Apple begins assembling iPhone SE in India: Will it bring down prices locally?

Apple has started producing the iPhone SE (2020) in India. The new development comes a little over four months after the launch of the latest iPhone model in the country

The device will be assembled by manufacturer Wistron in its Bengaluru factory. Apple currently makes the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 in Foxconn’s factory in Chennai, while Wistron was so far manufacturing the iPhone 7 in its Bengaluru plant.

Apple has a 1 percent market share in India, which is the world’s second-largest smartphone market with over 158 million shipments in 2019 alone.

According to Tech Crunch, Apple has been exploring ways to ramp up its production in India for years, but the company has struggled to find contract manufacturers that adhere to its safety and quality standards.

Apple plans to launch its online store in India in a few months and open its first brick-and-mortar retail store next year

This is a great move for both Apple and its consumers here in India. Apple is likely to save a massive 22 percent import duty by assembling the products locally under the Make in India initiative. It will also rely less on its Chinese manufacturing plants.

On the other hand,  a few sources claimed that consumers in India will be able to get the phone for a much lesser price as the company is planning to cut down the price of the iPhone 11 after making it in India

But, as the phones are only being assembled in India, and there is hardly any local sourcing of components, the cost of the production is not exactly coming down. This means that Apple will not be able to sell Made in India phones at a lower cost