After months of trials and some unexpected delays, Apple’s contract manufacturer Foxconn has started manufacturing the iPhone 13 in India.
The phones are being made at Foxconn’s plant near Chennai. To recall, Foxconn also makes the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 in India which means that all the Apple flagship devices are now being manufactured in the country.
That being said, Apple is still relying on China for the production of its Pro models. Also, the upcoming devices, i.e. the iPhone 14 lineup is still being manufactured in China as of now.
Though it’s not clear when the “Made-in-India” iPhone 13 will be available to purchase in the country. However, the local manufacturing will only help the brand that is gradually increasing its footprint in the country’s premium smartphone segment.
As for Apple, the decision to shift iPhone 13’s production to India is aligned with the recently announced PLI scheme by the government that looks to incentivize the companies that start manufacturing products in India. Additionally, the company has been looking to reduce its dependence on China which has been the primary manufacturer for Apple to date.
Apple has been steadily shifting production lines to other countries like India (for phones) and Vietnam (for iPads and MacBooks) off late. The US-China trade war, post-Covid-19 pandemic, can be considered a primary reason behind this move.
Also, it has helped the company to gradually develop its supply chain cycle which will make sure that the product development doesn’t get impacted by lockdowns in a specific country. It also brings down the retail costs of the devices in the local market which further helps Apple to gain market share.
Will iPhone 13 become cheaper in India?
As with any Apple device, the older generation tends to get cheaper when the latest one is about to be launched. Hence iPhone 13 getting cheaper will be a no brainer.
However, we’ve seen the impact of local production on iPhone SE 2020, iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 – both the devices sold at their lowest during the festive sales on major eCommerce platforms in the country and the iPhone 13 shouldn’t be an exception.
That being said, as of now there is no definite time period for the same. And going by the previous trends, festive sales could be the time when you can get the best bargain on the iPhones, that is in case you’re ok to purchase a phone from the previous generation.
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