ZD Tech: Apple and the Indian bet


Hello everyone and welcome to ZD Tech, ZDNet’s daily editorial podcast. My name is Clarisse Treilles and today I explain to you why Apple is abandoning the Middle Kingdom in favor of India to produce the iPhone 14.

Is China losing its status as the workshop of the world? More and more new technology giants are abandoning the Middle Kingdom to manufacture their devices in neighboring countries.

Apple is the latest example. The apple company has decided not to put all its iPhones in the same basket. Concretely, it is turning a new page with the iPhone 14 by starting production in India.

One of Foxconn’s factories, located near Chennai, in the south of the country, should notably house part of the production of the high-end device.

One in four iPhones will be made in India by 2025

If Apple started assembling smartphones in India in 2017, until then it was more of older generation smartphones. This is no longer the case today. And Indian production is expected to increase over the years. Remember this figure: Apple could manufacture one in four iPhones in India by 2025.

But where does this strategic shift come from? The reasons are both economic and geopolitical. The “zero Covid” policy of the Middle Kingdom, as well as the exacerbated tensions between Washington and Beijing weigh in the balance. Considering these risks, India is not without assets either, starting with its strong labor force.

Promising potential

India is the world’s second largest smartphone market after China. The country’s manufacturing potential is promising. The Indian government welcomes this, as it seeks to attract foreign companies to boost local production and promote employment in the subcontinent which is close behind China with its 1.4 billion inhabitants.

And this movement will not only affect the iPhone, warns the analysis firm JP Morgan. Nearly a quarter of all Apple products, including Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods, will be made outside of China within three years (up from just 5% today).





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