Earlier this month, a noted Apple analyst had said that the company may ship India-made iPhone 14 models “almost simultaneously” with the China-made models after the launch, that is reportedly taking place next month. Now, a report from Bloomberg has said that the Cupertino-based giant may start manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release in China.
According to the report, Apple is working with suppliers to ramp up its production in India, and shorten the lag in manufacturing new iPhones in India, which is usually 6 to nine months later. Now, this comes as a big step since India’s iPhone capacities and shipments still have a considerable gap with China, and comes as a big milestorne toward’s Apple’s plans to build a non-Chinese iPhone production site.
Apple has been gradually ramping up production of iPhones in India, a report in ET also says. Currently, Apple iPhone’s are made in India by three Apple suppliers – Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron. The three Apple suppliers are part of the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and need to make products worth Rs 8,000 crore each year to avail the incentives, giving Apple more reason to shift production to India.
Apple has been looking to shift its production base to other countries, given the Geopolitical tensions that often prevail between China and the US (Taiwan crisis being the latest). Further, strict COVID lockdowns in China also limit production, as and when there is a spike in cases in the mainland region.
According to the report, the first batch of India-made iPhone 14 models will likely be finished in late October or November, following the September release of the product.
A report earlier this month took a similar tone, saying that Apple may ship the “India-made” iPhone 14 models “almost simultaneously” with the China models. The report came from TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said that this is happening for the first time in H2 2022, with the Indian production usually being one quarter or more behind China in the past. Kuo also clarified that there is still a considerable gap in India’s capacities and shipments as compared to China, but it comes as an important step from Apple to build a non-Chinese production site.
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