iPhones To Enter Mass Production In India

Amid a change for Foxconn Technology Group, the iPhone will reportedly enter mass production in India, as the country has become the fastest-growing market for smartphones around the globe. At the same time, China is stagnating as the tech company loses shares to rivals like Xiaomi Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co., Bloomberg reported.

Counterpoint Research Analyst Karn Chauhan said per the report, “For Foxconn, the China market for iPhones is saturated, and labor costs are three times higher compared with India.” Chauhan continued, “India is still an emerging smartphone market, it has a lot of potential domestically and could serve as an export hub for the region.”

For many years, the tech company has produced older phones at a Bangalore facility. Now, however, it will grow its manufacturing to include newer variants. According to reports earlier this month, Foxconn is ready to start trial iPhone production prior to beginning assembly at full-scale in a facility in the Chennai area. The company reportedly has assembly sites in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to manufacture Nokia and Xiaomi products.

The news comes as Apple has reportedly cut its iPhone prices in China: Earlier this month, it was reported the tech company has taken the step to slash prices by close to 6 percent in the country, amid lackluster demand. The cuts were said to be across the board on iPhones, Macs, iPads and AirPods. An iPhone XR, for instance, was said to be priced 4.6 percent lower than it was at the end of March.

Demand has been declining in China for Apple products partly due to the large price tag. Rivals in China are said to be using the same technology as the company’s smartphones and charging a fraction of the cost. At the same time, the market for smartphones is becoming saturated. All the while, consumers are lengthening the replacement cycle by holding onto their smartphones longer.