Apple To Start Manufacturer iPhone XR In India, But It Won't Slash The Price Of The Device

As a result of the trade war with China, Apple is setting up its shops in India with the help of its contract manufacturers. Another plan is to invest $1 billion to boost its manufacturing capacity in the country, which can help it starts its direct sales in India.

According to The Economic Times of India, after some trial weeks, Apple has started to make iPhone XR at a manufacturing facility of Foxconn near Chennai. Older models like the iPhone 7 or 6s have already been assembled at the facility to export to Europe. But now, the company has added a newer one to the line, the iPhone XR, launched in 2018.

iPhone XR’s price was reduced after the Cupertino tech giant released its 2019’s iPhones. The XR is harder than all of the previous models to assemble. It is expected that iPhone 11 will be manufactured there in the near future as well.

In 2018, India increased the import tariff from 15% to 20%, and by manufacturing its smartphones locally, Apple can avoid that tax amount.

According to some sources, even if the company is no longer under import tax, it has no intention to cut the price of its handsets. The high price has been the primary reason why Apple has so little market share in India, as not many average users in the country can stretch their budget for one of its phones. The recent drop in iPhone XR’s price has made it Apple’s best-selling model in India.

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, said earlier this year that the company saw a $2 billion revenue generated from India last year, making up around 0.7% of its total earning.