Apple’s make-in-India push is set to get a shot in the arm as it has been reported that the new iPhone SE could be assembled in India. According to a report by The Information, Apple has informed one of supplier in China to begin shipping components for the latest iPhone SE to India. Apple’s manufacturing partners will get the components to assemble the new iPhone in India. What it will do is that it will help the Cupertino-based tech giant to avoid high import taxes it has to pay. It could also make the iPhone SE — which starts at Rs 42,990 — cheaper for buyers in India.
Interestingly, the older iPhone SE launched in 2015 was also made in India and was one of the most affordable iPhones. If the assembly of the 2020 iPhone SE does happen in India then customers may have to pay slightly less than what it was originally launched at.
The government of India has been offering the PLI or production-linked incentive scheme to companies, including India. Apple has two contract manufacturers in India, Foxconn and Wistron and earlier in May the government had said it expects Apple to product $40 billion dollars worth of iPhones in India, though mainly for export. The report by The Information states that it is Wistron, which is the manufacturing partner for iPhone SE and will continue to be so. Apple’s other partner Foxconn is not expected to be involved with the manufacturing process of the new iPhone SE in India.
Apple has been making iPhones in India for the last couple of years. The 2018 iPhone model — and one of the highest-selling smartphone in the world — iPhone XR is assembled in India. A few of the older generation models are also made in India. Most of these models, however, are exported to other countries.
The Cupertino-based tech giant has been keen on expanding its manufacturing operations in India.