Lingyi iTech, a supplier of components for iPhone factories, is setting up a super factory in Beijing that will produce 10,000 humanoid robots by 2026 and half a million per year by 2030, marking the biggest industrial shift in China since the smartphone.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 29/05/2026 at 17:17

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Lingyi iTech, an Apple supply chain giant, is converting its Beijing factory for the mass production of humanoid robots. With an ambitious goal of 10,000 units by 2026 and an incredible 500,000 per year by 2030, China is preparing to flood the global market with a new generation of autonomous workers.

The transformation of the Chinese industrial park is a global phenomenon. Former premium smartphone assembly lines are now focused on a new type of high-tech product.

Lingyi iTech, known for supplying metal casings for iPhones, leads this strategic movement. Its plant in Beijing is the epicenter of this industrial reconfiguration.

This pivot is not isolated. Other giants that were part of Apple’s supply chain are following the same path. Companies like AAC Technologies and Lens Technology are realigning their operations.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Precision Engineering: From Smartphone to Articulated Robot

Converting a smartphone factory to humanoid robots represents a monumental engineering challenge. The complexity of the new products is significantly higher.

A smartphone, although technologically advanced, is a static device. A humanoid robot, on the other hand, requires mobility, balance, and fluid interaction with the environment.

This implies the production of numerous articulated components. A robot’s chassis is an intricate network of motors, sensors, and power transmission systems.

Manufacturing metal casings for phones required minimal tolerances. For robots, this precision extends to joints and actuators that simulate human movement.

Each humanoid robot must integrate hundreds of moving parts. Coordination between these elements is vital for its functionality and operational safety.

The production line of the humanoid robot Beijing factory had to be completely re-equipped. New machining, assembly, and testing machines were implemented.

Developing an articulated robotic arm, for example, is much more complex than assembling a touchscreen. It involves fine mechanics and advanced electronics.

The expertise in miniaturization, crucial for smartphones, is now applied in compact power systems. Powerful and lightweight motors are developed for each robot joint.

Lingyi iTech is heavily investing in research and development. Improving the autonomy and interaction capabilities of robots is a priority.

The Impact of the Chinese Flood on the Global Market

The scale of Chinese production has a history of transforming global markets. What happened with consumer electronics may repeat with humanoid robots.

Morgan Stanley has already recognized the potential of this change. In May, the institution doubled its forecast for Chinese humanoid sales for 2026.

The estimate jumped to 28,000 units that year, just in China. This increase highlights confidence in the sector’s exponential growth.

Mass manufacturing capability allows for a rapid drop in costs. This will make humanoid robots accessible to a much broader audience globally.

Imagine the impact of 500,000 robots annually being launched into the market starting in 2030. The massive supply can redefine the future of work and automation.

Sectors like logistics, manufacturing, services, and even personal care could be revolutionized. The demand for human labor will inevitably be affected.

China is not only producing but also refining the technology. Internal competition drives rapid and efficient innovations in design and functionality.

This movement signals a new era of Chinese exports. It will not just be products, but advanced automation solutions that will shape entire industries.

The geopolitics of technology will also be impacted. Leadership in humanoid robot production confers a significant strategic advantage on the world stage.

An Articulated Future: What to Expect for the Next Decade

The speed at which China adapts and scales is impressive. The transition from electronics giants to robotics is a testament to this capability.

Dominance in large-scale humanoid robot production could define the technological hegemony of the next decade. The humanoid robot Beijing factory is a symbol of this.

We see history repeating itself, but with a new guise. From car production in the early 20th century to the smartphone, mass manufacturing has always changed the rules of the game.

I wonder what these robots will do and where they will be in 2035. Their applications could go far beyond what we can conceive today, in a variety of domestic and industrial tasks.

I confess that the pace and scale of this transformation are somewhat dizzying. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of humanoid robots per year is something to be closely monitored.

For Brazil, this scenario represents both a challenge and an opportunity. We need to observe, learn, and find our place in this new global automation economy.

The race for leadership in robotics has already begun. And China, with its unparalleled industrial capacity, seems to be in a position of advantage.

The next decade promises to be defined not only by artificial intelligence but by the physical embodiment of this intelligence in accessible humanoid robots.

This is a decisive moment for the global industry. The restructuring of giant factories demonstrates a clear vision of the future that is approaching.

How can Chinese mass production of humanoid robots redefine the global labor market?

Lingyi iTech, a supplier of components for iPhone factories, is setting up a super factory in Beijing that will produce 10,000 humanoid robots by 2026 and half a million per year by 2030, marking the biggest industrial shift in China since the smartphone.

Precision Engineering: From Smartphone to Articulated Robot

The Impact of the Chinese Flood on the Global Market

An Articulated Future: What to Expect for the Next Decade

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Lingyi iTech, a supplier of components for iPhone factories, is setting up a super factory in Beijing that will produce 10,000 humanoid robots by 2026 and half a million per year by 2030, marking the biggest industrial shift in China since the smartphone.

Precision Engineering: From Smartphone to Articulated Robot

The Impact of the Chinese Flood on the Global Market

An Articulated Future: What to Expect for the Next Decade

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

ESA is preparing LISA, a colossal space observatory with three spacecraft forming a triangle of 2.5 million km, lasers crossing the void, and a launch on Ariane 6 to capture ripples in spacetime and reveal an astronomy invisible to Earth’s telescopes.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

NASA researchers test new material capable of withstanding contact with melted lunar dust, one of the biggest challenges of space missions: technology may help astronauts produce oxygen, fuel, and structures using resources found on the lunar surface itself.

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ESA is preparing LISA, a colossal space observatory with three spacecraft forming a triangle of 2.5 million km, lasers crossing the void, and a launch on Ariane 6 to capture ripples in spacetime and reveal an astronomy invisible to Earth’s telescopes.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

NASA researchers test new material capable of withstanding contact with melted lunar dust, one of the biggest challenges of space missions: technology may help astronauts produce oxygen, fuel, and structures using resources found on the lunar surface itself.