Apple says it is excited to manufacture the iPhone 14 in India.
It is reported that in order to diversify the supply chain and avoid over-reliance on China, it is reported that Apple plans to transfer a quarter of iPhone production to India by 2025. JPMorgan analysts said last week that they believe Apple will move about 5% of iPhone 14 production to India by the end of 2022.
Bloomberg reported that Apple will assemble the latest iPhone 14 in India, less than three weeks after Apple released the new iPhone, which will be the first time Apple has started manufacturing in India in the first year of the new iPhone release.
India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China, typically lags China by six to nine months in producing new iPhones.
According to reports, Apple co-manufacturer Foxconn is producing the iPhone 14 at its Sriperumbudur factory near Chennai, India, and is expected to go on sale locally later this year. “We are excited to manufacture the iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in an emailed statement.
Bloomberg previously quoted people familiar with the matter saying that Apple has been working with suppliers to increase production capacity in India and narrow the time gap between India and China to produce new iPhones. The main iPhone maker, Foxconn, has looked into how to ship components from China to India and assemble the iPhone 14 at a factory near Chennai, India.
In addition, Tata Group, a leading domestic company in India, is in talks with Taiwanese supplier Wistron, hoping to establish a joint venture to assemble Apple’s iPhone mobile phones in India.
According to a report by JPMorgan Chase, starting from the end of 2022, Apple will transfer about 5% of iPhone 14 production to India, and by 2025, India will produce about a quarter of iPhones.
Analysts at JPMorgan also said that by 2025, about 25% of Apple products, including Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods, will be produced outside China, up from 5% currently.
Although Apple has a small market share in India, Apple has expanded its investments in India over the past five years. Two years ago, Apple launched the online Apple Store in India, and Apple has also publicly stated that it is working to open its first brick-and-mortar store in India.
In April this year, Apple announced that it would start producing the iPhone 13 in India, the fourth iPhone to be assembled locally in India after the production of the iPhone SE in 2017. Previously, some iPhones were assembled at Foxconn’s local factories, while others were assembled at Wistron’s factories.
