Apple has started making the iPhone 14 in India sooner than had been anticipated.
On Monday, the Cupertino-based technology giant said it had started manufacturing its flagship smartphone at a facility owned by its contract manufacturer Foxconn at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
The move is a ringing endorsement of the Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ programme.
“Apart from domestic consumption, the iPhone 14 will also be shipped for the export market,” a source said.
The US technology giant is also looking to expand its production base to meet demand for its other models.
“The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple is also reportedly looking for more partners to enhance its manufacturing capability in the country.
The development comes soon after Apple informed analysts at a recent earnings call of its plans to double its revenues in India.
It is also seeing strong double-digit growth in emerging markets like Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Apple has been making the iPhone in since 2017, but these were usually older models.
The move to make its latest device out of India would imply Apple’s intent to diversify production away from China and improve availability for its customers in India, which is still a relatively smaller market for the tech giant.
Analysts at JP Morgan have said Apple could make 5 per cent of its iPhone 14 production in India from late 2022. Under the plan, one out of every four iPhones could be made in India by 2025.
The decision to shift production away from China comes amid mounting geopolitical tensions and strict Covid-19 lockdowns in the country, according to a Reuters report.
Along with the iPhone, JP Morgan report also estimates about 25 per cent of Apple products could be made outside China by 2025.
Counterpoint Research said Apple continues to remain the top-selling brand in the premium segment in India (Rs 30,000 plus) and aggressive offers on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 series in both online and offline channels are driving this growth.
