What you need to know
- A made-in-India iPhone 12 is coming.
- It will serve the local market in the country.
- There are also plans to make the iPhone SE in India.
A new report says a made-in-India iPhone 12 will debut next year for the local market.
According to Business Standard:
Stepping up its thrust on manufacturing in India, American tech giant Apple is planning to roll out locally made models of its upcoming iPhone 12 by the middle of next year, sources close to the development have said. This will be the seventh iPhone model to be made in the country, giving a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atmanirbhar vision.
Earlier last month, it emerged the iPhone 11 was also being manufactured in the country, the first time a flagship iPhone was manufactured outside of China.
According to the report, Apple also plans to begin production of the iPhone SE in the country by the end of 2020. Again, this will initially be to serve the local market. The previous report regarding iPhone 11 manufacturing said that down the line, Apple may consider exporting its India-made iPhones elsewhere. However, at this stage, the manufacturing of iPhones in India primarily serves to counter strict and heavy import duties on products into the country. Apple reportedly saves around 22% on import duties by selling India-made iPhones in India. Its manufacturing partners also benefit from favorable incentives offered by the government in exchange for bringing their business to India, paying companies as much as 6%.
Apple has recently made heavy investments in India-based manufacturing, driven not only by encouraging incentives from the government, but also a need to diversify its supply chain following the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted many of the dangers of concentrating its supply chain in one region.
