San Francisco, Jun 23 (IANS): Apple's largest manufacturing partner Foxconn is offering "record-high" signing bonuses in an effort to recruit workers for iPhone 13 production over the next few months, the media reported.

Foxconn is offering up to 8,000 yuan ($1,235) as a signing bonus to former workers willing to return to its Zhengzhou, China factory to assist with iPhone assembly during the "peak season," up from 5,500 yuan last month and 5,000 yuan in 2020.

Workers will receive their bonuses after working for Foxconn's iPhone assembly division for four months and staying until the end of the peak season, MacRumors reported, citing the South China Morning Post.

Apple manufacturers like Foxconn commonly offer signing bonuses in the months leading up to an iPhone launch, but this year's bonus range for returning workers is the highest since the Zhengzhou factory started operations in 2010, the report said.

Apple is increasingly expected to unveil the iPhone 13 lineup in September, marking a return to its usual launch timeframe after unveiling the iPhone 12 lineup in October 2020 due to reported Covid-19-related production delays.

iPhone 13 models are rumoured to feature a smaller notch at the top of the display, but otherwise they are expected to have a similar design as their iPhone 12 counterparts.

Other key new features expected include a faster A15 chip, a 120Hz refresh rate on the Pro models, several camera upgrades, a new Matte Black color and more.