Within the first few days of its sales launch, Apple’s iPhone 16 series—which is made in India—will be accessible everywhere, per a story published in The Economic Times. This is a historic moment for the Make-in-India campaign and India’s expanding manufacturing sector as it is the first global product created in India to be distributed globally so soon after its launch.
On Monday, Apple is scheduled to reveal the iPhone 16 series; worldwide sales are anticipated to start ten to twelve days later. A prominent contract manufacturer for Apple, Foxconn, has already started producing the series in India.
Even the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models will be delivered from Indian facilities to other countries for the first time. The iPhone 16 is a gadget that Apple claims to be among its most advanced, featuring technologies related to artificial intelligence (AI).
The study highlighted that the tech giant is attempting to diversify its manufacturing activities, with a particular focus on India as a major production hub, given the escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
India’s place in the world’s iPhone manufacturing
After their launch, the iPhone 13 models manufactured in India made their way to international stores in 2021. The wait time for the iPhone 14 was cut down to less than two weeks by 2022. Apple produced the iPhone 15 simultaneously in China and India last year, but the Indian-made models were limited to being sold locally on the first day of the device’s release.
As to the most recent Economic Survey, India’s share of Apple’s worldwide output has increased to approximately 14% from 7% the previous year. As part of its ambition to lessen its reliance on China, Apple also plans to shift 25% of its iPhone manufacture to India by 2025, according to the report.
Currently, Apple has been lowering the time between the global announcement of its new models and the availability of iPhones made in India. Currently, iPhones are exclusively manufactured in China and India.
In FY24, iPhones valued at Rs 1.20 trillion were produced in India.
During the fiscal year that concluded on March 31, 2024, Apple’s contract manufacturers—Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron, and Wistron (now controlled by Tata Group)—produced iPhones valued at Rs 1.20 trillion in India, with exports totaling Rs 85,000 crore. Retail prices are normally about 60% more than these estimates, which reflect the gadgets’ freight on board value when they leave the manufacturing.
Within days of its September 10 retail debut, Apple’s iPhone 16 series, which is built in India, will be sold in a number of nations this year.
As the principal player in the production-linked incentive (PLI) program for smartphones run by the Indian government, Apple is still the market leader in mobile phone exports from India. The objective of this effort is to enhance domestic production and augment exports.