Apple Plans To Build iPhone 14 in India Amid Efforts To Diversify Production Away From China

China's claim as the so-called "world's factory" continues to be challenged as Apple is once again making moves to diversify production away from the country.

Production line workers at Foxconn's technology park in Zhengzhou, China. Credit: VGC via Global Times

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to start building the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release. The first batch of iPhone 14 units coming out of India could likely be completed sometime between late October and November.

The U.S. tech giant is reportedly already in talks with suppliers to ramp up production in the country, which it anticipates could shorten the manufacturing lag from the usual six to nine months of previous launches.

The report adds that Apple's supplier Foxconn has studied the process of shipping components from China to its plant in the Indian city of Chennai, where the final product is assembled and shipped out.

iPhone 13. Credit: Apple

India has been manufacturing iPhones since the launch of the iPhone SE in 2017, though the scale and pace of its operations didn't match that of China's. That could soon change as Apple continues to diversify production away from China. The shift is largely due to the supply chain disruptions brought about by the strict lockdown measures in China and its ongoing trade war with the U.S. Apple previously also relied on India for some areas of production of the iPhone 13.

The news comes less than a week after Nikkei Asia reported that Apple is also in talks with its Vietnam suppliers about building more products in the Southeast Asian country. Test productions of the Apple Watch have reportedly already started in the company’s plant in northern Vietnam, with the MacBook said to be next in line.

The iPhone 14 is now just weeks away, with Apple said to be targeting a 7 September reveal. It's expected to launch alongside the Apple Watch Series 8, which is rumoured to feature a Pro model and the Apple Watch SE, among a few others.

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• Apple plans to start building the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release.

• The first batch of iPhone 14 units coming out of India could likely be completed sometime between late October and November.

• Apple's supplier Foxconn has studied the process of shipping components from China to its plant in the Indian city of Chennai, where the final product is assembled and shipped out.

• The move is part of the U.S. tech giant's efforts in diversifying its production away from China.