iPhone 15 May Be Made in India, China at Same Time: Ming-Chi Kuo

iPhone 14 launch is about five days away and reports about iPhone 15 have started to pour in the rumour mill already. It has been widely reported that Apple will be producing some handsets in the iPhone 14 series in India due to various reasons, including minimising the impact of geopolitical tensions between China and the US. It has now been claimed that from next year, India and China could produce iPhone 15 simultaneously. Furthermore, the reported gap in iPhone 14 production schedule between India and China is said to have been reduced.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that the mass production schedule of the iPhone 14 models in India this year “is still about six weeks behind China, but the gap has improved significantly.” On the basis of this, he said it is reasonable to expect that “India and China will be able to produce the new iPhone 15 at the same time next year.”

It is to be noted that Apple has been searching for an alternative market to produce iPhone models. Currently, China is the company’s important hub for worldwide shipments. However, recent geopolitical tensions between China and the US administration as well as the disrupted economic activity due to COVID-19 lockdowns has reportedly forced the Cupertino-based company to look for alternatives to produce iPhone models. Reports suggest that this would help Apple to minimise the impact of problems faced by the company in the recent months. Kuo, however, claimed that the geopolitical tension will not affect iPhone 14 mass production and shipment schedule.

It has been reported that the iPhone 14 models are planned to go into production in India about two months after the product’s initial release out of China. Apple’s move to produce some iPhone 14 models in India could be an ‘important milestone’ for the Indian market, but the iPhone-maker has its reservations about setting up India manufacturing units as it comes with its own challenges such as product secrecy and maintaining high standards.

iPhone 14 series will launch globally on September 7 and the shipment may start about a week and a half after the unveiling. Production sites in India are expected to manufacture the iPhone 14 models with a 6.1-inch display that are tipped to be the vanilla iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max are believed to feature 6.7-inch displays and won’t be manufactured in the country.