Apple officially starts manufacturing iPhone SE in India

For a while now, we’ve been hearing that Apple is dead-set on opening a manufacturing plant in India, where it would assemble some of its cheaper handset models – the iPhone SE and the older iPhone 6s. The reasoning behind this is simple – Cupertino’s rather expansive smartphones become nigh unobtainable for customers in India due to high import charges. It is said that Apple only covers 5% of the massive handset market that the country has.

In March, we heard that the company is gearing up to start production of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s models in India, however, it seems this hasn’t happened yet. Instead, it is only today that the first trial run of a batch of iPhone SE units that has been completed.

It is believed that having in-country built iPhones will bring their price down by about $100 (since there will be no import taxes), making the SE’s price just under $250, which will give Indian customers a better chance at buying an Apple handset. The project has been in the works for about a year and is being supported by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is running a “Make in India” program, which aims to stimulate the development of various industries in the country. Government officials have said that Apple may seek to expand its operations and make more phones in India, and they are open for such discussions.

As of right now, we don’t see any indication that these models will be sold internationally.

source: WSJ