- Apple has started production of its flagship iPhone 11 at Foxconn near Chennai, India. It is the first time in the country that the tech giant can build a flagship unit
Apple has started production of its flagship iPhone 11 at Foxconn near Chennai, India. It is the first time in the country that the tech giant can build a flagship unit. Retail sources tell CNBC-TV18 that iPhone 11 is now available in stores with “Assembled in India” tags. As of now, consumers do not see the downturn in the market (PRICES), although it is assumed that we may eventually see this happen as making these devices locally saves Apple’s company Apple 22 percent on import duty.
Apple has now made two country-based handset models-iPhone XR being manufactured by Foxconn in Chennai and iPhone 7 by Wistron in Bangalore. Wistron manufactured the original iPhone SE and iPhone 6s but those were discontinued in 2019.
Going forward, Apple may consider exporting the 11s of the Indian-made iPhone, and we still need clarification on that.
Experts agree that for India to become a manufacturing and export hub for handsets due to the drive of the Indian government, massive opportunities lie ahead. OEMs are expected to set up production bases in India, following the introduction of the PLI scheme in April.
Not only is Apple planning to move its smartphone production from China to India to exploit the PLI program, but homegrown brand Lava also plans. Apple also aims to transfer smartphone production from China to India by 20 percent, and this move by Apple is a step in that direction. Piyush Goyal tweeted calling the change a “Huge boost to make in India!
Apple has remained the leading brand in the ultra-premium segment, which is devices priced above Rs 45000, according to counterpoint, and this is driven by iPhone 11 shipments, though it lost some share to OnePlus in Q2.
Apple also plans to produce the iPhone SE 2020 at its Wistron plant near Bangalore in India.
Foxconn, which is a leading supplier for Apple, intended to spend up to $ 1 billion earlier this month to expand its India factory where it assembles iPhone models. Pegatron — Foxconn’s second-largest iPhone assembler — has also been confirmed to make some investment in the country and set up a local subsidiary in the future.
