Apple has started manufacturing its latest iPhone 13 models in India, as the country verges on becoming a global manufacturing hub. The Cupertino-based tech behemoth will be making its top-selling iPhone model at Foxconn’s Chennai plant. With this move, Apple could be aiming at tightening its grip on the country’s smartphone segment. For those who are unaware, India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world. To recall, a report indicated that Apple is gearing up to start manufacturing iPhone 13 in India starting from February 2022.
Furthermore, the iPhone 13 manufacturing has started months after the device’s global debut back in September 2021. Apple shared this piece of information via an email statement to The Economic Times. The manufacturing partners of Apple including Pegatron, Wistron, and Foxconn also make older iPhone models in India. These include the iPhone SE, iPhone 12, and iPhone 11. Furthermore, Apple has increased the frequency of launches and manufacturing of its devices in India for nearly by 7 months.
To recall, Apple was planning to start manufacturing iPhone 13 models at the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur, Chennai in January this year. However, the tech giant had to postpone its plan to December due to women workers protesting about food poisoning. An Apple spokesperson confirmed in the aforesaid email statement that the company will be making iPhone 13 in India for its local customers. Moreover, the interval between launch and manufacturing has been reduced to 6 months. To recall, this timeframe was eight months previously.
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Apple Begins Making The iPhone 13 In India
Local manufacturing enables Apple to avoid paying heavy tariffs. So, the company manages to save more than 20 percent of the price of its products. Back in March 2021, Apple first start iPhone 12 production at the Foxconn plant in Chennai. As a result, the company could bring the original price down by INR 14,000 in September following the launch of the iPhone 13. Also, it will be interesting to see if the iPhone 13 receives a price cut once the iPhone 14 hits the store shelves in the country. This is quite possible considering that it will now be selling locally assembled phones.
Apple currently manufactures iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 at the Foxconn factory. The iPhone SE, on the other hand, is being produced at the Wistron plant in Bengaluru. However, the company might be more attentive in shipping the latest iPhone models in India this time around. A local buyer had received a bar soap in the iPhone 12 box last year. According to estimates, the company manufacturers nearly 70 percent of the phones it offers in India within the country. Now, the word on the street is that Apple is gearing up to launch more models in India. In other words, it could be planning to move a significant portion of its production from China to India to take advantage of the PLI (Government’s Production Linked Incentive) scheme.
