Wall Street Journal Reports That iPhone XR Began Production in India

Photo via 9to5Mac

The Wall Street Journal reported that Foxconn began production of the iPhone XR in India. They found this evidence in the iPhone XR box’s labels, which contained the following printings that prove its manufacturing location.

First and foremost, Apple is trying to push manufacturing plants in India to do their iPhone production there. Though China has uncertainty over the iPhone production lines in their country, the Wall Street Journal explains India’s iPhone manufacturing aspects:

India is making a push to get Apple Inc. and other big brands to switch production there as the risks of manufacturing in China rise along with trade tensions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been trying to transform the country’s image as a difficult place to do business, promising a more predictable and open regulatory regime, a simpler corporate tax structure and incentives for targeted industries.

The government’s effort has become more pressing as the country struggles with an economic slowdown.

“India will be more attractive, particularly in the light of what is developing between the US and China,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal […]

Foxconn upgraded its facilities to help make sophisticated smartphones, according to a person familiar with its investment. The iPhone XR is now being made in India for the local market, according to phone retailers and others familiar with its plans.

This is significant because China has a much-heightened danger in trade tensions in keeping up with their production lines. The prime minister of India is trying to make business easier to manufacture iPhones in China, amid the tariffs set on the country. Modi is also cooperating with these tech giants to offer deals to help lower import tariffs and corporate tax to 15%.

Next off, there are more incentives the prime minister has given to these Indian tech manufacturers. Here’s what he is offering for these exporting companies:

The government is crafting a new set of rules to encourage the creation of clusters of international phone brands and parts makers that would make phones exclusively for export, according to people familiar with the plans. Companies in the clusters would have lower import tariffs for components and would be first set up in states that guarantee rents and electricity bills won’t be raised for 10 years, the people said.

Therefore, this signifies that India is now lowering its foreign policies for companies in a lenient term. This means that Apple is planning to open up its first Apple retail stores in the country, as import tariffs are lower for iPhone components in India. China is facing massive tariffs on its iPhone production lines, making every single component in the iPhone more expensive than before. This contributes to the high service prices in the iPhones and the inflation of the costs in purchasing an iPhone.