Apple has no current plans to begin production of iPads and Macs in India but is instead working to bring AirPods assembly to the country in addition to expanding iPhone production, according to a paywalled report from the India-based The Economic Times.
The report states that Apple is focused on manufacturing more iPhone units in India while also increasing the number of local Indian-made iPhone components. Government officials who spoke anonymously to the publication say that Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his desire to expand manufacturing in India during a meeting with the Indian government held last month.
While thorough details were not discussed, Apple has not “expressed interest” in assembling Macs in the country, the report states. The Indian government is still hopeful that Apple will change its course soon by providing lucrative incentives such as tax breaks, lowered customs duty, and allowing Chinese-based suppliers to operate in the country via its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, adds the report.
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Apple and its Chinese supplier BYD tried but were ultimately unsuccessful in jumpstarting iPad assembly in India in 2023, adds the report. The plans were unsuccessful due to restrictions placed by the Indian government forbidding Chinese manufacturers from operating in the country without a local partner. Apple has since begun some iPad manufacturing in Vietnam last year.
Apple’s three Taiwanese contract manufacturers – namely Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron – are part of a smartphone manufacturing PLI scheme that enables them to work in India as part of a joint venture with other local companies. The Taiwanese firms plan to expand their manufacturing capacity in India through 2026.
Despite Apple’s interest in producing AirPods in India, the biggest obstacle is the lack of a wearables-specific PLI scheme that would allow foreign suppliers to assemble AirPods in the country, which the Indian government is already working to implement. Jabil, a US contract assembler, already makes AirPods enclosures in India at a facility in Pune.
From a logistical standpoint, producing AirPods in India is a logical step forward, given the headphone’s enclosure is already built in the country, saving costs by eliminating the need to export the enclosure to other countries for final assembly.
