Apple Doubles iPhone Production In India – Report

Tom Jowitt,
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Foxconn factory Shenzhen China 2005 - by Steve Jurvetson from Wikimedia

Apple now reportedly assembles about 1 in 7 of its iPhones in India, suggesting an accelerating shift from China

Apple has doubled its iPhone production in India in the space of a year, as the shift away from China appears to be ramping up.

This is according to Bloomberg, which reported that Apple’s India iPhone output has reached $14 billion, with the firm now making around 14 percent of its iPhones in India.

It was this time last year when Bloomberg had reported that Apple had tripled iPhone production in India, to almost 7 percent of its iPhones assembled in that country.

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available in four new finishes: black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium, and natural titanium. Image credit: Apple

India production

But a year later and this number has now doubled from that April 2023 figure, with Apple now assembling about 1 in 7 of its iPhones (or 14 percent) from India.

This ramp-up over the past three years suggests an accelerating assembly shift of the smartphones from China.

According to the Bloomberg report, the manufacturer Pegatron assembled around 17 percent of those iPhones, while Foxconn produced around 67 percent.

Wistron reportedly assembled the rest.

In August 2023, weeks ahead of the September launch of the iPhone 15, Apple had begun assembling that flagship model in Indian factories.

Other signs emerged about the move to Indian assembling and manufacturing most notably from Apple manufacturer Foxconn, which previously indicated that it may move as much as 30 percent of its manufacturing capacity out of China to India, Vietnam and Brazil.

Then in August 2023 Chairman Young Liu revealed that Foxconn is planning “billions” of dollars in investments in India.

China shift

Apple increasing its iPhone production in India continues the efforts by CEO Tim Cook to manufacture more devices outside of China.

It comes amid a backdrop of worsening geopolitical relations between the United States and China, coupled with Apple’s iPhone sales in China struggling.

Last month new data from Counterpoint Research revealed that iPhone sales in China had plummeted 24 percent over the period, due to stiff competition and abnormally high sales in January 2023.

In an effort to stimulate demand in China, Apple in January 2024 began offering extremely unusual iPhone discounts in China, and last month during a visit to Shanghai, Tim Cook stressed China’s importance in Apple’s supply chain.