Apple’s next-generation iPhone 15 is being produced in Tamil Nadu, in an effort to further narrow the gap between its India operations and the main manufacturing base in China. Only a few weeks after they begin shipping from Chinese factories, the newest gadgets will be ready for delivery at a Foxconn facility in Sriperumbudur as the company works to quickly expand the number of new iPhones coming from India, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The California-based firm is on a multi-year project to diversify its manufacturing away from China, de-risking the supply chain for its most important products as tensions between Washington and Beijing make trade less predictable. India has sought to build closer ties with the US and make itself a manufacturing hub. Before the iPhone 14, Apple had only a sliver of its iPhone assembly in India, which lagged China output by six to nine months. That delay was reduced last year, and Apple produced 7% of its iPhones in India by March. The goal this year is to move closer to parity on shipment timing, though suppliers are not certain they’ll achieve it, people, asking not to be named, said.
The scale of the iPhone 15's production in India will rely on the ease with which Foxconn's factory outside of Chennai can ramp up its production lines and the ready availability of parts. On September 12, the newest iPhone is most likely to be unveiled.