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As part of the growing trust of Apple in India, it will reportedly start its standard iPhone 17 new product introduction (NPI) in the country in the second half of 2024. Alongside this, Tata Group’s acquisition of Wistron’s iPhone factory will reportedly aid Apple in further strengthening its relationship with India.
Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared the news this week, noting that India is expected to experience growth in the volume of iPhone shipments it making for the global market. The information has come at a time when Apple is trying to move away portions of its iPhone production designations from China. Now, the Cupertino company is eyeing India as its next iPhone manufacturing hub.
With that, Kuo said the company would begin developing iPhones outside China, starting with the standard iPhone 17 in India.
“The new product introduction (NPI) for the standard iPhone 17 (to be launched in 2H25) is expected to start kick-off in India in 2H24,” Kuo reported. “It will be the first time for Apple to begin development of a new iPhone model outside of China. The standard iPhone is chosen for its lower-difficulty design development to reduce design risk.”
On the other hand, with Apple trying to entrust more iPhone volumes to India, Kuo believes that Tata’s purchase of Wistron’s iPhone production lines in India would further aid in building its link with the country’s government. In August, Apple’s top representatives reportedly met the Indian Finance Ministry officials to discuss the future of the business in the country. No specific details were shared, but it was revealed that one of the key points in the discussion pointed to “how India’s policies could be aligned to support this initiative” involving iPhone manufacturing. Unsurprisingly, the report shared that the government is in “a positive cooperation” about the idea of boosting the manufacturing of smartphones in the country.
