Half of All iPhone Units to Be Assembled in India by 2027 as Apple Moves Production Out of China: Report

Apple reportedly intends to be prepared for the iPhone 15 and wants to start production in China and India simultaneously.

Written by Sucharita Ganguly, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 17 January 2023 11:48 IST

Half of All iPhone Units to Be Assembled in India by 2027 as Apple Moves Production Out of China: Report

Photo Credit: Apple

India currently produces only 5 percent of all iPhones

Highlights

Apple wants to reduce reliance on China for production
iPhone 15 trial production is said to have begun in China
India is now Apple's second largest production centre for iPhone models

Apple reportedly intends to produce 50 percent of all iPhone units in India by 2027. The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it imposed had a negative impact on many businesses that had production plants in a single country. Numerous waves of the pandemic that erupted in China wrecked the sector. The country's restrictions also had a significant impact on Apple's production, as its Taiwanese partner Foxconn has a strong presence in the country. In order to decrease its dependence on China, the company reportedly intends to increase its production capabilities in India.

According to a report from September 2022, a JP Morgan analyst predicted that iPhone production in India would reach about 25 percent of total global output by 2025. Apple was expected to minimise its dependence on China for the production process. A South China Morning Post report, that figure will rise to 50 percent by 2027.

“India may produce one in two of the world's iPhones by 2027, compared with the current state of less than 5 percent, according to a forecast last week by Luke Lin, an analyst at the research unit of Taiwan's DigiTimes newspaper,” the SCMP report read.

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India currently produces only 5 percent of all iPhones. Apple reportedly pressed its Indian arm a little harder this year in order to boost the production of the iPhone 14 series. The COVID-zero initiative in China had a significant impact on Apple's flagship models for 2022.

Apple intends to be prepared for the iPhone 15 and wants to start production in China and India simultaneously, as per the report, which says that trial production has already begun in China. In December 2022, it was reported that the government was looking into attempting to bring some of Apple's iPad production from China to India.

The move will undoubtedly be welcomed by the Indian government as it will boost its Make in India campaign. In recent years, India has implemented a number of policies to encourage brands to begin domestic production in the country.

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On the other hand, Apple has often warned against interpreting supply chain reports too extensively. This is because the firm prefers to use multiple suppliers whenever possible, even a substantiated alteration in orders for one firm may be cancelled out by trying to balance alteration in orders for another. Nonetheless, there is some evidence of the effects of Apple's ongoing efforts to shift production away from China.

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According to one analyst in the same report, one potential issue is preserving quality standards in a more diversified supply chain. To meet quality standards, Apple has traditionally worked extremely closely with Chinese suppliers and therefore, the concern may be overstated, given that much of Apple's production even outside China is with Taiwanese or Chinese firms.

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company's latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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iPhone 14

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good overall performance
Great camera quality in daylight
iOS ecosystem and ease of use

Bad
Dated design and notch
Very similar to iPhone 13
Relatively slow charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 review

Display 6.06-inch

Processor Apple A15 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

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iPhone 14 Plus

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good overall performance
Great camera quality in daylight
iOS ecosystem and ease of use
Excellent battery life

Bad
Dated design and notch
Same SoC as iPhone 13 series
Relatively slow charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Plus review

Display 6.68-inch

Processor Apple A15 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1284x2778 pixels

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iPhone 14 Pro Max

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 2796x1290 pixels

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iPhone 14 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Superb display with always-on mode
Excellent overall performance
Good battery life
All cameras take high-quality stills and video
Regular iOS updates for many years

Bad
Extremely expensive
Relatively slow charging and transfer speed
Gets warm under heavy workloads
Limited customisation for Dynamic Island

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Pro review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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Further reading: iPhone, Apple

Sucharita Ganguly

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Sucharita is a writer with Gadgets 360 and is mostly found playing with her cat in her free time. She has previously worked at breaking news desks across organizations. Powered by coffee, The Beatles, Bowie, and her newfound love for BTS, she aims to work towards contributing to a better media environment for women and queer folk. More