Apple Begins to Make iPhone XRs in Southern India Amid US-China Trade War

The tech company has started assembling the iPhone XR at a Foxconn facility near Chennai.

This comes as Apple  is looking to  shift its manufacturing from China and make India one of its key global production hubs.

Confirmed: iPhone XRs, assembled in India for the first time, now available. https://t.co/4NcpLOSKNq pic.twitter.com/HmvSEgYuQq

— Newley Purnell (@newley) October 21, 2019

Apple now has two of its big global contract manufacturers operating in India: Foxconn and Wistron.

Apple has started commercial production of the iPhone XR locally at the Foxconn facility near Chennai after undertaking trials for several weeks, reflecting a move up the manufacturing value chain in India.

Following this, Apple plans to start making the latest iPhone 11 series. — The Economic Times

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology:

“Apple is looking for alternative countries to shift some of its manufacturing out of China amid the trade war with the U.S.,” he said. “We are one of the big countries which can provide an alternative.”

PM Narendra Modi’s government has been trying to transform the country’s image as a difficult place to do business, promising a more predictable and open regulatory regime, a simpler corporate tax structure and incentives for targeted industries. The government’s effort has become more pressing as the country struggles with an economic slowdown. — The Wall Street Journal