The Indian government has today announced that Foxconn has broken ground on $500M worth of new iPhone plants in Telangana, in the south of the country, as Apple continues its efforts to move more production out of China.
At least one of the plants is also expected to manufacture AirPods, after Apple offered Foxconn a new contract for these back in March …
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Apple CEO Tim Cook last week pointed to emerging markets like India as the solution to flattening growth rates in mature markets like the US and Europe. One way of kick-starting growth in new markets, suggests Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, would be for Apple to sell an older iPhone SE for the local equivalent of $199.
This would effectively be following in the footsteps of the $199 Apple Watch Series 3, which Apple retained on sale long beyond the point at which it made sense to buy one …
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While in India to celebrate the grand openings of Apple’s first two retail stores in the country, CEO Tim Cook also paid a visit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a meeting on Wednesday, Cook reiterated Apple’s commitment to India and promised continued investment in the country.
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A day ahead of the official opening, Apple Saket photos have been shared by the Cupertino company. This will be the second retail store in India, opening just two days after the spectacular Apple BKC.
CEO Tim Cook yesterday opened Apple BKC in Mumbai, and will likely do the same at Apple Saket in New Delhi. Sadly, this one looks far less impressive …
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Photos and video clips have been shared of Tim Cook opening the Apple BKC store in Mumbai earlier today – including his surprised and delighted look when a customer turned up with an early Macintosh. Update: Apple’s official photos added to the end of the post.
Apple yesterday showed off the store in a set of photos, and it’s definitely high up there in the rankings of the most beautiful Apple Stores …
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Dramatic AAPL growth in India may be the biggest bright spot in the company’s fiscal Q2 earnings report next month.
Apple is expected to announce that global revenue fell by around 5% year-on-year, but the company will reportedly share good news on India …
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There’s been a very long wait for the first Apple Store in India, as the company worked on negotiating and meeting the government conditions for opening a single-brand store – but the Apple BKC store finally opens tomorrow.
Apple has now previewed the store ahead of its official opening, and it looks absolutely stunning …
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The value of Made in India iPhones tripled in Apple’s last fiscal year, according to a new report today, which says the country accounted for $7B worth of the company’s smartphones.
That represents an even bigger increase in the percentage of iPhones made in India, from just 1% in 2021 to almost 7% today …
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Ahead of the opening of the first Apple Stores in India, it’s being reported that Apple banned 22 competing brands from an “exclusive zone” around the store. These brands include Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
The iPhone maker used a clause in the mall lease agreement to ban these brands not just from opening stores in the zone, but even from buying ad space there …
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Foxconn revenue for March were reported today, and revenue for the iPhone assembler shows a year-on-year fall of 21.1%.
The company says that it also expects a decline during the current quarter …
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Both iPads and Macs have enjoyed remarkable success in India, a market in which price often dominates purchase criteria.
New market intelligence data suggests that Apple saw 135% growth in iPad shipments in the final quarter of last year. This saw it overtake previous market leader Samsung to become the best-selling tablet brand in the country …
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Earlier this month, a report revealed that Apple and Foxconn had successfully lobbied for more relaxed labor laws in the Indian state of Karnataka.
The companies, however, aren’t stopping there, as Bloomberg now reports that Apple and its supply chain partners are now pushing for labor reform in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu.
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A new Foxconn plant in India looks set to be about half the size of the massive iPhone assembly facility in Zhengzhou, China – colloquially known as iPhone City.
Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant employs around 200,000 people, and the new Indian facility is said to be creating around 100,000 jobs. It may also represent a key step in Apple building out an extended supply chain in India …
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A major AirPods supplier says that US client reps have been visiting the company on an almost daily basis to ask when it can move out of China. While Apple is not explicitly named, it is near-certain that it is one of the companies applying pressure.
The Chinese contract manufacturing giant said that it is investing in Vietnam, as well as considering expanding into India …
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A 50% rejection rate for iPhone casings produced by an Indian company is a stark illustration of the difficulties Apple faces in reducing its dependence on China. Apple’s target for casings that fail to pass quality control is 0%, with Chinese suppliers reportedly getting extremely close to this.
The attitude of Indian suppliers is also said to compare poorly with the can-do approach of Chinese companies, with one former Apple engineer saying that there is no sense of urgency in its Indian supply chain …
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One of the steps Apple is expected to take in reducing its dependence on China is to have some AirPods made in India – in addition to those already made in Vietnam.
The company has already asked two of its AirPods suppliers to move some of that work to India, and it’s today reported that Apple has commissioned an Indian company to produce the plastic enclosures for the in-ear devices …
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Apple’s relationship with China has been described as “untenable,” as the company faces criticism from senators on both sides of the political aisle. But unraveling that relationship will take more than 20 years, according to one former Apple engineer tasked with finding ways to automate production.
There is some good news today, as more than a dozen key Apple suppliers were granted permission to expand their work in India, but ironically this only served to underline the company’s dependence on China …
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A new report suggests that up to half of all iPhones could be made in India by 2027, following earlier estimates of 25% by 2025.
The Chinese report says that local suppliers are already feeling the effects of Apple’s efforts to move production out of the country, with Vietnam also benefiting from the Cupertino company’s plan to reduce its reliance on China …
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These days, iPhones made in India aren’t just sold within the country – they also help supplement Chinese-made iPhones for Apple’s global sales. The latest data suggests that the value of exports of Indian-made iPhones will hit $3B in Apple’s current fiscal year.
That number represents a mix of good and bad news for the Cupertino company …
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Opening Indian Apple Stores has been high up Tim Cook’s to-do list since at least 2015, and after a huge number of challenges, setbacks, and delays, it looks like we will now finally see at least two major stores open this quarter. Hiring of retail staff is underway, with some applicants already announcing their successful appointments.
The step is a hugely important one for Apple, as it seeks to grow its business in a country whose population now rivals that of China, and which has a rapidly growing middle class …
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Expansion of iPhone production in India is one of the key ways in which Apple is trying to reduce its dependence on China. But a report suggests that small farmers and local officials could make life difficult for the Cupertino company.
Specifically, it suggests that buying the land required for additional Apple assembly plants could prove tricky …
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The iPhone production crisis in China has led Foxconn to announce plans to quadruple its workforce in India. The move will not, however, solve the immediate problem.
While Apple and its suppliers have been working for years on reducing the company’s dependence on China as a manufacturing hub, progress has been painfully slow – especially for the iPhone …
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Apple is expected to shift up to 25% of its iPhone production to India by as soon as 2025. Following up on iPhone 14 manufacturing kicking off in September by Foxconn in the country, Pegatron has become the second vendor to start making Apple’s latest smartphone in India.
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A new report claims to reveal more about Apple’s medium-term plans to expand and “deepen” iPhone production in India as it works to reduce its reliance on China.
It follows and supports yesterday’s suggestion that enough iPhones for the entire US market could be made outside China within three to five years …
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