Apple Selects Wistron as First India-Based Supplier of the 2017 iPhone

[MacRumors]

Apple has tapped manufacturer Wistron as the first major supplier in India for this year's iPhone 8, following multiple reports that the company has been looking into manufacturing its products locally in the country. According to a new report from DigiTimes, Wistron will become the first original equipment manufacturer for 2017 iPhones, while Foxconn and a collection of other suppliers are being eyed as back up OEMs "if demand increases."

In a report by The Times of India last month, Apple was said to be looking into building an iPhone manufacturing plant in Bangalore, India with Wistron as a partner. That plant is believed to have production up and running by April and be a major contributor to the Indian iPhone supply chain by the end of 2017.

In today's DigiTimes report, Wistron is specifically mentioned to have expanded smartphone production capacity in both India and China.

Apple has reportedly selected Wistron to be the first OEM in India for new iPhones to be launched in 2017, while Foxconn Electronics and other makers will become second OEMs if demand increases. In preparation for OEM production, Wistron has expanded smartphone production capacity in Kunshan, eastern China, and in India. Wistron chairman and CEO Simon Lin declined to comment.

Apple has been attempting to increase its presence in India throughout the past year, most recently looking into manufacturing its products locally, while also creating a new distribution center in India to consolidate its logistics and supply chain.

The company asked for tax concessions from the Indian government so it could get its facilities up and running at a smoother pace, but it was denied such benefits earlier this month. Still, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that India will keep an "open mind" for any future incentive requests from Apple.

Article Link: Apple Selects Wistron as First India-Based Supplier of the 2017 iPhone

 

[magbarn]

See how quickly Apple sets up shop building iPhones in a country that forces them to do it. India, China, and Brazil get away with protectionist tariffs and laws.... meanwhile the moment the US tries to do something similar to bring back manufacturing here we're quickly branded as trying to start a trade war!

 

[RightMACatU]

Not too fast Apple... Did the Donald approve this?

 

[spacemnspiff]

Not too fast Apple... Did the Donald approve this?

All you need to do it talk about fingers and find for him something to grab on, he won't even notice.

 

[kyeblue]

See how quickly Apple sets up shop building iPhones in a country that forces them to do it. India, China, and Brazil get away with protectionist tariffs and laws.... meanwhile the moment the US tries to do something similar to bring back manufacturing here we're quickly branded as trying to start a trade war!

exactly! India is one of the worst country in terms of protectionism. And it is unfair that US has to suck it up without imposing some count measures.

 

[RickeshPatel]

exactly! India is one of the worst country in terms of protectionism. And it is unfair that US has to suck it up without imposing some count measures.

Get this... only 3% of India's population pays income tax. They have to raise tax revenue somehow. Everything you buy has tax included in the price you see. The people that can afford high end goods have their money stashed up.

 

[LordQ]

I like that iPhone 8 render

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

See how quickly Apple sets up shop building iPhones in a country that forces them to do it. India, China, and Brazil get away with protectionist tariffs and laws.... meanwhile the moment the US tries to do something similar to bring back manufacturing here we're quickly branded as trying to start a trade war!

It's sad that we have to fight for what we invented.

 

[Sefstah]

Make the iPhone great again!

 

[DeepIn2U]

I think the REAL consideration here is not:
Tax holiday/haven that Apple seeks or that India Gov't is will to grant Apple,
Not so much the manufacturing or supplier(s) going to be contracted by Apple so that they can setup shop in India ...

BUT what really affects fans or potential buyers above 2% Indian population IS:
What phone will be manufacturered in India?
- I'll bet it's the successor to the iPhone SE (iphone 6S rounded design in smaller IPSE size/dimensions.
What price will Apple's phones be priced at?
- I'll bet the iPhone 5C and SE successors will be the model's that heavily sell there.
What kind of contractural deals for cheaper price points will carriers in India entertain in partnership with Apple?!
What kind of warranty laws will allow for AppleCare+ not to fall into oblivion such that that fool in switzerland having an iPhone 4 years out of warranty wanting to have it repaired was founded NOT to pay a dime and get a new phone or repaired for free by Apple as orderd?!
- FUNK THAT!
What profit margin per phone will Apple get for iPhone 5C, SE, iPhone 6 or 6S and of course iPhone 7 inside India's economy?!

THIS is what investers like myself (in a few days) will be after critically.
Will this affect revenues, profits, and of course stock price?!

 

[Aman_5ingh]

I think most of you heavily underestimate high-end phone sales in India, because of the low average income and high percentage of rural population with limited access to Internet, and then casually joke about the lack of sanitary facilities.

28% of India's population lives in urban areas. Although I believe a majority of this subset invests in cheap smartphones from Xiaomi, Motorola, Lenovo, Asus and Le, iPhones appear to be commonplace in most metropolitan cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai. The major competition for Apple and Samsung here is OnePlus, that provides most of the features at around the $450 price-point and is the go-to option for the 20-something. That's where Apple might have to compete. They already enjoy a considerable share of the high-end market, and one can spot several dozens of iPhone 6/6s/7 or their plus models in a daily commute. Lest you guys forget, everyone's paying almost $900-$1200 for the most recent iPhone, because of the absurd mark-up in price in a country where incomes are much lower than the US.

This cumulative 1-2% of the population that invests in $450+ devices is all that Apple would want to target at this moment - almost 25 million customers. Making them cheaper and closer to their US prices would help quite a bit, as Apple already enjoys a 'expensive for no reason' reputation around here.

 

[technofunky]

Fantastic news, welcome to India apple

 

[alexgowers]

See how quickly Apple sets up shop building iPhones in a country that forces them to do it. India, China, and Brazil get away with protectionist tariffs and laws.... meanwhile the moment the US tries to do something similar to bring back manufacturing here we're quickly branded as trying to start a trade war!

The difference is the US has economies of scale that prevent it from producing phones that wouldn't then require subsidies. India, china and Brazil all have cheap labour and can scale at volume with low costs. In the US it's just not possible, if you think manufacturing is gonna go back to the US you might be asking the wrong questions about why it might never happen. If you have good wages, safety, benefits, healthcare, pensions, working hours that's gonna prevent that, it has nothing to do with trade wars, you've been blinded by simple minded logic from the media.

Meanwhile manufacturing in India might create a problem for apple. I can see yields being low there and a blackmarket forming to sell these outside normal channels. I'm probably wrong but India is not known for it's quality or tech.