Apple’s popular AirPods models will soon be made in India. According to the latest Bloomberg report, a unit supplier of Foxconn will assemble Apple’s wireless earbuds in Southern India as the company diversifies its supply chain from China.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the publication says Apple has started making AirPods at the factory near Hyderabad in Telangana on a trial basis. By the first quarter of 2025, the manufacturing process will ramp up, and we’ll soon see Apple’s earbuds assembled in India.
Interestingly, AirPods will be the second major product made in India, as the company already makes iPhones in the country, and the iPhone 17 production is expected to begin simultaneously with China for the first time.
This move away from the Asian country comes after a turbulent pandemic and ongoing tension between the US and China. With Donald Trump’s re-election, it’s likely that Apple and other big tech companies will continue to expand their business outside of China.
A few months ago, The Information wrote:
For the first time, Apple is using an Indian factory to do the early manufacturing work for the base model of next year’s iPhone 17, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation. The choice of an Indian factory for this stage of iPhone development—figuring out how to translate a prototype designed in Cupertino into a device that can be mass-produced—highlights the progress Apple has made in diversifying its supply chain to India from China and its confidence in the capabilities of Indian engineers.
While this switch is important for Apple, the company still relies heavily on China. The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models and the rumored iPhone 17 Air/Slim will still be idealized in the country. If India can replicate the production expertise found in China, it means Apple could expand production there in the near future.
At the moment, it’s unclear if India will manufacture only AirPods 4 or the other existing models, and future ones will also be made in that factory.
BGR will let you know once we learn more about it.
