Foxconn to Begin Production on iPhone X in India This July

[TobyR]

Why would Apple go through the expense of building here when they can continue to build cheaper outside of the US? It's not like any Apple customers here are going to object or anything. I mean, a few might shake a fist or two. But by and large, most Apple customers are going to continue doing what they've always done... buying Apple products. Country of origin tends to only matter as a talking point. Profits before patriotism. Apple is a business.

I don't disagree.

But Cook has repeatedly cited that lack of US employment pool skills in this area as to why they continue most manufacturing in Asia/China.

If that is true, that is fine.

But if you then go and break ground in, say, India it starts to look a lot like. back-handed excuse.

The notion that ANY worker can not be trained is nonsense. Geographic natives are not magically born into the skillset. So, how is it that you can start from scratch in India not not, say, Indiana?

You can. It is mostly a matter of cost … and that is fine. One just needs to be honest about it. And Cook isn't.

 

[Chrisp1234]

German press talking about they will make an XE with 4.8 inch notch and amoled, havent heard anything here though

 

[agsystems]

Tim is absolutely desperate to not spend a single cent on a new design.

That's the problem - Apple needs to create an specific brand for emerging markets - call it Iphone M (or whatever) which is separate from the main line - this way they can price it anyway they want without cannibalizing the main brand in terms of image and pricing

 

[aakshey]

Does anyone know if this will lower the import tax and duty for iPhone sold in India? ( It is one of the reason why Apple's product in India are one of the most expensive in the world )

I am not well versed on the situation in India.

It won’t. But iPhones made in India won’t have any duty at all. Whether or not this leads to a reduction in pricing is up to Apple.

 

[citysnaps]

Tim is absolutely desperate to not spend a single cent on a new design.

Then please let Mr. Cook know that those new Ax processors that are several generations ahead of competing devices, are costing Apple more than $100 million (likely far greater) to develop and manufacture every year.

Since he's desperate, let him know he should instead strive for processor parity with other phone manufacturers, and not be so ambitious, and thus save a lot of money.

 

[Frazie]

It's a 3rd world country. Only the uber rich can afford iPhones there.

Yes, But India has 5 millions of them.

 

[ilikewhey]

I don't understand why Apple fails in the India market at all.. is it their prices?

India seems to be pretty open to western culture as a whole.. you would think Apple would have an easier time in that market than China.

great question! its basically priced out of their annual income, the avg indian income is pretty low, something like 5-6k usd, imagine earning 5-6k a year and trying to buy an iphone that cost 1k. thats alot of water soup and bread my friend.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/25/17611438/iphone-in-india-obstacles-to-success

 

[Baymowe335]

I don't disagree.

But Cook has repeatedly cited that lack of US employment pool skills in this area as to why they continue most manufacturing in Asia/China.

If that is true, that is fine.

But if you then go and break ground in, say, India it starts to look a lot like. back-handed excuse.

The notion that ANY worker can not be trained is nonsense. Geographic natives are not magically born into the skillset. So, how is it that you can start from scratch in India not not, say, Indiana?

You can. It is mostly a matter of cost … and that is fine. One just needs to be honest about it. And Cook isn't.

And yet, you're still wrong. The proximity of India to China and the electronics hub of the world still gives it a huge geographic advantage over the US.

Secondly, India has over 1B people, many with technical skill sets still better than a comparable US workforce. India has more to choose from and more immigrants with technical skill moving there for work.

The US is a services economy. Shipping parts with planes and boats to the US to assemble an iPhone doesn't even make sense. Building the factories that produce the thousands of sensors, screws, brackets, etc that go into an iPhone would literally be starting from scratch here, whereas Asia has factories galore.

Of course, you could move all that manufacturing to the US, but at some point, it's just stupid. And you still have the workforce numbers problem. Over 1M people assemble iPhones. Economics is a real part of business, but so is geography. So is pool of labor. All these factors make it completely idiotic to try to build 200M phones in America.

 

[v0lume4]

Then please let Mr. Cook know that those new Ax processors that are several generations ahead of competing devices, are costing Apple more than $100 million (likely far greater) to develop and manufacture every year.

Since he's desperate, let him know he should instead strive for processor parity with other phone manufacturers, and not be so ambitious, and thus save a lot of money.

New processor =/= new design.

I hear what you're saying, but you have to admit when you look around at competing products' designs surpassing Apple while Apple most likely will be sitting on their laurels again this year (rumored same design), it starts to make you go, "Hmm." Economies of scale. Apple are the masters of it.

In day to day use, the industry-leading processor argument is null at this point. It used to be valid, but even the "slower" processors now (say, the mid-range Snapdragons or higher) are plenty fast. For example -- put an 8th gen Intel Core i3 in a desktop computer. Now swap it out with an i5, or an i7. In day to day tasks, you wouldn't ever know the difference.

 

[norbinhouston]

This is purely to skirt the protectionist tax India put on iPhones. Same as the factory in Brazil.

 

[44267547]

German press talking about they will make an XE with 4.8 inch notch and amoled, havent heard anything here though

I read that Rumor. And Nor does it seem remotely believable at this point in time. I don’t see Apple producing a 4.8 iPhone with Face ID and an OLED panel (Which are some of the most expensive components on the iPhone), which likely wouldn’t even be affordable given how the consumers are not reacting very well with the higher priced smart phones. Not to mention, now that they introduced the Max and the XR, I don’t see them adding another iPhone size into their lineup this fall.

https://www.cultofmac.com/616998/sketchy-report-claims-cheaper-iphone-xe-is-coming-this-fall/

 

[DesertNomad]

Wait.... so they can build an iphone in India, but not in the United States???

Indians don't make $15/hr. Your US-made phone would cost $3,000.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

How many X units are they expecting to sell in India if even the cheaper XR isn’t selling over there? Hard to believe than an OLED iPhone would be any cheaper than the XR.

Seems You have no knowledge of parts prices, which is obvious for an apple customer.
The iPhone X which is a crappy oled phone Samsung brought us years ago, is as cheap as 350 as SELLING price

 

[joueboy]

Meanwhile the Foxconn buildings in the US is nothing but empty. I'm sure they have no plans to build anything here in this country. They're just waiting for the next election hoping new leadership will take over then abandon their plans.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

I read that Rumor. And Nor does it seem remotely believable at this point in time. I don’t see Apple producing a 4.8 iPhone with Face ID and an OLED panel (Which are some of the most expensive components on the iPhone), which likely wouldn’t even be affordable given how the consumers are not reacting very well with the higher priced smart phones. Not to mention, now that they introduced the Max and the XR, I don’t see them adding another iPhone size into their lineup this fall.

https://www.cultofmac.com/616998/sketchy-report-claims-cheaper-iphone-xe-is-coming-this-fall/

Nearly everything You write is WRONG
Parts are cheap, just a myth of high prices, oled is cheap as banana
Smaller phone must not be expensive, can be easily sold for 550

Only thing I agree, no idea if they bring it this fall, but there would be a huge customer base waiting for it, so it could be possible!

 

[Andres Cantu]

Seems You have no knowledge of parts prices, which is obvious for an apple customer.
The iPhone X which is a crappy oled phone Samsung brought us years ago, is as cheap as 350 as SELLING price

You must be referring to the cost for Apple to make, which isn’t just cost for parts.

If you have proof that an LCD screen from a XR costs more than an OLED screen from a X, I sure would like to see it.

 

[smoothindian]

It's a 3rd world country. Only the uber rich can afford iPhones there.

Add to that the fact that iPhones sell for an additional 20% markup to stem losses from low volumes.

 

[44267547]

Meanwhile the Foxconn buildings in the US is nothing but empty. I'm sure they have no plans to build anything here in this country.

Wasn’t there plans to build a Foxconn plant somewhere in the Midwest? Or is that showing signs of little to no progress ?

 

[magicschoolbus]

great question! its basically priced out of their annual income, the avg indian income is pretty low, something like 5-6k usd, imagine earning 5-6k a year and trying to buy an iphone that cost 1k. thats alot of water soup and bread my friend.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/25/17611438/iphone-in-india-obstacles-to-success

I didn’t realize this. No wonder so many Indian people come over here on H1B visas. And no wonder why Americans hate the H1B visa program.

 

[smoothindian]

I don't understand why Apple fails in the India market at all.. is it their prices?

India seems to be pretty open to western culture as a whole.. you would think Apple would have an easier time in that market than China.

Pricing is key in India, but Indians will also not accept hand-me-downs. Apple needs to introduce mid range models like iPhone SE for lower price high volume markets like India. I understand and appreciate Steve Jobs principle of not selling 'stripped down versions' of apple products. But for India they will have to rejig their model line up and price ranges.

 

[darushah.shah]

Correction:

“Production will take place at Foxconn's Chennai plant in eastern India.”

Chennai is in southern part of India.

 

[JPack]

Does anyone know if this will lower the import tax and duty for iPhone sold in India? ( It is one of the reason why Apple's product in India are one of the most expensive in the world )

I am not well versed on the situation in India.

None of the components are made in India. The iPhone is being assembled by parts manufactured in China, so it's questionable whether this move would significantly lower any duties.

But the assembly plants in India may be enough for Apple to convince legislators to finally allow retail stores there.

 

[Khedron]

Then please let Mr. Cook know that those new Ax processors that are several generations ahead of competing devices, are costing Apple more than $100 million (likely far greater) to develop and manufacture every year.

Since he's desperate, let him know he should instead strive for processor parity with other phone manufacturers, and not be so ambitious, and thus save a lot of money.

Tim only wants processors to advance because he hopes to kill off computers as soon as possible. Then everything must go through the App Store and he gets his cut.

 

[gaanee]

There are many cheaper and reasonably good alternatives for around $200. They may not have FaceID or top of the line QHD screens but it's still a good value for the money and people tend to upgrade more often instead of using the same iPhone for 2-3 years. I think the main reason is Apple has no official stores in India, so you are at the mercy of 3rd party vendors - so no returns, no warranty, no repair shops with official parts. Whereas, other OEMs have set up supply-chain for assembly and replacement parts. Considering these factors, people are more likely to take a chance with a $200 Android phone instead of $1200 iPhone.

I don't understand why Apple fails in the India market at all.. is it their prices?

India seems to be pretty open to western culture as a whole.. you would think Apple would have an easier time in that market than China.

 

[Baymowe335]

Seems You have no knowledge of parts prices, which is obvious for an apple customer.
The iPhone X which is a crappy oled phone Samsung brought us years ago, is as cheap as 350 as SELLING price

You mean the current Samsung phones with still inferior facial recognition and silicon than the 2017 iPhone X?

Hilarious take on the iPhone X.