By Michael Oleaga / m.oleaga@latinospost.com (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Apr 29, 2013 10:31 AM EDT

Apple has allegedly returned millions of iPhones back to its manufacturing partner in China due to alarming defects.

According to China Business and China Times, the Cupertino-based company sent back five to eight million iPhone 5 devices due to manufacturer Foxconn not reaching quality standards.

NanDu Daily reported Foxconn's quality rate for the fifth-generation iPhone smartphone has to be 90 percent or higher, however, some were qualified at 80 percent due to defects.

In order to repair the smartphones, the account noted Foxconn would have to pay about $32 per device, which could result to $259 million.

A representative from Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai rebuffed the reports.

"It's not true. There is no such incident where 5 million iPhones were returned to Foxconn, and thus we don't have to pay billions of yuan. The quality rate is at [a] normal level. But we are very cautious when making the figure public, as it will affect the customer," said the spokesperson, via ZDnet.

It would not be the first time Apple's iPhones experienced quality issues. Following the launch of the iPhone 5, Foxconn acknowledged the iPhone 5 was challenging to create, thus, it took Apple nearly three months to balance supply and demand.

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