Apple iPhone 15, Made In India: Foxconn’s TN plant starts manufacturing upcoming iPhones

Apple is getting ready to start making it in Tamil Nadu, India, which is a big step towards catching up with their main manufacturing operations in China.

Foxconn Technology’s plant in Sriperumbudur is gearing up to roll out the latest iPhones shortly after they’ve hit the shelves in China. The idea is to boost the number of new iPhones coming from India and make things more efficient to increase the volume of phones available at launch.

Apple starts making iPhone 15 in India this week
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has been working on a project for a while now to spread out its manufacturing beyond China. They want to lessen the risk of supply chain issues for their some of their most important products, especially with all the trade uncertainties between the US and China.

India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been looking to become a hub for manufacturing.

Before the iPhone 14, Apple only did a tiny bit of iPhone assembly in India, lagging behind China’s output by quite a few months. They managed to shrink that time gap a lot last year, and by the end of March, about 7 per cent of iPhones were made in India.

This year, they’re aiming to get even closer to matching the shipment timing between India and China.

How much they produce in India for the iPhone 15 depends on how smoothly the production lines at the Foxconn factory near Chennai ramp up and how easily they can get the imported components.

Other suppliers to get in on the action soon
Other suppliers like Pegatron Corp. and a Wistron Corp. factory being taken over by the Tata Group will also soon be putting together the iPhone 15.

Apple’s been making some solid moves in India through their partners from Taiwan. They’ve taken advantage of incentives from the Modi administration to ramp up high-end manufacturing. This has actually helped them triple iPhone production to over $7 billion in India for the fiscal year ending in March.

After opening its first retail stores in India back in April, Apple is pretty stoked about the growing market there. They see it as a great retail opportunity and a key spot for making their gadgets in the long run. Their iPhone sales in India shot up by double digits in the quarter through June, but they’re keeping the exact numbers under wraps for now.

Major upgrades incoming
The new iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled on September 12, is shaping up to be the most significant update in three years. They’re really going all out on the camera system upgrades and even improving the processor for the Pro models.

This new lineup is super important for boosting their sales since Apple recently reported declining sales for the third quarter in a row due to not-so-great demand in places like the US, China, and Europe.