Since 2017, China is no longer the only country where Apple manufactures its phones. Taiwanese subcontractor Foxconn, known to be responsible for assembling iPhones and iPads, is also mobilizing its India plant for the production of Apple-branded phones. But with the next-generation iPhone, set to be unveiled this Wednesday evening by Apple CEO Tim Cook, the brand intends to go further: for several months, the company has been rolling out an “action plan” to diversify its manufacturing of new devices. .
An “action plan” to be produced anywhere other than China
Ming-Chi Kuo, a financial analyst known for his solid information and predictions at Apple, explained last April on Twitter: “Apple’s sites for new product launches are almost all based in China” – other factories continue to manufacture the product, but only for the second time.
If trade tensions between China and the United States has long pushed Apple to think of alternativesit is a recent health situation that appears to have been the trigger: “Two years ago, at the start of the epidemic, Apple considered the possibility of setting up a launch site outside of China, but remained at the proposal stage. However, after China’s recent lockdown, building these sites elsewhere is no longer a proposal but a plan of action.“, according to Ming-Chi Kuo.
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If there’s no question about leaving China completely, Apple doesn’t want to put all its eggs in one basket. It is for this reason that Foxconn has also launched the production of Apple products in India.
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Heading to previous production in India?
Does this mean that buyers rushing to the iPhone 14 (and possibly the iPhone Pro, iPhone Plus and iPhone Pro Plus) will have the opportunity to assemble the model elsewhere? Well: still not. According to information from Bloomberg in the United States, Apple still hasn’t managed to match its channel launch time production in China and India.
Specifically, weaker capacity, on the Indian side, to avoid leakage of information about new models. Transporting Chinese parts to India, and therefore passing through customs, increases the risk of leakage, which Apple, a follower of the culture of secrecy around its new products, wants to avoid.
There will still be a clear evolution with these iPhone 14 models: as of now, the lag between the start of production in China and in India has been six to nine months. This time, India is expected to start producing iPhones in late October or early November.which is a clear acceleration of the production chain.
“Inadequate” working conditions in India
On the other hand, if it is a matter of distancing itself from China for health and commercial matters, Apple has not considered the social aspects of its production: Foxconn’s factory in Sriperumbudur in India, the one where the iPhones are manufactured, closed last December following a strike by employees denouncing unfit working conditions – it’s only been partially reopened since then.
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