The iPhone Pro models will be made in India for the first time this year

• The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are expected to be made in India soon after their global debut.
• This will be the first time that the Pro models are being made in India.
• Domestic production is expected to slightly bring down the cost of the iPhone Pro models.

In a boost to Apple’s iPhone production in India and the country’s Make in India initiative, the iPhone Pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro will be made in India, making them the first Pro models to be made in the country.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be assembled by Apple’s partner Foxconn at its facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The assembly of the devices will reportedly begin just weeks after their launch.

The company has reportedly started training thousands of workers as it aims to produce the Pro models in India as close to their global debut as possible.

Last year, Apple produced the iPhone 15 in India and this was available from day one. Soon after this, the iPhone 15 Plus was produced in India by Pegatron. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were imported in the country. The ‘Made in India’ iPhone 16 is expected to be available in India from day one.

Apple has been pushing its production in India since 2021, as its push for diversification of its production from China was welcomed with production-linked incentives (PLI) from the Indian government. In FY24, the Cupertino tech giant assembled iPhones worth $14 billion in India, accounting for 14% of its global output.

While Foxconn is expected to spearhead iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max production in India, the Tata Group and Pegatron are also expected to assemble the Pro models later this year.

Domestic production to make iPhones cheaper

While there is no confirmation from Apple, the report reveals that Apple will be able to meet the domestic demand for iPhones in India through locally assembled devices by the end of the year. This is expected to slightly bring down the prices of iPhones in the country.

Apple is expected to export the bulk of the domestically produced Pro models of the iPhone 16 series to the US, Europe and the Middle East after meeting the local demand.

Apple saw robust sales of around $8 billion in the country in FY24, an increase of around 33% year-on-year.

Apple shipped over 10 million iPhones in 2023 in India, up from 6 million in 2022. The company recorded a 6% market share in the Indian smartphone market in 2023.

Experts have said that there is a definitive trend of Apple attracting many first-time users for its newly launched iPhones in India, alongside the strong sales of previous-generation devices.

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