'Made in India' iPhone 12 Reportedly Coming Mid-2021, Trial Production Already Underway

Apple plans to roll out an iPhone 12 made exclusively in India by middle of next year, according to Business Standard.

iPhone 12 Made in India

Apple supplier Wistron has apparently begun trial production of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 already at a new facility near Bengaluru. Wistron has reportedly set about hiring as many as 10,000 new staff for manufacturing facilities in India.

The ‌iPhone‌ 12 would be the seventh ‌iPhone‌ model to be manufactured in India, but the first high-end device to do so. Until recently, ‌iPhone‌ production in India was limited to lower-cost and older models, and production of the ‌iPhone‌ SE in India is expected to begin by the end of 2020. Business Standard's sources said that the new facility in Narasapura would be for the manufacture of the ‌iPhone‌ 12, and its existing plant in Bengaluru would be used to produce the ‌iPhone‌ SE.

Apple is aggressively stepping up its India-based manufacturing efforts as it seeks to move away from supply chain concentration in China. Apple suppliers Pegatron and Samsung are expected to set up production facilities in India, and Foxconn has announced that it plans to invest as much as $1 billion in India, having already established its first manufacturing plant in the country.

Initiatives such as the "production linked incentive" (PLI) scheme have made India-based production attractive to big tech companies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent "Made in India" initiative also requires 30 percent of products sold by foreign companies to be manufactured or produced within the country.

Increased production in India is believed to allow Apple to price iPhones more competitively in the country. India is also the world's second-largest smartphone market, but just one in four Indians are said to own a smartphone, providing Apple with the opportunity to sell iPhones to millions of new customers, while also diversifying its supply chains and moving away from its heavy reliance on China.

Tags: India, Wistron

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Top Rated Comments

rjp1 Avatar
60 months ago
It’s a shame they won’t make phones in the USA. You can make up all the excuses you want, but we are talking about a $2 trillion company - they could make it happen.

How about giving back to the country that made them this successful? Pay your taxes and create jobs making phones here. It is crazy that people think that is too much to ask.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
60 months ago

given the average income thats no surprise.
India's existing smartphone population is 103% of the total US population.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
60 months ago

Made in India.
Make in India
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chytin Avatar
60 months ago
Apparently Face ID on India iPhone will only work if you do the Indian head wobble.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ilikewhey Avatar
60 months ago

There are 1.4 billion people in India. 25% have a smartphone, or 338 million people who can afford, and have purchased a smartphone. The number of people who already have a smartphone in India is greater that the total US population. So if Apple were to just focus on them: Apple has 55% of those sales already. That's 186 million existing customers in India - and nearly double the number of US iPhone users.

Falsely assuming people in India can only upgrade if they already have a smartphone, Apple has 152 million potential new customers which equates to almost half the total US population. Or put another way, there are nearly 150% more smartphone users in india who don't have an iPhone than there are US iPhone users.
your falsely assuming everyone who can afford a smart phone will buy a iphone. these who currently have smartphone, are not 100 iphone users. even the cheapest iphone at 400, is still more expensive than a budget android phone.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
60 months ago

It’s a shame they won’t make phones in the USA. You can make up all the excuses you want, but we are talking about a $2 trillion company - they could make it happen.

How about giving back to the country that made them this successful? Pay your taxes and create jobs making phones here. It is crazy that people think that is too much to ask.
I mean, they do pay their taxes. They don't pay taxes they don't owe. And they don't pay other people's taxes.

Besides. There are not enough skilled people in the US willing to build iPhones in the quantity the US consumes.


your falsely assuming everyone who can afford a smart phone will buy a iphone. these who currently have smartphone, are not 100 iphone users. even the cheapest iphone at 400, is still more expensive than a budget android phone.
Which is why we limited it to those that have them now. Building them in India will make them cheaper because they will not have as much tax on them.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)