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iPhone 17 Manufacturing Reaches Key Milestone as Launch Nears

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Foxconn has begun importing iPhone 17 parts from China to India for trial production, marking a significant step ahead of the device's expected launch in September.

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According to customs data reviewed by The Economic Times, Foxconn, Apple's primary contract assembler, began receiving shipments of critical components such as display assemblies, cover glass, mechanical housings, and integrated rear camera modules at its Indian facilities in June. These components account for approximately 10% of Foxconn's total imports from China for the month, with the remainder allocated to other iPhone models, including the iPhone 14 and iPhone 16.

Industry experts cited by The Economic Times interpret the scale of the shipments as indicative of early-stage trial production. Mass production is apparently scheduled to begin in August, in time for launch in September.

India has already begun to participate in Apple's New Product Introduction (NPI) process, which governs the early stages of new model development and previously took place exclusively in China; it joined the NPI process for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus in 2024. This allowed production to begin nearly simultaneously in both countries, a significant shift from the iPhone 14, when manufacturing in India began six weeks after the China ramp-up.

For the iPhone 17, Apple is reportedly targeting same-day production starts in both China and India for the first time. Sources cited by DigiTimes suggest that Apple intends to deepen its manufacturing footprint in India as part of its plan to diversify its supply chain, with Foxconn playing a central role under India's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

However, the effort has encountered challenges. Recent reports have pointed to the recent mass departure of Chinese engineers from Foxconn's Indian facilities. These individuals were responsible for factory design, precision machining, and employee training, which are essential functions during the early phases of iPhone assembly. An executive quoted by The Economic Times said:

Chinese engineers are crucial because iPhone 17 manufacturing involves complex precision machining of many small parts, and even a 1mm difference can cause a product to fail quality testing. They are needed to train employees on the intricate assembly processes and specific molds for components.
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Despite these complications, the Indian government apparently remains optimistic. A source quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) said that the return of Chinese technical staff to China will have "no impact" on the production of the iPhone 17.

The source added that Apple continues to scale production according to plan and noted that import bottlenecks for machinery and equipment needed for large-scale manufacturing have begun to ease. The entire iPhone 17 lineup is expected to launch in the fall.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Manufacturing Reaches Key Milestone as Launch Nears
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/07/13/iphone-17-manufacturing-reaches-key-milestone/
Fascinating milestone if Apple really hits simultaneous day-one production in China and India. Diversifying the supply chain makes total sense in 2025, but losing a chunk of the Chinese engineering talent right before ramp-up feels risky. Here’s hoping Foxconn nails the quality control so we don’t see launch-day shortages—or “early-batch” horror stories. Either way, iPhone 17 might be the first model where “Made in India” is just as common as “Made in China.”
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„Chinese engineers are crucial because iPhone 17 manufacturing involves complex precision machining of many small parts, and even a 1mm difference can cause a product to fail quality testing. They are needed to train employees on the intricate assembly processes and specific molds for components.“

That‘s marketing for the typical American customer.
Because, of course, every modern smartphone requires this level of precision. Today, micrometers (millimeters / 1000) are standard.
We don't even want to talk about the chips inside the devices. They are manufactured in nanometers: i.e., micrometers / 1000.

But it's really important to buy the new iPhone. For sustainability reasons alone.
It will be manufactured in a way that is 5% more environmentally friendly than the iPhone 16 and even 7% more environmentally friendly than the iPhone 15.
So it's definitely justified to replace two-year-old iPhones and thus save our place of life a little bit more.
And if one wants to take an almost eco-terrorist approach, can buy a new Watch as well.
Nothing is more environmentally friendly than supporting environmentally friendly production.
😁
 
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im curious do these made in india iphones gets shipped to china for sale? how exposed is apple if china decided to slap tariff on indian made iphone since india has a history of banning chinese made phones.
 
Is this any surprising? My 15 Pro was manufactured in July 2023, nothing shocking for a device that sells by the hundreds of millions.
 
Just think, if this wanker got the ball rolling in Trump’s first term making iPhones in America. The plant would be up and running right now.
 
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flopticalcube said:
Teardown comparisons between Indian and Chinese phones should be interesting, even if they reveal no differences.
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India-assembled iPhones have existed for many years now (since 2018 at least?), not sure why there should be any significant new insights now.
 
Great to hear that everything is progressing smoothly. Happy to see India also making all the new iPhones at launch.
 
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klasma said:
India-assembled iPhones have existed for many years now (since 2018 at least?), not sure why there should be any significant new insights now.
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Because now they are being built at the same time, rather than having the benefit of the Chinese factory doing it first. Losing the Chinese engineers also means that Indian manufacturing engineers will be winging it more on their own. If there are no differences in quality, it means that India is ready to fill in, probably at reduced quantity, however. Of course, most of the components are still made in China, so this is really just an assembly issue.
 
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