Apple iPhone 12 now Made in India, available for purchase in April – May

Apple is now manufacturing its iPhone 12 in India and will be available for purchase from April – May this year. Taiwan-based Foxconn, a contract manufacturing partner of Apple Inc., is assembling the iPhone 12 model in India.

This comes amid the Indian government’s “Made in India” push along with the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, to make India a big production hub for global smartphone makers. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union IT Minister, had last year said that they are optimistic and looking forward to building a strong ecosystem across the value chain and integrating with the global value chains.

Apple in an official statement said it is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world. “We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers,” the smartphone giant said. Apple began locally assembling select iPhone models in India in 2017; for the initial years, the company’s contract partners locally produced only older iPhone models in the country.

Reports state that the iPhone 12 models manufactured in India will be available for purchase in the domestic market, and will also be exported. By manufacturing in India, the company will be able to avoid paying hefty import tariffs.

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According to Counterpoint and CyberMedia Research, research firms, Apple assumes just 2% of the Indian smartphone market, but it has grown in recent quarters. It shipped more than 1.5 million iPhone units in India in the quarter that ended in December, up 100% year-on-year, making this its best quarter in the world’s largest smartphone market to date.

Jayanth Kolla, chief analyst at Convergence Catalyst, pointed out that unlike several foreign firms that offer their products and services at low prices in India, Apple has focused entirely on a small fraction of the population that can afford to pay big bucks.