The Foxconn makeover is in full swing, with the latest this piece from the New York Times that supposes that the world’s largest ODM is worried that Apple — yes, Apple — might be bringing it down.

When Apple was subsequently criticized for low wages and poor working conditions at his factories in China, it was Mr. Gou’s company, the Foxconn Technology Group, and not Apple, that caught the most heat.

What this conveniently ignores, of course, is that no matter how demanding and dictatorial Steve Jobs could be, those weren’t Apple employees jumping to their deaths from their Cupertino offices.

Such unpleasantries aside, what the story also reveals is that Foxconn does not intend to go head to head with its customers. There’s ample evidence to the contrary already, of course, not the least of which are the Foxconn retail stores popping up all over China, not to mention the litany of ODM phones and other consumer electronics it design and makes.

To paraphrase an old saw, believe what I say, not what I do.