwanese company with massive factories in China has been hiring 10,000 workers per week in anticipation of a summer launch of the upgraded iPhone 5.

The new smartphone will be almost identical to the current iPhone 5, but will include a faster, ARM-based microprocessor and camera, and will run iOS 7, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system. It should also offer improved battery life.

The new operating system will introduce a "radical" new look and feel pioneered by Apple designer Sir Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple.

Ive took over as the company's lead designer last year when iOS senior vice president Scott Forstall, who was responsible for developing the iOS interface from its inception, was elbowed out.

The Mac operating system and iOS software teams were then united under senior senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi.

That unification of operating systems development has driven speculation that Apple is planning to unite elements of MacOS and iOS to create a unified operating system - similar to Canonical's developments with Ubuntu.

That would coincide with the possible adoption of an in-house designed 64-bit ARM microprocessor design in preference to Intel on Mac PCs and laptops.

However, according to online reports, Apple has had to pull developers from its OS X 10.9 project to work on iOS 7 because it was in danger of missing its deadlines. "What I've heard: iOS 7 is running behind, and engineers have been pulled from OS X 10.9 to work on it," wrote blogger John Gruber of the Apple blog, Daring Fireball.

The reports echo comments by Peter Misek, an analyst at US investment bank Jeffries, who said that Apple would begin producing its new model in March for a launch in June or July.

The news filtering out, though, may depress sales of the iPhone 5, which has sold well despite an underwhelming response from reviewers and analysts at launch.

Apple is also reportedly working on a "budget" iPhone with a polycarbonate shell, but no 4G high-speed mobile internet connectivity. It is slated to start at about $300 (£450) in price, compared to the current starting price of £500 for an iPhone 5, and ought to be available from around September.