Apple plans to start manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release from China, bridging the gap between the two countries, but not closing it completely. Some had guessed.
According to people familiar with the matter, the company is working with suppliers to increase manufacturing in India and reduce the lag in production of new iPhones from six to nine months from the last launch.
Apple, which has long made most of its iPhones in China, is exploring alternatives as Xi Jinping’s administration clashes with the US government and nationwide lockdowns that have disrupted economic activity.
Analysts such as TF International Securities Group’s Ming-Chi Kuo have said they anticipate Apple will ship the next iPhone from both countries at roughly the same time, a move that will help Apple diversify its supply chain and build redundancy. will be an important benchmark in its efforts.
Foxconn Technology Group, the primary maker of iPhones, studied the process of shipping components from China and assembling the iPhone 14 device at its plant outside the southern Indian city of Chennai, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the efforts are confidential. This included looking at ways to maintain Apple’s high standards for privacy.
Apple and Foxconn eventually debuted together in India and China this year is not realistic, though it remains a long-term goal, the people said.
The first iPhone 14 from India is likely to be out in late October or November, followed by a release in early September, he said. An ambitious target would be Diwali which will start from October 24, said a person.
A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment. Foxconn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reddington India, which distributes Apple products in the country, rose to 9.5 percent following a Bloomberg initial report.
Matching the pace of China’s iPhone production will be a major milestone for India, which is pitching its allure as an alternative at a time when the Covid lockdown and the imposition of US sanctions have left the world at a loss for the factory. As such, China’s position is in danger. Assembling iPhones often entails coordination among hundreds of suppliers and meeting Apple’s notoriously tight deadlines and quality controls.
Some at Apple and Foxconn had hoped to start production together in India this year, but that was never an official plan. One of the people said that to ensure a smooth launch, Apple wanted to first focus on ramping up the China operations and then work on the India production.
Apple’s partners began making iPhones in India in 2017, marking the beginning of a year-long effort to build manufacturing capabilities in the country. In addition to offering backup for its current operations, the country of 1.4 billion people is a promising consumer market and the Modi administration has offered financial incentives for technology production under its Make in India programme.
A challenge in reducing India’s production limits is secrecy. Apple goes to extreme lengths to keep new product details confidential, and implementing similar strict controls in another country would prove difficult.
According to two people, local authorities in India completely shut down a section of one of Foxconn’s many assembly lines, isolating workers and scrutinized all possible ways that could compromise the safety around the device Can go As of now, the stringent security controls and tight isolation of China’s facilities will be challenging to replicate, one of the people said.
Apple is also concerned about customs officials in India, who typically open packages to check whether imported ingredients match their declarations, another potential vulnerability to product privacy.
Even if Apple and Foxconn intended to launch together, supply-chain challenges would have stalled the target. China, the source of many iPhone components, has gone through successive waves of lockdowns, complicating the process of shipping components through the country.
India’s workforce and factories have not readily adopted the highly controlled practices that Apple requires from suppliers.
Since Apple began assembling iPhones in India five years ago through contract makers Foxconn and Wistron, workers have revolted over pay and food quality in two major incidents.
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