Apple to export ‘Make in India’ iPhone 15 faster than ever, production to begin

NEW DELHI: In another push to its India manufacturing dream, Apple maker Foxconn is all geared up to start the local production of the next-generation of iPhone 15 at its Sriperumbudur facility near Tamil Nadu faster than ever, as the company doubles down on the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Sources close to the development told IANS that Apple aims to deliver locally-assembled iPhone 15 as soon as it is launched globally in the middle of next month, in order to narrow the launch-to-availability gap and increase its exports from India to other nations.

According to sources, a small set to ‘Make in India’ iPhone 15 units are likely to be exported to other countries within a short span of time from its global launch.

Other Apple suppliers in India like Pegatron and Wistron (being acquired by the Tata Group) will also assemble iPhone 15 as soon as possible, they added.

Bloomberg was first to report about the development.

Last year, Apple started assembling iPhone 14 at the Foxconn facility in India in September, a first in years when a new iPhone was assembled within weeks of its global launch in the country.

This time, the deadline has further been shifted to nearly a month early, so that the locally-assembled iPhone 15 can go on sale in the country at par with global right before the festive season, as well as can be exported fast.

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company has set a June quarter records in India, driven by the robust sales of iPhones.

During the company’s fiscal 2023 third quarter results, Cook said that the performance of “our new stores in India this spring exceeded our expectations”.

On a specific question on the potential of India, Cook said: “You know we did hit a June quarter revenue record in India and we grew strong double digits. We also opened our first two retail stores during the quarter and of course it’s early going currently, but they are currently beating our expectations in terms of how they are doing”.

He further said that the company continues to work on building out the channel and putting more investment in its direct-to-consumer offers in the country.

“We still have a very, very modest and low share in this smartphone market, so I think it’s a huge opportunity for us. And we are putting in all of our energies to make that occur,” he added.

Apple, with the highest average selling price (ASP) of $929, registered a massive 61 per cent YoY growth in India in the April-June period, according to the IDC.

India is now among Apple’s top 5 markets globally as the iPhone maker continued to lead the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above).

According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), Apple's market share is set to exceed 50 per cent in FY24.