Apple begins iPhone 11 production in India
Courtesy: Prachatai
Apple supplier to invest $1 Billion in India
6,000 new jobs to added
iPhone 11 becomes the first Apple flagship produced in India
Apple iPhone manufacturer Foxconn will invest $1 Billion to expand a factory in southern India. 6,000 jobs will be added as iPhone 11 production begins, marking the first time Apple assembles a flagship device in India.
Apple has only a 1% share of smartphone sales in the world's second-largest smartphone market: India. Apple’s iPhone’s are seen as status symbols in the country — the iPhone 11 costing around $200 more than United States pricing in a country where the median household income is nearly 20* lower than the U.S.
As of now, users will not see the drop in prices but it is believed this will happen eventually as producing these devices in India will help Apple to avoid a 22% import duty that India imposes on foreign-made electronics. Apple will also benefit as they save on labor costs for iPhone production. The minimum wage for a contract worker is $148 in India compared to $234 in China.
As of now, Apple has been making two handset models in the country - iPhone XR which is being assembled by Foxconn in Chennai and iPhone 7 assembled by Wistron in Bangalore. The original iPhone SE and iPhone 6s were assembled by Wistron, but those were discontinued in 2019.
Conclusion
Apple’s move to India is huge as they divert 20% of production from China. The cost of producing devices will drop massively as the fruit company saves on imports and labor. It remains unseen whether Apple will continue to pull production from China, moving to countries that enable higher margins.
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