Foxconn to Make AirPods for the First Time, New Factory Planned in India

[MacRumors]

Apple supplier Foxconn has won an order to make AirPods for the first time, reports Reuters.

The Taiwanese contract manufacturer plans to build a factory in India to produce the earphones, underlining efforts by the key Apple supplier to diversify production away from China.

According to the report's sources, Foxconn will invest more than $200 million in a new AirPods assembly plant in the southern Indian state of Telangana.

Construction of the facility is expected to start in the second half of this year and begin production by the end of 2024 at the earliest.

Foxconn officials are said to have debated internally for months about whether to assemble AirPods, due to the relatively low profit margins, but they ultimately decided to go ahead with the deal to "reinforce engagement" with Apple.

The decision to set up production in India was requested by Apple, according to one of the report's sources. Besides the Telangana facility, Foxconn reportedly plans to ramp up its investment in India with a view to manufacturing smartphones, EVs, and semiconductors.

It's not clear which model(s) of AirPods are included in Foxconn's order, but there's a high chance they will include a USB-C connector instead of a Lightning connector, as Apple is rumored to be planning to introduce iPhone 15 models with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port in 2023.

Article Link: Foxconn to Make AirPods for the First Time, New Factory Planned in India

 

[LibertySound]

Isn’t Foxconn China based? My 2003 iMac has Foxconn stuff in it and I think it was made in China but could be wrong of course lol

 

[syklee26]

Isn’t Apple becoming too Foxconn dependent? Pushing out AR against the wishes of engineers, going all in with Foxconn…no end in sight with cars… Cook must be feeling pressure with stagnant revenue and slow progress with new products.

 

[StellarVixen]

Isn’t Foxconn China based? My 2003 iMac has Foxconn stuff in it and I think it was made in China but could be wrong of course lol

It is Taiwanese company that has factories in PRC, but not only there.

 

[oofio2461]

As long as my Airpods don't break apart while I'm using them I'm gonna be fine with it.

 

[jlc1978]

Isn’t Apple becoming too Foxconn dependent?

Given Foxconn’s willingness to invest in a new plant for a low margin product indicates they need Apple as much as Apple needs them, if not more.

Pushing out AR against the wishes of engineers, going all in with Foxconn…no end in sight with cars… Cook must be feeling pressure with stagnant revenue and slow progress with new products.

Products are important but services are Apple’s future. I suspect we’ll see more investments in that than products as time goes by.

 

[AmazeSE]

Wow, It seems India is getting a lot of Apple Factories going from the recent Apple news from India.

 

[arkitect]

Wow, It seems India is getting a lot of Apple Factories going from the recent Apple news from India.

These are not Apple factories.
They are owned, managed and run by Foxconn.

They manufacture items for Apple and others.

 

[ian87w]

Isn’t Foxconn China based? My 2003 iMac has Foxconn stuff in it and I think it was made in China but could be wrong of course lol

Foxconn is a Taiwanese company. They have factories in many countries, many in China.

 

[AmazeSE]

These are not Apple factories.
They are owned, managed and run by Foxconn.

They manufacture items for Apple and others.

Oh yeah. I know. I referred it as Apple Factories because there are a bunch of Apple contract manufacturers investing in India. (Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron). I should have worded it properly .

 

[ilikewhey]

Oh yeah. I know. I referred it as Apple Factories because there are a bunch of Apple contract manufacturers investing in India. (Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron). I should have worded it properly .

if they only make apple product your statement would make sense, however foxconn also produce for Cisco, Huawei, Nintendo, Sony and Nokia

 

[AmazeSE]

if they only make apple product your statement would make sense, however foxconn also produce for Cisco, Huawei, Nintendo, Sony and Nokia

I know Foxconn assembles products for other companies too but they have separate factories which assembles Apple Products alone. I wanted to refer to those factories alone. Again, I should have worded it more clearly .

 

[monster620ie]

Build in USA!!!!! Build in USA!!!! Stop outsourcing jobs!!!!

 

[Vref]

Build in USA!!!!! Build in USA!!!! Stop outsourcing jobs!!!!

For the price we pay for all this stuff it really should already be made in America


I also got a chuckle out of my phone not charging properly to “save the environment” yet they have all their stuff made in china where there is zero concern for the environment 😂


Like your avatar, I remember thinking the graphics on pinball, after I spent hours loading 95 via floppy, were epic

 

[svish]

Great to see another Apple product manufactured in India. Slowly expanding manufacturing outside China!!

 

[Madhava]

I am from the mentioned state in India and I see Foxconn is trying to get good deals (tax exemptions, land etc) by discussing with multiple states of India at same time.
Recently this new investment by Foxconn was in news from different states.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Is FoxConn going to make the successor to the AirPods Pro 2 or the AirPods 3 at this new plant? And will this new plant also make the successor to the AirPods Max?

 

[ColdShadow]

"diversify production away from China" is a BIG lie.
it's all about lowering production cost,and even more profit for Apple.
hence why they are choosing India.
if it was about diversifying production away from China,they could move production to Vientam (like Samsung),Indonesia etc all experienced in assembly of high end electronics for brands like Sony,etc for decades and not expensive.
It's even a bigger lie than "helping environment" reason they mentioned when they decided not to include charger with iPhones..

 

[DownUnderDan]

Isn’t Foxconn China based? My 2003 iMac has Foxconn stuff in it and I think it was made in China but could be wrong of course lol

HQ is in Taiwan, but they have offices in mainland China too.

 

[_Spinn_]

Good keep moving away from China.