After all the ‘will they, won’t they’ rumours, it seems Apple has reportedly started assembling the iPhone XR in India. This is mostly confined to assembly for now, and most of these parts are imported from other countries and put together at the Foxconn plant in the country.
Earlier this year, Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer Foxconn's Chairman Terry Gou said the company would begin mass production of iPhones in India this year. And as highlighted in the ET Telecom report last week, the company has started the process after undertaking trials for several weeks, and it will be also assemble the iPhone 11 in the near future.
But for Indian users, it’s worth pointing out that this development, doesn’t mean that the prices of iPhone XR will come down in the country anytime soon.
The report also mentions that by assembling in India, Apple will be able to save around 20 percent on the import duty costs.
By utilising India has its latest hub for local assembling, Apple is making contingency plans for the ongoing trade war between the US and China, for the Cupertino-based giant to possibly move its production base from China.
iPhone XR, assembled in the India, the report adds, will be exported to other markets as well.
iPhone XR as well its successor, iPhone 11 have been topping the sales charts in the Indian market over the past few quarters. Riding on heavy promotional offers especially on iPhone XR, Apple has regained top position in the premium smartphone segment in India in the second quarter (Q2) this year.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), in the premium ($500 or Rs 35,000 and above) segment, Apple bettered Samsung for the leadership position with an overall share of 41.2 percent in 2Q19.
In addition to this, Apple is also going to set up its first-ever premium retail store for the Indian market in Mumbai by mid-2020.
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