Apple and its partners have recently begun assembling the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 in Brazil with those units already making their way to customers in the country, reads a machine-translated report from the Brazilian website MacMagazine (via 9to5Mac).
Apple usually kicks off production of at least one iPhone model in Brazil a few months after unveiling the latest iPhones in the fall, and the iPhone 15 is no exception. Apple is only assembling the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 in Brazil, with no currently known plans to expand local manufacturing to the iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Those models will continue to be imported from countries like China and India.
Apple is expanding local manufacturing in Brazil to avoid the high import fees the country has historically imposed on electronics being shipped from abroad. The report adds that the 6.1-inch iPhone 15 is the most popular iPhone model in the country and is probably the easiest to mass-assemble out of the iPhone 15 lineup, making it the ideal candidate to expand manufacturing in Brazil.
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Despite the import fees that Apple is saving from assembling the iPhone 15 in Brazil, the device is still being sold at its original price with no savings passed on to customers. The 128GB iPhone 15 sells for R$7,300 ($1,460), nearly double the advertised starting price of $799 for the device in the United States.
The report adds that customers in Brazil can determine whether their iPhone 15 was locally made or imported by checking its model number in the checkout page URL when ordering from Apple’s online store or in the Settings app. iPhone 15 units made in Brazil carry the identifier “BR/A.” In contrast, the identifiers “BE/A” and “BZ/A” denote imported products.
Apple is eager to expand manufacturing beyond China amid rising geopolitical tensions with the United States. The company now assembles more iPhone units than ever in India, with plans to expand local manufacturing of other products in more countries like Vietnam.
