Apple moves to make India their upgraded production hub: India will produce the new iPhone 15 simultaneously with China

Apple inc., as we all know, is an American-based multinational technology company that specializes in electronic devices and software. The company caused a revolution in the world of technology with its futuristic devices and software systems. Over the years, they have developed into an undefeated Dynasty. 

Ming-Chi Kuo, the Industry Analyst at TF International Securities, made claims on Thursday that India and China will manufacture the new iPhone 15 at the same time.

Apple and its manufacturing history in India

The manufacturing of iPhones in India was started by Apple in 2017. It started with Foxconn in Tamil Nadu and Wistron in Bengaluru. Pegatron, based out of Tamil Nadu, was added at a later stage as a third contract manufacturer. These 3 manufacturers together make the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 models in the country even today. It is also noted that the pro models are not manufactured in India.

In the year 2019, studies showed that around 64 percent of iPhone shipments in the country were imported. In 2021, it was seen that this percentage had greatly reduced to a shocking 23 percent. Some Data also showed that close to 77 percent of iPhones shipped in the Indian market in 2021 were manufactured in India.

In the first quarter of 2022, the shipment of nearly 1 million (10 lakh) iPhones of Indian make was done. This happened while Apple saw a growth of 22 percent.

Apple and its Current iPhone production strategy in India

On 18th August it was reported that Apple has plans to produce the new series of iPhone 14 in India, about 2 months after the product’s initial production in China. The company has been working with suppliers to increase production in India and shorten the lag in production to meet consumer demands.
The plan was to finish the production in late October or November.

Regarding this production of the iPhone 14 in India, Ming-Chi tweeted, “In the short term, India’s iPhone capacities/shipments still have a considerable gap with China, but it’s an important milestone for Apple in building a non-Chinese iPhone production site.” Ming-Chi also mentioned that this shows that Apple is very much interested in bringing another country into the picture when it comes to Apple products and their manufacturing. This can also be because of the current political situation and the unrest between both countries.

It was noted that even though the report mentioned 2 months, the production of the 14 series started a mere 6 weeks after the production in China. Ming-Chi Kuo, on analyzing this pattern deduced that the time lag has been greatly reduced and this can only mean that in 2023, both countries will be producing the next generation of iPhones, the iPhone 15, simultaneously.

Ming-Chi’s recent tweet said, “The iPhone 14’s mass production schedule in India this year is still about six weeks behind China, but the gap has improved significantly”. This is the main reason behind his conclusion that India and China will begin the production of the next series of iPhones at the same time. This can also help in meeting the vast consumer demand that exists for Apple products.

Apple’s latest Event announcement

The company has scheduled its first-ever in-person Apple event since the pandemic to be held in the month of September. This event is christened the “Far Out Event” and will take place at Apple’s Cupertino Campus in the U.S. The event is scheduled to be held on the 7th of September and can also be seen online as it will be streamed on their platform.

The event will showcase the latest products from the iPhone 14 series and other products like iPad tablets, Macs, and Apple Watch Series 8.

This event will obviously accelerate the already existing fame and sell-out capabilities of Apple products worldwide. This in turn will lead to a massive production rise to which India will undoubtedly be a big contributor. In this case, the iPhone makers in India should be able to qualify for the second-year incentives of the PLI scheme that was introduced by the government for smartphone production.

The PLI Scheme or Production Linked Incentive Scheme for smartphones in India. This was an idea that was developed to increase the production of mobile phones in general in the country, which will then bring in investments from a global level into industries in India.

Since the PLI Scheme was kick-started in April 2021, Apple has provided over 30,000 jobs in the country. According to the government s estimate, 1 direct job would create 3 indirect jobs. At this rate, Apple had created close to 1 lakh jobs in the country which made them eligible for the PLI Scheme. The other great factor was that this task took years for other mobile companies in India while for Apple Inc. it only took a matter of 15 months.

The scheme requires each of the contract manufacturers to produce phones worth 8000 crore rupees. At present India constitutes less than 1.5% of Apple’s global sales. More than 60% of iPhones produced in the country are for export purposes. This was also one of the goals of the PLI Scheme.

It is no doubt that Apple Inc. has been a great support to the economic welfare of the country. Apple provides over 1 million jobs in India. They have been contributing to the economy of the country for a long time, and their aim to increase production in India can only be seen as a benefit for the country and its youth.

Edited by Prakriti Arora