Skip to main content

The newest iPhone factory will not be in China

Thanks to the ever-increasing demand for its smartphones, Apple seems to be constantly on the lookout for new facilities to manufacture the iPhone. So far, most of this demand has been met by massive production facilities in China, where contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron churn out thousands of iPhones each day.

However, as the relationship between China and the U.S. has deteriorated over the years, Apple seems to be increasingly worried about putting most of its (manufacturing) eggs in the same basket. And it seems Apple and its manufacturing partners are increasingly looking at another country — India — as a potential iPhone manufacturing hub.

There have been several recent developments that seem to indicate Apple’s increasing affinity towards India. In the most recent, one of Apple’s largest manufacturing contractors, Pegatron, is all set to begin manufacturing iPhones at their new plant — their first ever — in India, the Economic Times reports.

Pegatron’s new iPhone manufacturing facility will be the third such facility to have come up in India in the past five years, with India already home to two other manufacturing facilities owned by Wistron and Foxconn. This makes India the only country other than China to assemble iPhones.

What’s different with Pegatron’s new iPhone factory in India?

According to the report, Pegatron’s new iPhone factory will be up and running before the end of April. The facility is initially expected to begin assembling iPhone 12 series devices — and will follow that up with the iPhone 13 lineup in the months to follow. In addition, Pegatron has plans to hire more than 6,000 people to work at the facility over the next year — but that isn’t even the interesting part.

What makes Pegatron’s iPhone manufacturing plant different from the already existing plants in India is the fact that a large percentage of iPhones assembled in the plant will be earmarked for export. This is a significant shift in Apple’s policy, because until now, most of the made-in-India iPhones — almost 70 percent of them — were sold within India. While some percentage of the iPhones made at this plant will continue to end up in the hands of Indian consumers, there is a good chance that made-in-India iPhones could make it to the U.S. and Europe in the near future.

Apple’s interest in the Indian smartphone space is likely to continue, given that the company has been growing exponentially in the country. Apple 2021 shipments saw a massive growth of 108 percent in India, and the company has become one of the country’s fastest-growing smartphone brands. Apple is also thought to have sold more than 5 million iPhones in the country just last year — a remarkable achievement in a price-conscious market. Current expectations are that Apple will have an even better 2022 in India.

With such bullish prospects, Apple is expected to double down on its investments in India, with the likelihood of even more production facilities coming up in the country over the next few years.

Editors' Recommendations

Rahul Srinivas
Rahul is a smartphone buff turned tech journalist who has been tinkering with all things mobile since the early 2000s. He has…
I really hope the iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn’t look like this
CAD render of the iPhone 16 Pro Max next to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

We may still be waiting for Apple to announce the iPhone 15 series, but that hasn't stopped the iPhone 16 leaks from already trickling in. More specifically, new renders now provide a first glimpse at what 2024's iPhone 16 Pro Max could look like ... and it's a lot.

In collaboration with Apple leaker Sonny Dickson, 9to5Mac has published early CAD renders of the iPhone 16 Pro Max / iPhone 16 Ultra. The name of the device is still up in the air, but the renders showcase what the rumored 6.9-inch display will potentially look like.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max looks ginormous

Read more
I found a huge problem with the new ChatGPT iPhone app
ChatGPT app running on an iPhone.

Seemingly out of nowhere, OpenAI released its official ChatGPT iOS app this week. Available for both iPhones and iPads, the free app allows you to use the popular AI chatbot in a much simpler, easier way than ever before. No more messing with the mobile website or trying to fiddle with uncertain third-party apps — just download the official ChatGPT application, and you're good to go.

It's a big step forward to make ChatGPT more accessible and to get it into the hands of more people. Naturally, I was curious to test it out for myself. I've been using the ChatGPT iPhone app to ask the chatbot various questions, and while the whole thing works just like you'd expect, there's one big, glaring problem that makes me never want to touch the app again.
The ChatGPT iPhone app's biggest limitation
ChatGPT (left) vs. Perplexity AI (right) Digital Trends

Read more
Let’s be clear, Apple — it’s time to make a transparent iPhone
Deep Purple iPhone 14 Pro with Beats Studio Buds+ in Transparent

Apple has released a new product that's gotten a lot of attention because of an awesome new color option. No, it’s not an iPhone, iPad, or even an Apple Watch. Heck, it’s not even the AirPods Pro 2. So, what am I talking about?

Apple acquired Beats by Dre in 2014, and this week, Beats dropped the new Beats Studio Buds+, which are pretty similar to the AirPods Pro 2, but cost less dough. And they come in one of the coolest colors I’ve seen in a long time: transparent.

Read more