In a bid to diversify its production facilities and reduce reliance on China, Apple seems to have shifted its focus towards the Indian market. After the company started producing iPhone 11 in India, the upcoming series could also be manufactured in the country.
As per the reports, it is being speculated that Apple could start producing “Made in India” iPhone 12 series models from mid-2021. The manufacturing is expected to take place at the new Narasapura plant in Bengaluru, which is being operated by Taiwanese company Wistron — a contract manufacturer for Apple.
It is also being reported that the company could be investing around ₹2,900 crores as it looks to hire about 10,000 employees. While a new project is already in works at this plant, the facility is expected to start manufacturing in a couple of months.
This is a different plant than the one used by Apple to assemble the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR models. Both of these phones are being manufactured by Foxconn at the plant in Chennai, which is also expected to start making iPhone SE 2020 models from this year.
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If the iPhone 12 models are being manufactured in India, the pricing for the same could be lower as Apple will be able to evade a 22 percent import tax on the devices. It’s noteworthy given that the Apple iPhone pricing in India is among the highest in the world.
As for the upcoming iPhone 12 series, the official launch event has been delayed by a few weeks, as confirmed by Apple. Reports indicate that the launch could take place on 12th October, with pre-booking starting the same week and shipments of the base model beginning a week after that.
However, not all the models are expected to go on sale together. It is being reported that the iPhone 12 will be available for purchase in October itself while other models in the lineup, including the iPhone 12 Pro, will go on sale in November.
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