Apple’s iPhone 16 Series To Be Manufactured In China, India

Weeks ahead of the expected annual September launch of its new generation of iPhones, reports are emerging of Apple not only returning to China to produce its new generation of iPhone 16 devices, but to India too for its Pro models for the very first time.

As geopolitical factors came into play and resulted in tensions rising between China and the US, Apple shifted focus from China to India for the production of iPhones over the past few months.

The company has produced $14 billion (A$20.75 billion) worth of iPhones in India over the last fiscal year, accounting for as much as 14 per cent of its global output, according to Bloomberg

Apple will now reportedly make its most expensive iPhone Pro and Pro Max models in India for the first time this year.

Foxconn Technology Group is believed to begin assembling the new 16 Pro and Pro Max devices in India within weeks of their global launch next month. It has begun training thousands of workers at its factory in southern Tamil Nadu.

But Apple is also taking back some manufacturing capacity to China for its upcoming iPhone 16 series.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro max (Image: Sourced from Apple)

As ChannelNews recently reported, Foxconn has begun a hiring blitz that has seen around 50,000 extra workers added to its Chinese operations in just two weeks. The company also plans to invest 1 billion Yuan (approximately A$207.49 million) in Zhengzhou.

Foxconn’s return to China is a deliberate move aimed at leveraging the benefits of a better supply chain and overall infrastructure, which should improve the yield rate. The iPhone 15 series assembled in India reportedly has a yield rate of only about 50 per cent.

Apple still has to import parts from China to manufacture its products in India and Vietnam. High transportation costs add to the overall production cost of the iPhones.

The power supply infrastructure in India and Vietnam is also not as robust as China, with factories in those countries having to sometimes face power cuts which hinders production.

Apple has moved over the years to lessen its dependence on China as a manufacturing centre and not concentrate as much as 80 per cent of the world’s iPhone production in a single country.

It has eventual plans, according to analysts, for a quarter of all iPhones to be made in India by 2025, and for this to rise to 50 per cent by 2027.