Almost a month before the official iPhone 15 announcement, Foxconn is said to have begun production of Apple‘s new smartphones in India. While the manufacturer has already started production in China, this is the company’s attempt further to narrow the gap between India and China’s operations.
According to Bloomberg, a Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur is “preparing to deliver the newest devices only weeks after they start shipping from factors in China.”
Previously, India would take six to nine months to start producing the same iPhone model as China, but the timeframe was reduced to only two months with the iPhone 14.
Now, for the iPhone 15, Foxconn’s goal is to move “closer to parity on shipment timing from India and China.” However, the country still requires the components to be available, as most of them are imported, unlike China. So while the country can mass produce the newest iPhone models, it still requires the components to come from elsewhere.
That said, Apple keeps on its goal to diversify its supply chain. Last year, the Cupertino firm had to make a statement about the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max sales, as a COVID-19 outbreak in China’s largest iPhone factory followed by a strike completely shut down the iPhone production.
Even though the company still relies on China, it wants to narrow the gap between the country and India to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
In addition, smartphone industry analyst at TechInsights, Abhilash Kumar, recently noted that India had become the fifth market for Apple in Q2 2023. With the company growing more than 50% YoY this quarter, it seems the Cupertino firm wants to keep improving its presence in the country, as TechInsights expect iPhone ASP to grow further in Q3 and Q4 2023, driven by iPhone 15 Pro models.
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