Apple may tap India for early manufacturing work on an iPhone 17 base model: Report

The iPhone 17, expected to be released next year, is anticipated to feature notable advancements in display and processing power.

Apple is reportedly working with an Indian iPhone factory for the early manufacturing work on a base model of the iPhone 17, slated to arrive next year, The Information has reported citing people familiar with the development.

The Indian factory, further details of which are not immediately available, will be working to translate the iPhone 17 prototype into a mass produced model, the report said. This will be the first time that an Indian iPhone manufacturing unit has been pressed into exploring such an assignment, underscoring the rapid success achieved by India's phone manufacturing ecosystem.

The iPhone 17, expected to be released next year, is anticipated to feature notable advancements in display and processing power.

This also assumes significance, as it will be the first time that Apple would be developing a new iPhone outside of China. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had said in the past that standard iPhone 17's 'introductory production' should start in India in the second half of 2025, as reported by the MacRumors website. The standard iPhone and not the Pro model has been chosen to ensure less to reduce design risk, Kuo said.

Kou has also projected that Foxconn’s production scale in China's Zhengzhou and Taiyuan may contract as much as 75–85%  by 2024, as Apple expands production in India. Apple's growing success in India stands in contrast to its slowing performance in China, where the economy has been hampered by recent an ongoing property crisis, struggling consumer demand and weak economic recovery after the re-opening following the pandemic.

The US company exported close to $6 billion worth of iPhones manufactured in India, marking a one-third increase in value from the previous year, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg News. This growth suggests that annual exports could potentially exceed the $10 billion mark recorded in fiscal 2024. iPhones account for a large part of India’s smartphone exports.

Apple has partnered with Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata-owned Wistron to produce iPhones in India.