Under Indian law, Apple has ultimate legal responsibility for the underpaid wages at a Wistron iPhone assembly plant near Bangalore, says a local report.
iPhone assembly was suspended at the plant due to damage caused when workers rioted following underpayments. An investigation by the Indian government found ‘serious labor law violations’ …
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An investigation by the Indian government into a riot at a Wistron iPhone assembly plant in Karnataka, Bangalore, has found ‘serious labor law violations.’ The riot involving hundreds of workers followed complaints about being paid significantly less than had been agreed.
The government says that it had been able to confirm underpayment and more at the plant …
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The iPhone plant riot in India over the weekend is not expected to have much immediate impact on production in the country, but analysts suggest that it might have longer-term implications.
Reports variously say that between ‘hundreds’ and two thousand workers took part in the riot at Wistron’s iPhone assembly plant in Bangalore. Production was suspended due to the damage …
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Contract manufacturer Wistron has confirmed reports that iPhone assembly was suspended following a riot at its plant in Bangalore, India. Video footage (below) shows people attacking assembly units, smashing windows, overturning cars, and starting a fire. Wistron puts the total cost of the damage at 4.38B rupees ($60M).
The violent protest, which took place on Saturday, was said to be over underpaid wages by Wistron. Multiple reports say that the riot involved almost 2,000 workers, with more than 100 of them arrested by police …
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Apple’s work to reduce its manufacturing dependence on China took another step forward as Pegatron’s board approved an initial $150M investment in a new plant in India. It was reported in July that Pegatron’s India plans will eventually see the company invest around a billion dollars in the facility.
A follow-up report in the summer said that Pegatron was making preparations to join Foxconn and Wistron in setting up an iPhone plant in India, but plans were reportedly delayed by the coronavirus crisis …
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The iPhone 12 Pro price in India makes it so expensive that it’s actually cheaper to book a return flight to Dubai and buy it there than it is to buy it locally …
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Indian manufacturing incentives proposed earlier in the year have now been confirmed. In return for manufacturing premium smartphones in India, manufacturers will qualify for incentives worth between 4% and 6% of the cost of each device.
Although open to any brand, the scheme has a requirement which is expected to primarily benefit Apple and Samsung …
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Back in June, India began banning Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat over security and privacy concerns while a border dispute was heating up between the two countries. Now India has added over 100 more Chinese apps to its banned list including PUBG, Tencent, Alipay, and further WeChat apps. The move comes as the US ban of TikTok is approaching in November.
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Apple is set to launch an official first-party presence in India, with the launch of the Apple Online Store beginning next month according to a report today from Bloomberg. This lines up with a Q3 timeline reported by TechCrunch earlier this year.
Apple is finally able to start direct sales in the region as Indian government rules that companies must source 30% of components domestically were relaxed last year. The launch of the Indian Apple Online Store will be followed by the opening of physical stores, starting in Mumbai.
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Indian iPhone production has begun at a new Wistron plant, initially with test production before mass production begins next month. Wistron has also begun recruiting 10,000 staff for its newest plant.
The move reflects another step forward in Apple’s more ambitious manufacturing plans for the country …
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Government action that badly disrupted iPhone production in India is no longer affecting imports of iPhone components, according to a Foxconn statement…
Update: There seems some potential good news ahead. Economic Times reports that the Indian government is considering an exemption to the checks for foreign companies like Apple.
iPhone assembly in India has been badly disrupted as tensions with China continue to rise, says a new report.
Components arriving from China are said to have been held in Indian customs in what seems to be the latest escalation of the fallout from a disputed border between the two countries…
It appears that a longstanding border dispute between India and China was behind India’s partial ban on Chinese apps from the country. In one of the more bizarre elements of the story, it has been reported that Indian and Chinese soldiers fought with clubs and rocks …
The Indian government has made a big move today in limiting the Chinese apps that are available in the country. In response to security and privacy concerns, 59 popular Chinese apps and services including TikTok, WeChat, and Weibo are no longer accessible in India.
Build-to-order Macs (BTO) are finally available in India through Apple Authorized Resellers. Previously, customers in the world’s second-most populous country could only buy the base model Mac, or one of a limited number of preconfigured upgrade options.
The introduction of the BTO option means that customers in India now have the same options as those buying direct from Apple in other countries …
Apple has reportedly been in talks geared to shifting up to a fifth of iPhone production from China to India over the next five years. Most of the production would be for export.
This would represent a massive ramping up of the Cupertino company’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China, following a report that the company is to make AirPods outside the country for the first time …
New data from Counterpoint Research today indicates that Apple’s marketshare in India continues to grow. While Apple still faces strong competition from companies like Xiaomi, the iPhone 11 and various pricing promotions have helped attract new buyers.
All iPhone production in India has been suspended as the country’s prime minister announced a strict 21-day lockdown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
In the strictest rules seen yet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that almost nobody is allowed outside their homes for three weeks …
Apple’s reliance (some would say over-reliance) on China has been a hotly-debated topic for some time. The company’s efforts to boost Apple production outside China have never been of greater interest than now, however, when the coronavirus outbreak is having a substantial impact inside the country.
India has been one of the countries making a concerted effort to win more of Apple’s manufacturing business, but a couple of reports have highlighted some of the challenges to making this a workable option …
A new report from the Wall Street Journal today details Apple’s dependency on China for its supply chain, and how that is unlikely to change in the near future. According to the report, some Apple executives suggested relocating manufacturing of at least one product to Vietnam, but the idea was “rebuffed” by senior management.
We learned during the Apple shareholder meeting that the company is planning to open an Apple Store in India in 2021 – and it has now been revealed that this was in part thanks to an intervention by the Trump administration.
Tim Cook shared Apple’s plans last week …
Counterpoint Research has doubled-down on an earlier report that Apple saw a ‘complete turnaround’ in its fortunes in India, estimating that Indian iPhone shipments grew 41% year-on-year in 2019.
It said that the iPhone XR was the best-selling smartphone in the ‘ultra-premium’ category, ahead of Samsung and OnePlus models, with the iPhone 11 also selling well…
The HomePod was launched in the United States back in 2017 and since then its expansion around the world has been quite slow. And after being launched in Japan last year, the company confirmed today that the HomePod will also be available shortly in India.
