- Apple Plans To launch made in India iPhone 12 as the Taiwanese manufacturer of Apple is hiring in India for the production of parts.
Wistron, the Taiwanese manufacturer of Apple, has begun hiring processes for local iPhone 12 part production in India. The Made in India iPhone 12 will be out by mid-night next year, a Business Standard report reported. Wistron expected to spend more than 2,900 crores in India to step up efforts to manufacture the iPhone locally.
The setup at the Narasapura plant for iPhone production is located in Kolar district, about 70 km from Bengaluru, New Indian Express noted. The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) allocated 43 hectares to Wistron when it announced its production plans in 2017. The Kolar manufacturing company will generate 10,000 jobs according to the estimate. Wistron has had 2,000 locals employed since.
The New Indian Express was told by sources familiar with the matter that the hiring would take place in a staggered manner. As of now, diploma graduates’ walk-in interviews are underway. There will be more interviews with seasoned persons, as well as freshers, soon. Wistron has begun production of trials and will begin the development of iPhones commercially in Kolar by September.
It is not clear which component in the fabrication unit will be assembled. Reports in the past, however, have reported that Wistron’s manufacturing units will assemble printed circuit boards ( PCBs) for iPhones at its new plant in south India.
PCB is a bed for key components like processors, memory, and wireless chipsets which are the core of an electronic device. Reuters noted that once assembled or populated with components, PCBs account for around half the cost of a smartphone.
Local iPhone development would save on import taxes of 22 percent and generate new job opportunities for Indian locals. The iPhone 12 will be the seventh iPhone model to be manufactured in India, giving a boost to the government’s initiative ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat.’ So far, Apple has developed a range of local iPhone models including the first generation iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, iPhone XR, and iPhone 11. Local iPhone SE (second generation) production is also scheduled to commence soon.
Rival Wistron Foxconn started producing iPhone 11 at their Chennai plant last month. This was the first time in India that Apple manufactured a top-of-the-line device. After starting the iPhone 11 production in India, Apple is looking into the local iPhone 12 production and iPhone SE (second generation) model assembly. iPhone 12 is scheduled to release in October sometime.
Apple, which still produces most of its iPhones in China, has progressively moved to expand production in Washington and Beijing according to a Reuters report.
