Apple will manufacture its new flagship smartphone in India, the US tech giant said Monday as it seeks to diversify production away from its reliance on China.
The iPhone supply chain is primarily based in China, but the country’s zero-Covid policy and tensions with the United States have impacted production, analysts say.
“We are pleased to manufacture the iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a brief statement.
The California-based company already makes older iPhone models in India through Taiwanese manufacturers like Foxconn, which has a factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The latest announcement comes just weeks after Apple launched new smartphones. The tech giant is starting production of the iPhone 14 in India much earlier than previous models, Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia said.
“In recent years, it has increasingly diversified its supply chain to India,” Chaurasia told AFP.
About 7.5 million iPhones – about three percent of Apple’s global production – were made in India last year, the analyst added.
“We anticipate that local production of iPhones could reach more than 11 million this year,” he said.
Apple’s announcement will give a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” strategy, which he has used to encourage foreign companies to manufacture goods in the South Asian nation.
