Apple's main iPhone assembler in India is scouting for additional land in Bangalore to expand its existing facilities, according to a new report today by Bloomberg.

Wistron executives reportedly toured the city last week and have shortlisted plots covering around 100 acres, including one plot close to the airport. The Taiwanese manufacturer may use the planned facilities to supply other brands, too, but Wistron has so far kept shtum on the matter.

indian flag
Wistron began making the iPhone SE in India in May of this year. Since that time, Apple has been seeking exemptions from the country's government that will allow it to set up more units to assemble iPhones. The company has asked state officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly infrastructure in India, and today's report suggests that it may have gotten its way.

India recently ousted the U.S. to become the world's second-largest smartphone market after China, according to market research conducted by industry analyst Canalys. However, Apple has so far struggled to make a significant dent, mainly because its smartphones are so much more expensive than rivals such as Oppo and Xiaomi. But also because the government levies tariffs on devices manufactured outside the country, hence Apple's eagerness to assemble more iPhones there.

During Apple's earnings call last week, CEO Tim Cook said the company has "great momentum in India, where revenue doubled year over year". But he also said that to gain ground, Apple would have to work on many fronts.

"It's building stores. It's building channels. It's building markets. It's building the developer ecosystem," said Cook. "It's having the right product lineup for the market. And I feel like we're making good progress there and are gaining understanding of the market, but we still have a long way to go."

Tag: India
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

kstotlani Avatar
104 months ago
Factory work ain't pretty in most places. :(

But as bad as the conditions are in China... and with hundreds of people literally begging for work daily...

...there must not be many (or any) alternatives, right?

I mean... if you weren't working at Foxconn... what would you be doing?

It sounds like there's not much else.
I don’t know much about China except for the horror factory stories. Yes factory workers will continue to get exploited and it isn’t pretty in India either. We are a little more democratic and have unions in most factories, not that those union help the regular factory worker. I just don’t want fellow Indians to be exploited the same way. We have a lot of our workers in the Middle East where they go looking for a dream but end up getting abused. Lookup Qatar World Cup human rights issues. We cannot control the abuse there but hopefully we make sure the conditions are better here.
[doublepost=1510058578][/doublepost]
Tariffs on imports eh? Seems like it drives up domestic manufacturing, and it seems like manufacturing, not service jobs seem to impact the economy...
This. India has usually been a restricted economy purely for these reasons. Lot of western countries have stopped producing (except for firearms) so lot of those economies are just consumers.

We have a lot of communists catalysts that usually stop the country from growth but also serve some useful purpose when it comes to such foreign investments.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Madhava Avatar
104 months ago
If only Apple can get their stores, apple care and the monthly payment plans...
May be I am dreaming too much.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nayanbhalotia Avatar
104 months ago
Hope this happens soon. The iPhone X costs about 1400$ in India. Seeing how the prices of iPhone SE went down drastically, i hope the prices of other devices also drop after this.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rawCpoppa Avatar
104 months ago
I guess this means SE 2 is coming or at least SE will be around for a while.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
himanshumodi Avatar
104 months ago
Good for us at several levels. Iphone SE is at amazing price levels for us currently. there is increasing proliferation of iPhones over the years. So apple stands to gain as much here
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
iOS 26

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
kohler toilet sensor

Kohler Launches $600 iPhone-Connected Toilet Camera That Monitors Your Health Through Waste Analysis

Monday October 20, 2025 1:42 pm PDT by
Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom. According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...