In a major boost to the Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative, Apple has now started manufacturing iPhone 11 in India at the Foxconn plant which is located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, reports The Economic Times.
Apple has already been manufacturing iPhones in India but there were not premium devices. That changed last year when Apple started assembling iPhone XR locally in India and now the current-generation iPhone 11 model has joined the list.
As per the report, Apple is ramping up production in phases and will soon start exporting the iPhone from India to other markets. This will likely lead to a price cut in the Indian market for the same model. Apple could reportedly save around 22 percent in import duties on locally assembled iPhone 11 in India.
The company started manufacturing smartphones in the Indian market with the first-generation iPhone SE, which is no longer on sale. It later started assembling iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, iPhone XR, and iPhone XS in India.
The report further adds that the company is also planning to start manufacturing the new iPhone SE 2020 as well as the iPhone 11 Pro smartphones in the Indian market at the Foxconn facility near Chennai.
EDITOR’S PICK: Apple Pays a Hefty Sum to Samsung Display after missing the target for OLED panel orders
Apple seems to be drawn to the benefits of the Government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Also, smartphone companies are also planning to shift production outside of China to reduce dependence on a single country. Such a move is likely to help the manufacturing sector in India, along with countries like Vietnam.
The development of Apple manufacturing iPhone 11 in India comes just days after it was reported that the next-generation AirPods as well as 2021 AirPods Pro will be made in Vietnam. The company has already shifted the production of AirPods Pro to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Apple is gearing up to launch four iPhone 12 models this year — iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Max, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, having three different screen sizes. Reports indicate that while the announcement will take place in September, sales for some of the models could commence from October.
UP NEXT: Realme 6i powered by MediaTek Helio G90T chipset officially launched in India; pricing starts at ₹12,999 ($174)
