Apple has begun the production of its latest iPhone models in India. The company is making the iPhone 13 in Foxconn’s Chennai plant. The move is likely to help Apple deepen its presence in India, which is the world’s second-largest smartphone market. The new iPhone 13 is being manufactured in India months after its global debut in September last year.
Apple confirmed the news through an email statement shared with The Economic Times. Apple’s partner manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron also manufacture older models like the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and the iPhone SE in India. The company has reduced the timeframe between the launch of its device and manufacturing in India to close to seven months. Let’s take a look at more details about the Apple iPhone 13 production in India.
Apple iPhone 13 Now Made in India
Apple has started making the iPhone 13 in India at Foxconn’s plant in Chennai. The new iPhone is being manufactured in India months after its global debut. Apple made the iPhone 13 available for purchase in India on the same date as the US and other countries. The company has shown added focus in India, which has helped it grow its presence in India.
The iPhone 13 is currently being manufactured in Foxconn’s Chennai factory. Apple confirmed the same via an email statement with The Economic Times. “We are excited to begin making iPhone 13—with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip—right here in India for our local customers,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The timeframe between launch and local manufacturing has also narrowed to six-seven months, down from eight months previously. Analysts say the developments underline the growing importance of India as a market where the company has been increasing its volume as well as value share steadily in recent quarters. Much like the previous models, Apple is not making the Pro models here in India.
The vanilla models have been a best seller for Apple in India and other markets. The iPhone 12, which is also being made in India, was the best selling smartphone for several quarters before the newer model took over. The same was the case with the iPhone 11, which again, is being made in India. Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research, said almost three in four iPhones sold in India are made in India. But that goes up to almost 90 per cent of the total phones sold in India in the non-launch quarter. “During the launch quarter and the subsequent quarter, Apple normally imports a third of its phone shipments in India.”
The company has witnessed excellent growth in India over the past quarters. In 2021, Apple saw a record 108 per cent year-on-year growth with over five million units shipped in India. That accounts for nearly a four per cent market share. Prabhu Ram, head-Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research (CMR) said that the iPhone shipments will potentially touch the 7 million mark in CY2022. This could help Apple capture 5.5 per cent of the total market share in India.
Although Apple is not among the top-five smartphone makers in India yet, it rules the premium segment with a 44 per cent market share. The company also recorded its highest revenue in India among other smartphone brands. Apple made around $2.09 billion in 2021. In comparison, Samsung tailed second at about $2 billion. The company is also exporting locally manufactured iPhones to other countries. The report stated that Apple is contributing to almost 13% of the mobile handset volumes exported from India in Q4 2021. This puts Apple as the second-largest smartphone exporter from India, after Samsung, with 78 per cent.
