> Production will be stepped up in phases and Apple may consider exporting the India-made iPhone 11, reducing its dependence on China, two senior industry executives said.
This is being done to satisfy India's government so Apple can sell phones in India.
The diversification away from China seems like a nice seide-effect, but it's not assured until the Chennai-region FoxConn factory is running at full speed. Last I heard the Wisconsin FoxConn factory didn't ever make it that far. It's TBD if FoxConn can manage Indian employees.
Apple has been selling phones in India through third-party retailers, not through Apple stores. They were recently permitted to open their own stores. The regulations involved take domestic production into account.
I’m having an extraordinarily difficult time finding articles about it since this news is dominating the headlines, but Apple has been under fire from Indian politicians for years because they have made cheaper iPhones in India but not flagship phones. You can buy an Indian-made iPhone 8 but not iPhone 11.
The big news is that the flagship iPhone 11 will be made in India. This removes a lot of political pressure from Apple.
I know in Brazil, import taxes are extremely high which resulted in iPhones being double the price than elsewhere. I think india has a similar thing going on. [0]
> This is being done to satisfy India's government so Apple can sell phones in India.
Nah, they were already doing that, and they seem to have acknowledged that they don't stand a chance against their competitors in a highly price-sensitive market as India. They've barely managed to capture a 2% share in smartphones after all these years and have only recently started to properly localize their offerings in the country. No one in India considers iPhones to be mainstream; they are almost always looked at as luxury smartphones.
I recall Apple India's CEO saying a few years ago that they more intended for India being an exporting hub for iPhones than a target market.
This is being done to satisfy India's government so Apple can sell phones in India.
The diversification away from China seems like a nice seide-effect, but it's not assured until the Chennai-region FoxConn factory is running at full speed. Last I heard the Wisconsin FoxConn factory didn't ever make it that far. It's TBD if FoxConn can manage Indian employees.