iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max likely to see price drop as Apple sets stage to expand manufacturing in India

livemint.com:

iPhone 16 launch date revealed via new leaked poster. Expected date, time and all we know so farAccording to a report by Bloomberg, Apple's key partner Foxconn has started training thousands of its workers at a factory in Tamil Nadu to produce iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max variants.

Foxconn is expected to start assembling the high-end devices in India just weeks after their global launch.Meanwhile, other Apple partners in the country such as Pegatron's India unit and the Tata Group will also reportedly start assembling the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models in India. The iPhone 16 Pro models come with a bigger battery, titanium frame and better camera, and therefore require more specialised production lines.Reportedly, with iPhone 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max beginning to get assembled in India, Apple partners should be able to satisfy the local demand by the end of the year.

Local assembly should also help Apple cut down the prices of these marquee models by up to 10%. Notably, the current iPhone 16 Pro models are imported and thus attract an import duty form the Indian government, making the phones more pricier.

However, despite the local assembly, Bloomberg report states that expensive component imports and local taxes will keep the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max variant prices higher than some other regions around the world. The Bloomberg report states that most of the India made iPhone 16 Pro models will be exported to Europe, Middle East and US given that the demand of these higher end models is relatively low in India.