As analysts anticipate a greater shift in the American giant’s future manufacturing, Apple announced on Monday that it has begun assembling the iPhone 14 models in India. This marks the first time the current lineup has been locally produced in the same calendar year in the second-largest smartphone market in the world.
The smartphone is being produced in the Sriperumbudur factory near Chennai by the company’s international partner Foxconn. Later this year, the locally made iPhone models will start selling in the nation. “We’re thrilled to be producing the iPhone 14 in India,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement to a national daily.
Apple started assembling iPhones locally in India in 2017, but up until this year, the iPhone manufacturer had only used the country's manufacturing facilities to assemble handsets from earlier generations. The iPhone 14 versions were introduced by Apple earlier this month. By 2025, according to analysts, Apple will gradually reduce its reliance on China, where it has been manufacturing the vast majority of its gadgets for more than a decade, and turn India into a worldwide hub for iPhone production. According to a research released earlier this month by JP Morgan analysts,
Apple would increase its manufacturing capacity in India to create 25% of all iPhones by 2025 and relocate 5% of global iPhone 14 production there by late 2022. In recent years, India has drawn investments from Apple's manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron by providing generous subsidies as New Delhi works to establish the nation as a manufacturing hub. According to JP Morgan analysts, the presence of the international production behemoths, along with "ample labour resources and competitive labour rates," make India a viable site.
Many people would expect that Apple will lower the cost of its mobile devices in India as it increases its capability for domestic production there. The base iPhone 14 model costs 79,900 Indian rupees ($980), which is equivalent to $799 in the United States. While the entry-level iPhone Pro Max model n the U.S. has a sticker price of $1,099, it costs $1,717 in India.