Apple Is Considering Manufacturing AirPods in India

According to persons familiar with the situation, Apple has no intentions to begin producing iPads and Mac desktop computers in India. Although the company is examining opportunities to begin producing AirPods in the nation.

Despite widespread speculation that the US tech giant intends to manufacture all of its major goods in India, the Cupertino-based corporation will concentrate on increasing iPhone production while increasing component production in the South Asian country.

According to individuals familiar with the specifics, Tim Cook told the government on his latest trip to India that Apple intends to do additional business but he failed to elaborate.

“While the smaller issues of Apple production were not raised during Cook’s visit, Apple has not shown any enthusiasm in producing Mac PCs here,” stated an unnamed official.

Nevertheless, the government is confident that Apple will join the Mac production team as part of the revamped and compensated PLI plan for IT gear, which will be announced soon.

But, according to industry executives, Apple suffered a severe downturn in Mac sales globally, including India, between January and March. This has raised aspersions on the pitch.

And India appears to have skipped the iPad boat as well. In 2021, Apple attempted to relocate a portion of its iPad production to India.

Since the seller was a Chinese owned corporation, BYD, it was unable to obtain government permissions and instead relocated to Vietnam last year, according to another official. BYD Electronics had filed the PLI for smartphone manufacturing, but was not chosen.

Questions made to both companies were unanswered at the time of publication. The government is receptive to Chinese enterprises participating in Indian electronics production, but only if they form a partnership with an Indian organization.

According to officials, the authorities have not yet received a single request for a component JV.

According to a Meity official, Apple, through the company’s three Taiwanese contract suppliers, Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron, has shared a commitment to expand until 2026 as a component of the PLI program for smartphone production.

Furthermore, the corporation has been increasingly procuring locally made components, such as iPhone enclosures from Tata Electronics’ Hosur factory.

According to an industry official, the majority of iPad and Mac providers are Chinese. Corporations seldom undertake joint ventures for finished products, as securing clearances is difficult in India.

Nevertheless, the joint venture strategy may be successful in components. “We are currently employed on a PLI program for wearables, and Apple is welcome to join,” a second official stated.

According to an industry executive, it would make a reason for Apple to make AirPods in India because the protective cases used in wearables are presently shipped abroad from the nation.

Jabil, a US contractor manufacturer, manufactures enclosures in Pune. According to reports, Apple plans to quadruple its iPhone manufacturing capacity in India over the following two years.

According to the news outlet, it would take almost eight years to relocate just ten percent of Apple’s manufacturing capacity away from China. There approximately 98% of iPhones continue to be manufactured.

Last year, Apple’s partner Hon Hai began manufacturing the iPhone 14 in the nation just weeks before the model’s global introduction. The company shipped over $2.5 billion worth of its gadgets from the South Asian country between April to December.

Conflicts between Washington and Beijing, as well as an incident at an important plant in the country, highlighted flaws in the company’s supply chain.

In March this year, an individual reported, Foxconn, a subsidiary, wants to commence building a manufacturing plant in Telangana in the latter part of the year.

In October 2022, it was reported, Luxshare, another Apple supplier, was interested in producing AirPods in India. Although at that time it was favoring competitor Vietnam for its business.

According to JP Morgan, while Apple is increasing production of iPhones and iPads in Vietnam to nearly match that of India, the company aims to get 65 percent of AirPods from the country.

The decision to outsource AirPod production to India is significant since accessories and wearables account for about 10% of Apple’s sales income.

The premium sound accessory also generates $12 billion in income for Apple each year, which is more than the total revenue of companies like Spotify or Uber.

Apple was reportedly pushing vendors to build AirPods along with Beats headphones in India, to buy 25% of iPhones through Indian facilities by 2025. Pegatron became the third iPhone maker to begin manufacturing at a facility in Chennai last year, revealing the plan.

Foxconn’s Indian partner Vedanta, on the other hand, had revealed plans in 2022 to establish an iPhone production center in Maharashtra after setting the groundwork for a chip-making factory in Gujarat.

Tata Steel, India’s steel and aviation conglomerate, had also entered the contest to grow into the very first Indian iPhone manufacturer, striking a deal with Taiwan-based Wistron.

From inexpensive Chinese phones overwhelming markets a decade ago to be the world’s second-largest mobile device producer, India has advanced a long way. Even though Xiaomi keeps increasing its sales in India, the nation has supplied three crore phones manufactured in local facilities in 2020-21.

Apple has taken notice of India’s proven manufacturing capability, as the iPhone manufacturer diversifies manufacturing of its premium device and accessories away from China.

According to those directly involved in the supply chain and production process, important parts of iPhones that are “partially” built in the housing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, pass the Indian border two or three times until they are fully knit together.

Tata sources about 90% of the components used in Apple phones from Mainland China, despite Apple’s plans to relocate manufacture to India.

Tatas is the only domestic firm that Apple has shortlisted as a vendor as the world’s most valuable company seeks to broaden its manufacturing operations away from China. The Chinese market now accounts for one-fifth of its income.

In fiscal year 23, India contributed 5% of total worldwide iPhone production and shipped phones valued at $5 billion, an almost fourfold increase over the previous year.

Apple has already released six distinct versions of its AirPods, indicating how frequently the device is updated. Apple introduced the updated AirPods Pro in 2019 and 2022.

It suggests that the device is updated every three years, a time frame that is consistent with the previous AirPods versions. If someone wants AirPods without the in-ear design, they can get the third-generation AirPods for $179.

The AirPods Max, which starts at $549, provides an even greater fidelity AirPods experience with an over-ear design.

If someone thinks the AirPods Pro is overpriced but still wants Apple’s smooth connection and device-switching experiences, the second-generation AirPods are a feasible solution.

Proofread & Published By Naveenika Chauhan