Production of the iPhone 15 lineup has reportedly commenced in India in a new assembly plant owned and run by Foxconn, according to a new Bloomberg report.
The Foxconn production facility is located in Sriperumbudur, a town in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu. According to Bloomberg, the facility will begin shipping assembled units of the iPhone 15 lineup just a few weeks after China-based facilities begin shipping their own finalized units of the next-generation iPhone models. This would represent a dramatic ramp-up of iPhone production in India compared to last year, as India-made iPhone 14 units only began shipping nearly two months after initial production began in China.
A Foxconn Technology Group plant in Sriperumbudur is preparing to deliver the newest devices only weeks after they start shipping from factories in China, as the company seeks to swiftly increase the volume of new iPhones coming from India, people familiar with the matter said.
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Bloomberg
The timeline of iPhone production in India has enjoyed a dramatic improvement in the last two years, adds the report. Up until the iPhone 13, very few units were assembled in India with production lagging behind China by up to nine months. Apple has been hard at work to bring this gap down beginning with the iPhone 14, and Bloomberg reports that as much as 7% of the iPhone’s global supply is now being assembled in India as of March.
However, the production timeline of the iPhone 15 in India is not set in stone yet, warns the report. Some suppliers seem uncertain whether India-made iPhone 15 can truly be delivered a few weeks after their Chinese counterparts. Most components going into the upcoming India-made iPhone units are predominantly imported from abroad, and shipping targets will depend on the steady availability of said components in addition to a hopefully “smooth ramp-up” of manufacturing operations at the Tamil Nadu facility. Two other Apple suppliers – namely Pegatron and Tata – will also begin assembling iPhone 15 units soon after Foxconn, the report adds.
The goal this year is to move closer to parity on shipment timing from India and China, though suppliers are not yet certain they will achieve it…
The scale of India production for the iPhone 15 will depend on the ready availability of components, which are largely imported, and the smooth ramp-up of production lines at the Foxconn factory outside Chennai.
Bloomberg
Apple is eagerly looking to diversify its complex supply chain away from China amid unprecedented political tensions with the United States, with India emerging as a new potential manufacturing hub and a major source of growth for the company. As a result, Apple is rapidly expanding its presence there, inaugurating the first two Apple Store retail locations in the country and entering discussions to launch Apple Pay and Apple Card. Apple could also be looking to further expand production in India for many of its products including iPad, Mac, and AirPods.
iPhone 15 Specs
The iPhone 15 announcement could be a little under a month away, and more and more details are making their way to the public. The base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to receive Dynamic Island, first introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro last year. The company is also rumored to replace the Lightning port with USB-C across the entire lineup to comply with EU laws, in addition to expanding the 48MP main camera sensor to the non-Pro iPhone 15 models alongside other camera improvements.
On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will introduce several exclusive features, including a periscope zoom lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, significantly thinner bezels thanks to a new LIPO process, a new titanium chassis with subtly curved edges to replace stainless steel, Action Button in lieu of the mute switch, and the next-generation 3nm A17 Bionic chip.
