We’re just a few weeks away from the launch of this year’s iPhone lineup, and a new report says that iPhone 15 production is underway in India, as well as China.
However, one big question remains: Will Apple succeed in simultaneously shipping launch iPhones from both countries?
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A new report highlights the success of the Made in India initiative, with a massive 2 billion mobile phones made in the country since the program was introduced.
Apple has been a major contributor to that stat, going from making only the iPhone SE in the country through to making the latest flagship models today – and more to come …
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Update: Bloomberg today reports that both Apple and Samsung have responded to the sudden announcement by halting laptop imports into India. This is likely to be a temporary pause until a license is issued, but there’s no way to know how long this may take.
A new policy announced today means that Macs and iPad imports to India will require a license. The policy takes “immediate effect.”
The move appears to be part of the country’s Made in India strategy, which uses a carrot-and-stick approach to encourage brands to set up local manufacturing plants for their products …
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Apple has its eyes on India as the next major market to dominate. The nation is also a big part of Apple’s plans to diversify product manufacturing outside of China. Foxconn, Apple’s iPhone manufacturing partner, just dropped out of a $19.5 billion chip deal in India, however.
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Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant – colloquially known as iPhone City – appears to be struggling to recruit and retain enough staff. The company is reported to have raised iPhone worker bonuses three times in one month as it preps for mass-production of the iPhone 15.
In particular, Foxconn is offering substantial incentives for remaining on the production line for at least three months, to see it through the busiest period, and avoid a repetition of last year’s major disruption …
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iPhone maker Wistron – which was the first company to produce iPhones in India – has exited the business, saying that Apple’s tough negotiations on price meant the company was unable to make a profit.
The news comes at a time when the Cupertino company is moving more and more of its iPhone production from China to India …
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iPad production in India looks likely to start soon, after Apple largely succeeded in a bid for greater financial incentives from the government. The Cupertino company rejected a previous offer, stating that it wasn’t enough to cover the costs of setting up iPad assembly there.
While the government incentives are open to any manufacturer, they were designed with Apple as the key target …
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The Indian government has today announced that Foxconn has broken ground on $500M worth of new iPhone plants in Telangana, in the south of the country, as Apple continues its efforts to move more production out of China.
At least one of the plants is also expected to manufacture AirPods, after Apple offered Foxconn a new contract for these back in March …
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Apple CEO Tim Cook last week pointed to emerging markets like India as the solution to flattening growth rates in mature markets like the US and Europe. One way of kick-starting growth in new markets, suggests Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, would be for Apple to sell an older iPhone SE for the local equivalent of $199.
This would effectively be following in the footsteps of the $199 Apple Watch Series 3, which Apple retained on sale long beyond the point at which it made sense to buy one …
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While in India to celebrate the grand openings of Apple’s first two retail stores in the country, CEO Tim Cook also paid a visit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a meeting on Wednesday, Cook reiterated Apple’s commitment to India and promised continued investment in the country.
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A day ahead of the official opening, Apple Saket photos have been shared by the Cupertino company. This will be the second retail store in India, opening just two days after the spectacular Apple BKC.
CEO Tim Cook yesterday opened Apple BKC in Mumbai, and will likely do the same at Apple Saket in New Delhi. Sadly, this one looks far less impressive …
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Photos and video clips have been shared of Tim Cook opening the Apple BKC store in Mumbai earlier today – including his surprised and delighted look when a customer turned up with an early Macintosh. Update: Apple’s official photos added to the end of the post.
Apple yesterday showed off the store in a set of photos, and it’s definitely high up there in the rankings of the most beautiful Apple Stores …
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Dramatic AAPL growth in India may be the biggest bright spot in the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings report next month.
Apple is expected to announce that global revenue fell by around 5% year-on-year, but the company will reportedly share good news on India …
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There’s been a very long wait for the first Apple Store in India, as the company worked on negotiating and meeting the government conditions for opening a single-brand store – but the Apple BKC store finally opens tomorrow.
Apple has now previewed the store ahead of its official opening, and it looks absolutely stunning …
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The value of Made in India iPhones tripled in Apple’s last fiscal year, according to a new report today, which says the country accounted for $7B worth of the company’s smartphones.
That represents an even bigger increase in the percentage of iPhones made in India, from just 1% in 2021 to almost 7% today …
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Ahead of the opening of the first Apple Stores in India, it’s being reported that Apple banned 22 competing brands from an “exclusive zone” around the store. These brands include Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
The iPhone maker used a clause in the mall lease agreement to ban these brands not just from opening stores in the zone, but even from buying ad space there …
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Foxconn revenue for March were reported today, and revenue for the iPhone assembler shows a year-on-year fall of 21.1%.
The company says that it also expects a decline during the current quarter …
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Both iPads and Macs have enjoyed remarkable success in India, a market in which price often dominates purchase criteria.
New market intelligence data suggests that Apple saw 135% growth in iPad shipments in the final quarter of last year. This saw it overtake previous market leader Samsung to become the best-selling tablet brand in the country …
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Earlier this month, a report revealed that Apple and Foxconn had successfully lobbied for more relaxed labor laws in the Indian state of Karnataka.
The companies, however, aren’t stopping there, as Bloomberg now reports that Apple and its supply chain partners are now pushing for labor reform in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu.
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A new Foxconn plant in India looks set to be about half the size of the massive iPhone assembly facility in Zhengzhou, China – colloquially known as iPhone City.
Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant employs around 200,000 people, and the new Indian facility is said to be creating around 100,000 jobs. It may also represent a key step in Apple building out an extended supply chain in India …
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A major AirPods supplier says that US client reps have been visiting the company on an almost daily basis to ask when it can move out of China. While Apple is not explicitly named, it is near-certain that it is one of the companies applying pressure.
The Chinese contract manufacturing giant said that it is investing in Vietnam, as well as considering expanding into India …
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A 50% rejection rate for iPhone casings produced by an Indian company is a stark illustration of the difficulties Apple faces in reducing its dependence on China. Apple’s target for casings that fail to pass quality control is 0%, with Chinese suppliers reportedly getting extremely close to this.
The attitude of Indian suppliers is also said to compare poorly with the can-do approach of Chinese companies, with one former Apple engineer saying that there is no sense of urgency in its Indian supply chain …
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One of the steps Apple is expected to take in reducing its dependence on China is to have some AirPods made in India – in addition to those already made in Vietnam.
The company has already asked two of its AirPods suppliers to move some of that work to India, and it’s today reported that Apple has commissioned an Indian company to produce the plastic enclosures for the in-ear devices …
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