Wistron will reportedly assemble key iPhone component at an Indian facility
What you need to know
- Wistron currently builds some iPhones in India.
- The company will reportedly start manufacturing PCBs, too.
- This as Indian import tax on PCBs is about to be doubled.
Apple supplier Wistron will begin manufacturing its own printed circuit boards (PCBs) for use in iPhones according to a report by Reuters.
Wistron currently builds iPhone SE, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 7 models in the country and will reportedly start producing its own PCBs locally as well. That's likely because there is a new doubling of PCB import tax on the way.
Fellow supplier Foxconn already makes its own PCBs in India, so it won't be faced with the same tax burden come April.
The report notes that neither Apple nor Wistron commented on the speculation, but it makes tons of sense on both sides. Not only does Wistron not have to deal with the new 20% tax in PCB imports, but it also continues Apple's attempts to diversify its manufacturing options around the globe.
Master your iPhone in minutes
iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.