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Apple is reportedly planning to ship the iPhone 15 models from India upon the device’s launch. This would mark a first for a new iPhone lineup, signaling the company’s gradual progress in diversifying its supply chain away from China.
According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the casings for the iPhone 15 have already started to be made in India by local suppliers such as Jabil. The company already assembles AirPods enclosures and plans to expand to the Apple Pencil in the future. However, the iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max will continue to be made exclusively in China.
Apple’s move to diversify its supply chain away from China is not new. The company has been looking for ways to reduce its reliance on China for some time now, particularly in light of the US-China trade war and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apple has experienced quality control issues with some Indian suppliers, limiting manufacturers to certain models and color options. In fact, earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that only one in two iPhone casings coming off Tata’s production line in India “is in good enough shape” to be sent forward to an assembly at Foxconn.
In previous years, initial batches of new iPhones have exclusively been made in China, before India comes on stream gradually in the following months. However, with the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple apparently expects to ship new devices from both countries simultaneously for the first time.
This move marks a significant shift in Apple’s strategy and shows the company’s efforts to shift production away from China. While China has been a key manufacturing hub for Apple for years, geopolitical tensions, rising labor costs, and the pandemic have forced the tech giant to rethink its supply chain strategy.
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Apple’s decision to make India a key manufacturing hub for its products is not surprising. India is one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets globally, with a population of over 1.3 billion.
Moreover, the Indian government has been promoting local manufacturing and has offered incentives to attract global tech giants. Apple has already started manufacturing some of its older iPhone models in India, and the company has reportedly been in talks with the government to expand its manufacturing operations in the country.