In accordance to ‘Make in India’ campaign, Apple has launched the first batch of Assembled iPhone SE in India. The ‘Make in India’ product is available in Bengaluru at price ₹27,200 for 32 GB variant while ₹37,200 for 128GB variant phone. The assembled iPhone’s boxes are printed with “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in India”. The production in India will be boosted after the clarity emerges post the GST rollout on July 1.
Taiwanese company Wistron, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Apple globally, has shipped a few thousand iPhone SE units out of its facility in the Bengaluru city. India is the third privileged country to assemble iPhones.
According to the sources, Apple’s resellers and other retail partners have a few tens of units of the ‘Assembled in India’ phones in Bengaluru. While the company didn’t reveal the number of units in the initial production of iPhone SE.
Apple is showing interest in the Indian market as people now prefer to buy iPhones in India than any other phones. Also, Apple is eager to invest in India due to the saturating of the iPhone’s market in China. India’s standout economic performance and a burgeoning base of the aspiring middle class has given hope for Apple to play in the ₹ 30,000 price point.
Besides parts for the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac are manufactured mostly by third parties, across 28 countries. Apple has 766 suppliers, of which 346 are based in China, 126 in Japan, and 69 in the US.