Apple’s reported made in India iPhone XS and probably XR will start hitting shelves for buyers from next month onwards, according to this Reuters report.
That’s not all, assembling phone locally could mean that the latest generation iPhones will cost lower than you’ve been paying for those available in the market till now.
The source quoted in the report, mentioned that the availability has been to pushed to August owing to pending approvals, for country-centric certification in all probability.
Assembling of iPhones might not be something new for most of us, especially when the company has been doing it for earlier versions like the iPhone 6S, SE and 7 for quite sometime.
But assembling the latest iPhone variants will be seen as a big step by the Indian government, which could hope that Apple can eventually manufacture here as well.
With increasing import duty costs, local manufacturing could end up being a cost-effective model for companies, encouraging more brands to follow Apple’s suit.
This development will excite prospective buyers of high-end iPhone but it remains to be seen how Apple decides price the locally assembled series.
After all, we’re talking about a brand which has continuously hiked the prices of its products, looking to maintain its premium image in the market.
Industry experts have pointed out that Apple will have to tweak its ‘premium’ focus to become relevant in the Indian market. This comes at a time when the company is facing hard time to sell its latest devices, which has resulted in low shipments over the past few quarters.
Taking advantage of the US-China trade feud, the Indian manufacturing setup could benefit from increased focus on established groundwork to make products in India, for local as well as global markets.
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