Apple to Manufacture iPhones in India, as China's Plus One? Possible Move On the Way

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 06 October 2022, 12:10 am

India may be the next site to develop the iPhone series as there is a massive change from its China manufacturing due to tensions between Beijing and Washington in their policies. Additionally, China is best known for its pandemic response that is strict on enforcing it among factory workers, one which Apple was previously affected by its shutdown.

Companies manufacturing in China are known for their "plus one" policy which also looks at other countries to have alternatives for factory work, as well as its supply chain.

Apple to Manufacture More iPhones in India?

(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple Inc. said last week that it is already transferring five percent of its iPhone 14 production to India, and according to BBC, this may see more future production take place in the Asian country. This move may be Apple's shift to diversify its supply chain and contribute to making India the manufacturing hub by 2025.

The move is also a part of the "plus one" strategy that manufacturers enforce, especially if they have their central production in China and are seeing a decline in their supply chain.

While India is already centering on a small percentage of Apple's production, there are indications that it might see more in the future, developing as the center for many tech companies in the future.

China and US: Tensions Affecting Tech?

Not only is China's COVID policy affecting the technology it brings for US companies in the present, but also the tension it has with the country.

According to Reuters, the tension between Beijing and Washington is at no point where either is backing down, and this may indicate hardships in the future supply chain of businesses and corporations relying on delivering their products with Chinese production.

Apple and its Chinese Manufacturing

Apple is making a move toward diversifying its supply chains by having more manufacturing plants outside of China to avoid further delays and limit its operations due to the Asian country's anti-COVID policy. One of the countries that the company moved towards is India, having as much as five percent of Cupertino's supply chain coming from the country.

Other manufacturers also play a massive role as alternatives to China, with Apple putting their MacBook and Apple Watch production in Vietnam, as part of its diversification.

The Cupertino giant is known for centering its manufacturing in China for the longest time now, and it brought the world the design from California, but its assembly takes place in the East Asian country. However, the COVID-19 response of the country shut down factories for several weeks to contain an outbreak, with Apple expecting a loss of as much as $8 billion should they continue.

Despite the COVID restrictions easing in the global operations and daily lives of the public, it is not the same for China's health response team. It aims to fully avoid any outbreak among the many plants and factories in the country, and it is prioritizing health instead of the supply chain for the public's safety.

It seems that more iPhones may see manufacturing in India, to soon deliver to the world.

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Written by Isaiah Richard