Apple is producing more iPhone 15s in India than ever before, and plans to continue this trend. The company will move a quarter of its iPhone production (more than 50 million phones) domestically over the next two to three years. However, China will still be the largest iPhone manufacturer, and it will be far ahead.
Foxconn and other Apple merchants reportedly believe that the move into India is well underway, so they are laying the groundwork for future expansion. The company was slow at first due to infrastructure issues and strong unions that helped create stricter labor rules (e.g., the elimination of the 12-hour workday).
India's commerce minister said in early 2023 that Apple plans to produce 25% of its phones in the country, but has never given any timeline. Considering that the iPhone 15 is the company's first Indian-made model on launch day, the two to three years period will be quite dramatic growth.
It is understood that Apple contractor Foxconn's factory in Tamil Nadu, India, will produce more iPhone 15 than past models. This is Apple's diversification of manufacturing in the face of the risk of the first chain brought about by Sino-US tensions, and Foxconn is currently building a factory in southern Karnataka, which is expected to open in April 2024, and another large factory is also being planned as part of the plan, according to sources.
To date, Apple has produced only a small percentage of iPhones in India, and production has previously lagged behind China by nine months. The situation has changed with the iPhone 14, which began production in the same month as China, while the Indian-made iPhone 15 was available in stores at the time of its release.
At present, the relationship between China and the United States is delicate. However, Apple continues to emphasize the importance of China, with CEO Tim Cook traveling to China twice in 2023. Apple also sells a large number of mobile phones in China, accounting for about 19% of its total revenue, while emphasizing that all mobile phones sold in China are also established and used in China through authorized channels.