apple iphone 13: This 2021 iPhone will not be ‘made in India’, this is what Apple said – Times of India

Apple iPhone 13 is the latest iPhone to get ‘made-in-India’ tag. The company has confirmed that after trial production at its manufacturing partner Foxconn, the smartphone will now be manufactured in India. “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,” Apple said in a statement. Apple is also likely to open its first company-owned store in India later this year in Mumbai.
iPhone 13 is part of Apple’s current-generation iPhone lineup. Apple launched iPhone 13 in September last year, along with iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Apple iPhone 13 is priced at Rs 79,990 onwards on the company’s official online store. There are offers available giving discounts up to Rs 6,000 on the smartphone. The base variant offers 128GB storage. Apple has contracted its manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron to manufacture iPhone 13 in India. In 2020, the Indian government approved incentives under its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to boost domestic smartphone production to 16 companies across the country. The list includes Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron. Under the PLI plan, these companies have to make certain investment in India to get the incentives. In the past two years, Apple has seen considerable growth in the Indian market. The past year saw the company make its entry in top 10 smartphone brands in India with 4% market share. It’s a considerable feat for a company which has presence only in the premium segment in a price-sensitive market like India. The Indian smartphone market is lead by Chinese company Xiaomi, which has strong presence in the affordable category.
‘Made-in-India’ iPhones
Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India with the first-generation iPhone SE in 2018. Since then, over the years several iPhones have joined the list including iPhone X, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE 2. Wistron was the first original equipment manufacturer to make iPhones in India at its facility in Karnataka. The OEM reportedly also made iPhone 6s models in India for other Asian markets in 2018-19.
Presently, Apple has 11 OEM partners in the country. The list includes Cheng Uei Precision Industry Company Limited (Foxlink), Flex Limited, Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Limited (Foxconn), Jabil Incorporated, Jabil Incorporated, Shenzhen YUTO Packaging Technology Company Limited, Sunwoda Electronic Company Limited, Wistron Corporation and Zhen Ding Technology Holding Limited.