Anyone who has ever bought an iPhone, iPad, or iPod knows that the product has been designed in California. However, the Cupertino-based company outsources manufacturing jobs to countries to China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Now, the tech giant adds India to the list, as it was reported that iPhone will be manufactured in the country within weeks.
According to the The Wall Street Journal (via New York Post), Apple and its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron will likely start manufacturing iPhone 6 and 6S models in India within the next four to six weeks.
An official told the publication that almost all preparations have been done for launching Apple’s first phase project in Bangalore through Wistron, which also has manufacturing centers in China, Malaysia, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and the US.
In a statement, an Apple spokeswoman said, “We’ve been working hard to develop our operations in India. We appreciate the constructive and open dialogue we’ve had with government about expanding our operations.”
It was previously thought that Apple might move all its manufacturing operations to the US, as President Donald Trump previously told Axios that Apple CEO Tim Cook had “his eyes open” to the iPhone being manufactured in the country.
Back in November, President Trump spoke directly to Cook to discuss bringing the manufacturing of Apple products back to the US. According to Macworld, the president is looking to provide “very large cuts for corporations.”
Apple outsources manufacturing of individual parts to various countries. In Macworld’s breakdown of components that go into the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6, the cameras are by Sony in Japan, while Omnivision in the US produces the front-facing FaceTime camera chip but subcontracts TMSC in Taiwan for manufacturing. Main chassis assembly is done by Foxconn and Pegatron in China, while mixed signal chips are from NXP in the Netherlands.
Though Apple outsources its manufacturing operations, the company continues to be a major employer in the US, as all development, design, and marketing work are done in-house in Cupertino.
For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s report on the red iPhone 7 and 7S.
