High-End iPhones To Be Soon Manufactured In India

According to a fresh report, the IT ministry of India has authorised a contract manufacturer Wistron’s Rs 5,000 crore plan to manufacture high-end Apple devices in the country. This project marks a significant achievement for the government’s ‘Make In India’ movement which it has been promoting heavily. The initiative intends to make the country a hub of production as it will generate employment and boost the nation’s economy.

As previously mentioned Wistron is a contract manufacturer for the Cupertino based technology giant, Apple. The company currently manufactures two older iPhone models in India which include iPhone SE and iPhone 6S. These devices are still expensive taking Indian wages into consideration. Noteworthy, they would be about 40% pricier if they were imported, due to the government tariffs. 

The Indian IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that another contract manufacturer Foxconn had submitted an application for a Rs 2,500 crore project which will further increase the production of iPhones in India. He also added that the government is not unsettled by the added incentives that China is currently providing in order to maintain its position as a leader in electronics manufacturing. 

Advantages Of Setting Factories In India

The key advantages highlighted by the Indian minister to choose India over China for manufacturing are as follows:

• India has a rapidly increasing skilled taskforce, therefore the difficulty to find workers is almost non-existent.  
• The country is currently the fastest growing market for smartphones in the world. Hence, international companies must keep a close eye to maintain their lead against the competition.
• Another vital factor that makes India a lucrative destination for setting up factories is English fluency. This is one factor where India clearly beats China as the population of Englis speaking workers is considerably low. 

Which High-End Devices Will Be Manufactured In India?

Also Read: Is The Future Of Wearables With Or Without Smartphones?

It is not yet announced but the Wistron factory is expected to be used for manufacturing the iPhone 8 model. On the other hand, the Foxconn factory once approved and finalised will be used to manufacture units of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The high-end iPhones manufactured in India will be significantly cheaper. Therefore, the reduced price of Apple iPhones in India is likely to give its sales a massive boost.