After Apple’s suppliers revealed that the company is in talks to start producing its Apple Watch and MacBook products in Vietnam for the first time ever, there are new suggestions indicating that production for the upcoming iPhone 14 would simultaneously begin in China and India, making early availability of the device much likelier
However, a new Bloomberg report (via 9to5Mac) suggests that Apple is walking back on its iPhone 14 plans with India. According to the publication, supply chain issues, paired with secrecy concerns, are the reasons why Apple is having second thoughts.
Initially, India-based manufacturing plants only assembled Apple’s iPhone SE, but have progressed to assemble other Apple devices too, including the iPhone 13, with Foxconn being the main supplier in the nation for the iPhone 13, and Wistron responsible for the iPhone SE and iPhone 12, according to 9to5Mac. Then, earlier this month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that China and India would begin iPhone 14 production at the same time.
My latest survey indicates Foxconn's iPhone production site in India will ship the new 6.1" iPhone 14 almost simultaneously with China for the first time in 2H22 (India being one quarter or more behind in the past).
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 5, 2022
According to the Bloomberg report, however, this isn’t feasible, and now, Apple aims to reduce the gap between launch production in China and later device production in India.
“Apple Inc. plans to begin manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release out of China, narrowing the gap between the two countries but not closing it completely as some had anticipated,” reads the report. “The company has been working with suppliers to ramp up manufacturing in India and shorten the lag in production of the new iPhone from the typical six to nine months for previous launches, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Additionally, “Apple has also been concerned about Indian customs officials, who typically open up packages to check whether imported materials match their declarations,” which happens to be an issue related to the upcoming line’s secrecy.
The earliest Indian factories would start the iPhone 14 line production is expected to be October.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Bloomberg
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