Foxconn is just a few weeks away from starting trial production of the iPhone X in India, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
The trial run of the iPhone X range of devices would come before Foxconn starts full-scale assembly at its factory outside the southern city of Chennai, the people said, asking not to be identified as the plans are private. Wistron Corp. already produces older models, such as the iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and iPhone 7, at a plant in Bangalore.
Producing in India will help Apple avoid import duties of 20% and meet India's 30% local sourcing rule, allowing Apple to open its own stores in the country.
Over 140 million smartphones were purchased in India last year but just 1.7 million of those were sold by Apple. Customers typically prefer cheaper models from China like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. Many feel that Apple needs to make a strong push in India to offset the slowdown in China.
“Seen from Cupertino the India market looks minuscule so Apple’s strategy has been myopic,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research. “They haven’t capitalized on the ground potential - India will cross half-billion smartphone users this year.”
More details in the full report linked below.
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The trial run of the iPhone X range of devices would come before Foxconn starts full-scale assembly at its factory outside the southern city of Chennai, the people said, asking not to be identified as the plans are private. Wistron Corp. already produces older models, such as the iPhone 6s, iPhone SE and iPhone 7, at a plant in Bangalore.
Producing in India will help Apple avoid import duties of 20% and meet India's 30% local sourcing rule, allowing Apple to open its own stores in the country.
Over 140 million smartphones were purchased in India last year but just 1.7 million of those were sold by Apple. Customers typically prefer cheaper models from China like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. Many feel that Apple needs to make a strong push in India to offset the slowdown in China.
“Seen from Cupertino the India market looks minuscule so Apple’s strategy has been myopic,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research. “They haven’t capitalized on the ground potential - India will cross half-billion smartphone users this year.”
More details in the full report linked below.
Read More