iPhone wars: India's Apple crop sparks a Indo-China social media battle
Apple expanding local manufacturing operations in India at the cost of China has triggered scores of reactions on social media platforms such as Weibo and X (formerly known as Twitter) questioning the quality of the latest iPhone 15s being made in the South Asian nation.
Indian users and industry executives have, however, been quick to rebuff the comments, pointing to how the locally made devices were as good as any manufactured elsewhere.
For the first time, India-made iPhone 15 and 15 Plus devices were made available on the first day of sale on September 22, along with China units, across the world, underlining the US smartphone maker's rapid expansion of its manufacturing operations in the world's second largest smartphone market. India is now easily the second largest assembler of iPhones globally.
The launch of the latest India-made iPhones though sparked an adverse reaction in China, marked by social media posts and reactions on Chinese state media.
One post on Weibo alleged that the India-made iPhone 15 units are being diverted to China after being rejected in Europe for having quality issues.
State media in China denied claims of diversion.
But it took a potshot at Cupertino-based Apple's India capacities: "...China is one of the largest markets for Apple, and the production capacity of India cannot meet the demand in China."
Meanwhile, China-based journalist Wenhao, who writes for Voice of America, posted on X that India has become a target of misinformation, contempt, and racist jokes on China's internet the past week or so for its growing role in Apple's manufacturing network.
«Ahead of the new iPhone release on Friday, some netizens are calling for boycotting India-made iPhone 15s,» Wenhao wrote,
