Apple iPhone 11 – An iPhone made in India
You read it right. They are now making iPhones in India. Given the backlash Chinese products faced in the Indian market only a near month back, this is a smart move by Apple and a success for the Modi Government. So, while the announcement is new, the news is still an old one. It was only after a year of speculation was it very recently announced that iPhone XR and iPhone 11 will be assembled by Foxconn in Chennai, and iPhone 7 by Wistron in Bengaluru. What’s more, these products have already hit the stores in South Asian countries. iPhone 11 is currently priced at Rs 63,800; analysts state the prices will eventually drop to what the team finds to be appropriate for Indian customers.
But this isn’t the first iPhone to be made in India. The original iPhone SE and iPhone 6s were assembled by Wistron but were discontinued in 2019. This was for 2 primary reasons, the first one was that the models were now outdated. While the second one was that a lot of “cheaper” Android Phones were now taking over these iPhones. Other older models were still assembled in India, but given that iPhone 11 is the latest, the celebration is different.
The Timing and strategy
This decision cannot come at a better time for the iPhone and for the country. Why? Duh. Chinese goods are having a tough time in the market. If India’s see a “made in India” on an iPhone, you bet it holds a better purchase probability than other ones in the similar price range.
But you’d argue that iPhone XR and iPhone 11 are expensive than most models and the comparison makes no sense? Well, that is precisely why Apple has chosen to manufacture iPhone 7 to drop down to a price comparable range.
Let’s do a swift check about how you feel now:
Premium smartphone at 33,999 (Made in China)
Apple’s iPhone 7 at 34,999 (Made in India) Now we know there’s more to choosing a smartphone than just price and location. But what we’re trying to tell you here, if you bring it down to a level playing field, it is a no brainer for most. So, while Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 is a sweet spot for the millennials at the moment – the disposable income is increasing every year. And, that is precisely why Apple possibly took this step, the knowledge they have a market. If not today, in the future.
Big for India
One cannot argue the credibility this adds to our country as a technologically advanced nation. It adds the dimension of being a “technically skilled” country over the “affordable country” in terms of labour and workforce. It also makes it a little easy for Apple to now move away from China. Earlier this year, President Trump made tweets about this after the trade war and the spread of the Virus.
Foxconn is also likely to benefit from the Rs 50,000 crore incentive scheme which aimed to attract high-tech manufacturers to set up shops in India. In that sense, this deal is super beneficial for Apple too. We’ll now possibly also see independent Apple retail stores across the country. Perhaps a stronger benefit will be that the 22% import duty will now be avoided. India must also consider a reduction in the tariffs to 7 per cent on all items as pointed out by NITI Aayog former vice-chairman. He also recommended that India must consider joining RCEP to improve high-tech ecosystem and work better with Apple and its partners. If you’d like to understand what tariffs mean in layman’s language, you should check this piece.
Hopefully, this get’s us a little closer to the Aatmanirbharta dream of our Prime Minister. There’s a lot of celebration and party pleasing happening at Chennai and Bangalore because of this deal, and, we believe they earned it.
Author of this piece is Yash Thakker, follow us here for seamless and full-baked news content, brand stories, business concepts.
