In an initiative to shift its manufacturing from China, Apple has started manufacturing the iPhone XR in India. The phones are being assembled at the Foxconn Chennai factory in India helping the California based company avoid high demand on the import of fully- built devices as well as meet local sourcing norms for opening its own retail stores in India, reports CNN.com.
On Monday, iPhone boxes were seen with “Assembled in India” tag at many of the country’s electronic retailers with the price tag of 49,900 ($704) Indian rupees for the 64GB version. The company has cut down the prices of the iPhone XR in India to combat a long lasting sales decrease with rising competition from Samsung and OnePlus. Apple has manufactured some older models at the Wistron facility (a Taiwanese corporation) in India, such as the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 7 back in 2017, but this is the first time the newer models will be produced there. Apple also has plans to manufacturer the iPhone 11 in the country as well in the following months according to 9to5Mac.com.
Many companies such as Apple are looking to use India as an export hub to lessen the impact of an ongoing trade war between the United States and China. Apple now has about 2% market share in India but that number could jump soon as the iPhone is selling well in the country due to aggressive pricing and easy payment options. The local government has been pushing Apple to manufacturer its entire product line of smartphones in India to help the country’s initiative to secure more investors.