Apple narrows China-India iPhone release gap in push to diversify supply chain, build redundancy
- Shipping the company’s flagship handsets from both countries at roughly the same time remains a long-term goal, people familiar with the matter said
- India has been touting its attractiveness as an alternative as rolling lockdowns and US sanctions jeopardise China’s position as factory to the world
Analysts such as Kuo Ming-Chi of TF International Securities Group have said they anticipate Apple will ship the next iPhone from both countries at roughly the same time, which would have been a significant benchmark in Apple’s efforts to diversify its supply chain and build redundancy.
Apple and Foxconn ultimately determined a simultaneous start in India and China isn’t realistic this year, although it remains a long-term goal, said the people. The first iPhone 14s from India are likely to be finished in late October or November, following the initial September release, they said. An ambitious target would be the Diwali festival that begins October 24, one person said.
A spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment. Foxconn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Redington India Ltd., which distributes Apple products in the country, rose as much as 9.5 per cent after Bloomberg’s initial report.
Matching China’s pace of iPhone production would have marked a major milestone for India, which has been touting its attractiveness as an alternative at a time when rolling Covid-19 lockdowns and US sanctions jeopardise China’s position as factory to the world. Assembling iPhones often entails coordination between hundreds of suppliers and meeting Apple’s infamously tight deadlines and quality controls.
Some people within Apple and Foxconn had hoped to begin simultaneous production in India this year, but that was never an official plan. To ensure a smooth launch, Apple wanted to focus on getting the China operations up to speed first and then work out the India production, one of the people said.
One challenge in narrowing the cap of India production is secrecy. Apple goes to extreme lengths to keep new product details confidential, and imposing the same rigorous controls in a second country would prove difficult.
Local executives in India examined entirely cornering off a section of one of Foxconn’s multiple assembly lines, sequestering workers and scrutinising all possible ways in which the security around the device could be compromised, according to two of the people. Thus far, the drastic security controls and stringent seclusion of its China facilities would be challenging to replicate, one of the people said.
Apple has also been concerned about Indian customs officials, who typically open up packages to check whether imported materials match their declarations, another potential vulnerability for product secrecy.
Even if Apple and Foxconn intended a simultaneous launch, supply-chain challenges would have stymied the goal. China, the source of many iPhone components, has gone through successive waves of lockdowns, complicating the process of shipping components through the country.