Foxconn begins iPhone 15 production in India: Report

Apple supplier Foxconn has reportedly started production of the next-generation iPhone 15 in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur as the contract manufacturer looks to increase volumes from India.

Foxconn's India plant is preparing to deliver iPhone 15 smartphones only weeks after they start shipping from factories in China, reports Bloomberg.

This comes days after Hon Hai Technology Group chairman Young Liu said that Foxconn's revenue, number of employees, and investment scale have grown exponentially since it entered India in 2005.

"In addition to existing operations in the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states, Hon Hai will also deploy in Karnataka, Telangana and other states," Liu said in the company's second-quarter earnings report.

Through close cooperation with central and local governments, Hon Hai will plan to establish industrial parks and optimise the business environment in terms of infrastructure, policies and laws, says Liu.

"At present, it is mainly engaged in the ICT final assembly business. Going forward, Hon Hai will actively deploy work in the area of key components to raise its competitiveness in India," he adds.

In May, Foxconn's India subsidiary acquired a 300-acre land parcel on the outskirts of India's tech capital Bengaluru to ramp up production of iPhones. The Karnataka government had earlier approved an ₹8,000 crore proposal by the Taiwanese electronics giant to set up a mobile phone manufacturing unit near Bengaluru.

The other two Taiwanese companies Wistron and Pegatron also assemble Apple iPhones in India. Wistron manufactures Apple devices at its Hosur facility in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.

Tech giant Apple is looking to convince India's growing middle class to switch to iPhones. In a conference call after the Cupertino, California-based company unveiled its June quarter earnings, chief executive officer Tim Cook said Apple grew in 'strong' double digits in India.

"We did hit a June quarter revenue record in India, and we grew strong double digits. We also opened our first 2 retail stores during the quarter. And it's early going currently, but they're beating our expectation in terms of how they're doing," Cook said, without disclosing any numbers.

Apple continues to work on building out this channel and putting more investment in its direct-to-consumer offers as well, Cook said. "I think if you look at it, it's the second-largest smartphone market in the world. So we ought to be doing really well there. And where I'm really pleased with our growth there, we still have a very, very modest and low share in the smartphone market. And so I think that it's a huge opportunity for us. And we're putting all of our energies in making that occur," he added.