iPhone's sweet 16! India to rush in and join sales party
iPhone 16 series will be available across the world within the first few days of the launch of sales, multiple people familiar with the matter told ET.
Apple is scheduled to unveil the latest range on Monday and worldwide sales are likely to begin within 10-12 days.
Foxconn has commenced production of the iPhone 16 series in India, to be exported and made available in multiple cities and countries, officials said.
This may well be the first time that a global player will make available a product manufactured in Indian factories across the world within the first few days of the start of sales, experts said.
Achieving this milestone four years after beginning iPhone production in India indicates the importance of the local manufacturing landscape for the Cupertino-based tech major. The maker of the iconic smartphones is diversifying production base out of China amid Sino-US geopolitical tensions.
Even the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max model will be shipped overseas from India over the next few months, officials said. This is the first time that Apple has started making the Pro and Pro Max models in India.
Queries sent to Apple and Foxconn remained unanswered at the time of going to press.
India currently contributes about 14% to the US tech giant's overall production, emerging as a key hub for its global exports, according to the latest Economic Survey. The share doubled from FY23.
According to a report by JPMorgan, Apple plans to shift 25% of its iPhone production to India by 2025, to diversify its manufacturing
