Apple iPhone 14's India Production Would Reduce Tech Gap With China: Report

With the launch of the iPhone 14 series less than a month away, Apple is looking for alternatives to manufacture the iPhone 14 lineup amid growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.

The tech giant has been working with suppliers to beef up manufacturing in India and close the tech gap with China. Representative image: Getty

With the launch of the iPhone 14 series less than a month away, Cupertino, California-based Apple is looking for alternatives to manufacture the iPhone 14 lineup amid growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China and the latter continues to impose lockdowns in the country, the media has reported.

The tech giant has been working with suppliers to beef up manufacturing in India and close the tech gap with China, say people familiar with the matter, according to a report by news agency Bloomberg.

This comes days after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn in India will ship the iPhone 14 units from its production facility almost simultaneously with China for the first time ever. However, Apple and Foxconn's aim of a simultaneous start in India and China isn’t realistic this year. The first iPhone 14 models to come out of India are likely to be finished in late October or November, following the initial September release, the Bloomberg report added. 

Famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said a few days back that Apple's contract manufacturing partner Foxconn in India will ship the iPhone 14 units from its production facility almost simultaneously with China for the first time ever. "My latest survey indicates Foxconn's iPhone production site in India will ship the new 6.1" iPhone 14 almost simultaneously with China for the first time in 2H22 (India being one quarter or more behind in the past)," Kuo, Analyst at TFI International Securities recently tweeted.

The famed Apple analyst noted that the Cupertino, California-based tech giant is looking to reduce the geopolitical effects on supply and that the iPhone maker sees India as an important growth driver.

"In the short term, India's iPhone capacities/shipments still have a considerable gap with China, but it's an important milestone for Apple in building a non-Chinese iPhone production site," Kuo added.

The Apple iPhone 14 series is said to be unveiled next month and it seems like the tech giant has high hopes for the upcoming lineup's initial sales. The company had begun the trial production of the iPhone 14 series and mass production of the lineup in July. The iPhone 14 series may go official sometime in September and the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro are likely to feature the same screen size.