iPhone 13 will be Made in India at Foxconn's Chennai plant

US tech-giant Apple has started manufacturing its latest offering, the iPhone 13 in India. The production of the company’s latest smartphone model has begun at Foxconn's plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Apple is now manufacturing all its latest iPhone offerings like iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone SE in India. 

Summary in Brief :

How will this benefit Apple?

• Apple’s top-of-the-line and highest selling iPhone models are now made in India. 
• The move will help the company to expand its presence in the country as well as the South Asian region. 
• Apple is pushing the manufacturing in India plan in order to reduce its reliance on Chinese supply chains. 
• Experts believe that by manufacturing iPhones in India, Apple can save costs and thus reduce the price of their future products. 
• With local manufacturing of new iPhone models, Apple is planning to increase the volume and, at the same time, rely less on imported units that attract hefty taxes from the government.

In a statement, the company said, “We are excited to begin making iPhone 13 — with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip — right here in India for our local customers”

Will this reduce iPhone prices?

The new iPhone 13 will not receive any price cut or major discount as of now. Apple has never cut its prices even for previous models. But, prices may soon come down as Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 14 series globally in September. We can expect the price of iPhone 13 to fall around Rs 50,000. Going by past trends, we can also expect the prices of iPhone 13 and other other models to fall during the festive seasons.

Increase Market share:

Apple will now compete to increase its market share in India. Last year, Apple emerged as one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in India as iPhone shipments grew by a record 108% with 50 lakh units. As of the last quarter of the previous year, the throne is currently held by Xiaomi with a 21% market share, followed by Realme with 17%, and Samsung with 16%. Apple only holds 4.4% but the company hopes to increase the number to 5.5% in 2022.