Apple plans to ship iPhone 15 models from India upon the device's launch – a first for the launch of a new iPhone lineup, signalling the company's gradual progress in diversifying its supply chain away from China, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Casings for the iPhone 15 have reportedly started to be made in India by local suppliers such as Jabil, which already assembles AirPods enclosures and has plans to expand to the Apple Pencil in the future. The iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max will continue to be made exclusively in China.
Apple has experienced quality control issues with some Indian suppliers, limiting manufacturers to certain models and color options. Earlier this year, the Financial Times reported that only one in two iPhone casings coming off Tata's production line in India "is in good enough shape" to be sent forward to assembly at Foxconn.
In previous years, initial batches of new iPhones have exclusively been made in China, before India comes on stream gradually in the following months. With the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple apparently expects to ship new devices from both countries simultaneously for the first time. See the full report for more information on Apple's efforts to shift production away from China.
