Report: iPhone 17 early manufacturing set for India, marking new milestone for Apple - 9to5Mac
Report: iPhone 17 early manufacturing set for India, marking new milestone for Apple - 9to5Mac
Apple has reportedly hit a big milestone in its goals to diversify the iPhone 17 supply chain in India, as a new report outlines.
I wonder where they will setup base. For eg, Nothing has factories in the Southern state of Tamilnadu.
A more pertinent question is whether Apple will reduce iPhone's pricing in India. iPhones have a relatively low market share in India and part of the reason is the very expensive price. However, this premium price also leads people to save up for iPhones since they become to be seen as more of a valuable fashion accessory than just a smartphone. Previous generation iPhones often are on sale for this reason.
Many people here do not save up for one, especially younger/low-income folks. They get loans on their credit cards. The perceived status is a big deal.
I also saw a video of a teen who made his poor parents give up several years' worth of savings to get him an iPhone. The store owner made the video and boasted about it, which was disgusting. The kicker is the teen didn't even get the unboxing experience. The store owner opened the box and showed off the phone before handing it over.
Apple won't lower its prices just for India. The best you can expect is prices similar to those in the US. The non-pro iPhones are already close to US pricing. It's the pro models that are outrageously expensive. And considering that Apple is only making non-pro models in India, I don't expect the pricing situation with pro models to change anytime soon.