iPhone XR production has begun in India with iPhone 11 next up

News
By Oliver Haslam
published

iPhone XR hero image
iPhone XR hero image (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Foxconn has an Indian factory pumping out iPhone XR handsets.
  • This after weeks of test runs.
  • The factory will produce iPhone 11 models, too.

Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn has begun manufacturing iPhone XR models at its facility in India, according to sources speaking with ET Telecom.

Apple and Foxconn have reportedly been running tests over the past few weeks in order to get the factory ready to go online and that has now happened. The factory is said to be producing iPhone XR handsets, with iPhone 11 also to be added to the mix in the same facility, located near Chennai.

The company has just started commercial production of the iPhone XR locally at the Foxconn facility near Chennai after undertaking trials for several weeks, reflecting a move up the manufacturing value chain in India. Following this, Apple plans to start making the latest iPhone 11 series. Making the iPhone XR involves a higher level of technical skill, the executives said. Apple will export the devices to other markets after having tested the waters with the export of iPhone 6s and 7 models to Europe in the past few months.

Apple will not only remove some of its reliance on Chinese iPhone manufacturing with this move, but alsos ave money on import duty. Although those savings will not be passed on to the customer, the source notes.

While Apple will be able to save around 20% in import duty through local manufacturing of the iPhone XR, the executives said this won't lead to any price drops. Apple hasn't cut prices on any of its locally made iPhones.

Apple is acutely aware that the United States and China remain in a trade war and tariffs continue to escalate, although there is cause for optimism. Moving production outof China where possible is a smart move.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.