Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Apple continues breakup with China as supplier plans $1 billion India investment

Aaron Mamiit
By

Apple’s determination to move production away from China continues as Taiwan-based supplier Foxconn is reportedly planning a significant investment in an iPhone assembly factory in southern India.

The investment is said to be worth up to $1 billion, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. It is part of Apple’s shifting of production from China to other countries, due to the trade tension between Washington, D.C., and Beijing, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related Videos

“There’s a strong request from Apple to its clients to move part of the iPhone production out of China,” one of the sources told Reuters.

Related

Foxconn’s investment into the Sriperumbudur plant will stretch over three years, said the second source. The plant, which makes the iPhone XR, will also make other iPhone models, according to the sources.

Only 1% of smartphone sales in India are for the iPhone, as its high cost makes it a status symbol in the world’s second-largest smartphone market. Manufacturing more iPhones in the country will help lower their cost as Apple will not have to factor import taxes into the price tags, according to Reuters.

Digital Trends has reached out to Foxconn to confirm the planned investment, and we will update this article as soon as we hear back.

COVID-19’s impact on Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in March that he was confident that the COVID-19 pandemic will not affect the company in the long term, but that it has learned from its experiences in China where supply chains and factories were affected. This led to the closure of its retail stores outside of China to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Apple was able to get manufacturing back on track that month, with the iPhone 12 expected to still launch within the usual September timeframe.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
The 15 most important smartphones that changed the world forever
Huawei P30 Pro and P30

If there’s any piece of technology that has made a significant impact on the lives of everyone, it’s the cellular phone —  specifically, the smartphone. It’s literally a tiny computer that fits into your pocket, and brings a plethora of information, entertainment, and lets you capture visual memories or be productive wherever you go. Pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, for better or for worse.

But have you ever thought about which smartphones have been the most important and influential ones that shaped the rest of the industry? Let’s take a look at what we consider to be the most important smartphones of all time.
iPhone (2007)

Read more
Your phone may play a loud alarm on April 23 — here’s why
Deep purple iPhone 14 Pro and Cream Galaxy S23 cameras closeup

Most governments have the ability to send nationwide alerts to their citizens via smartphone notifications, and the U.K. is planning on doing just that on April 23. As a test of a new emergency alert system, the U.K. government is warning everyone now that U.K. citizens should expect their phones to all sound off together in a few weeks.

The nationwide alarm is a feature that isn't used very often. That doesn't diminish its importance, though, as it has taken the place of nationwide TV and radio broadcasts that warn citizens about potential threats in their area, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or missing children.

Read more
9 Apple products we’re expecting in 2023: iPhone 15, M2 Mac Pro, and more
An iPhone 14 sitting on a wood desk.

Apple is one of the most secretive companies in the world of big tech. Rumors of future products seem to develop years ahead of their time, and while we can all speculate as much as we want, we don’t really know what new products Apple has coming until they're announced. For existing products, though, it’s a little easier since most of those tend to be on an annual upgrade cycle, with a few exceptions.

But the rumor mill for new products, like Apple’s mixed reality headset, has been reaching peak levels of hype recently, which leads us to believe its release is imminent. We could also have the first iPhone with USB-C charging, eliminating the need for proprietary Lightning cables, and even a 15-inch MacBook Air.

Read more