For the first time, a new iPhone model bought on launch day could be made in India.
Apple Inc plans to make the India-built iPhone 15 available in the South Asian country and some other regions on the global sales debut day, people familiar with the matter said.
Apple began iPhone 15 production at supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) factory in southern Tamil Nadu state last month.
Photo: Bloomberg
While the vast majority of iPhone 15s would come from China, it would be the first time the latest generation, India-assembled device is available on the first day of sale, the people said.
It would also underscore India’s growing production prowess, and reflect a significant departure from Apple’s previous strategy of selling new devices mostly made in China to frenzied customers around the world.
Slight delays with the India-built device could occur because of unforeseen logistics bottlenecks, the people said.
Apple representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple was yesterday set to introduce the iPhone 15, updated watches and AirPods at a gala event at its US headquarters in Cupertino, California. Sales of new products begin typically about 10 days after the unveiling.
Before the iPhone 14, Apple assembled just a fraction of its global output in India, which lagged behind China production by six to nine months. That delay was drastically reduced last year to just weeks, and Apple increased the proportion of iPhones it assembles in India to 7 percent at the end of March.
The iPhone 15 is expected to be the biggest update to the device in three years.
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