FP StaffAug 23, 2022 10:31:46 IST
Most tech companies that have their manufacturing units based in China have been looking to get out of the country and move the bulk of their production facilities to other countries. If certain reports are to be believed, Apple too is planning to move the bulk of the production of their upcoming iPhone 14 series to other countries, especially India.
A new report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple is planning to make the iPhone 14 series in India two months after the devices that have been made in China start shipping out.
The company has been working with suppliers to ramp up manufacturing in India and shorten the lag in production of the new iPhone from the typical six to nine months for previous launches, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple, which long made most of its iPhones in China, is seeking alternatives as Xi Jinping’s administration clashes with the US government and imposes lockdowns across the country that have disrupted economic activity.
There is a multitude of other reasons as well that has forced Apple to reevaluate its production strategies in China. China has some of the strictest quarantine policies when it comes to COVID, because of which a number of tech companies have had to put up with shortages of various components that have adversely affected their production cycles.
Furthermore, the growing tensions between Taiwan, the largest silicon microprocessor manufacturer and China are also being seen as a major reason.
Earlier in May this year, we had reported how Apple had planned this year that countries like India and Vietnam, where a minor portion of Apple’s global production comes from, are likely to emerge as the top choice as nations that the manufacturing corporations are considering as alternatives to China.
Independent contractors manufacture more than 90% of Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, and MacBook computers in China. Beijing’s Communist regime and the conflicts that it has had with the US government are some other reasons why Apple wants to move its production facilities outside the country.
In India, Apple uses Foxconn’s plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai for the production of the iPhone 13 series, and a number of other products. Sources close to the matter believe that not only will the Sriperumbudur plant start making the upcoming iPhone 14 series, iPads, and MacBook computers, Foxconn will also be looking to expand to other areas and either take over existing manufacturing units or set up new ones in the years to come.
