Apple will begin assembling new AirPods in southern India next year, reports Bloomberg (a subscription is required to read the entire article).
It’s part of the tech giant’s plan to diversify its manufacturing network beyond China, the report adds. The factory has been making AirPods on a trial basis, with manufacturing set to ramp up quickly after production begins, according to Bloomberg. It will make AirPods only the second major Apple product to be assembled in India after the iPhone.
Along the same lines, Apple partner Foxconn is conducting early iPhone 17 development at a factory in Bengaluru, India, according to The Information (a subscription is required to read the article).
Last year, Apple made iPhone 15 units of India-built iPhones available to Indian customers on the first day of global sales. It not only made the base iPhone 15 models in India, but later followed up with the local production of the iPhone 15 Plus by Pegatron.
The increase in exports is a result of Apple’s expanding manufacturing network in India, where the company has benefited from local subsidies, skilled labor, and improving technological infrastructure. Apple’s three key iPhone suppliers in the country are Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata Electronics.
