Apple Inc. intends to start producing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after its release outside of China, according to a new report published by Bloomberg on Tuesday. This will reduce the time between launches from the customary six to nine months.
The first iPhone 14s from India, which will follow the initial September release, is likely to be finished in late October or November, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the situation. The company has been working with suppliers to ramp up manufacturing in India.
Foxconn, an Apple supplier based in Taiwan, reported that it had researched the logistics of receiving goods from China and assembling the iPhone 14 at its facility outside of Chennai, a city in southern India.
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According to the report, the US tech giant is considering its options after Beijing’s clashes with Washington and nationwide lockdowns disrupted production.
Apple has moved some iPhone production from China to other markets, including India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market, and plans to assemble iPad tablets there as well. more info
As contract manufacturers try to diversify production away from China, India and other countries such as Mexico and Vietnam are becoming increasingly important.
Previously, the US considered limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to Chinese memory chip makers in an effort to halt China’s semiconductor sector advances and protect US companies.
If President Joe Biden’s administration follows through on the plan, it could hurt South Korean memory chip behemoths Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, both of which have large factories in the country.
Nikkei reported last week that Apple suppliers are in talks to manufacture the Apple Watch and MacBook in Vietnam for the first time.
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