iPhone 15 launch: Made in India iPhone to be available at the same time as global variants

iPhone 15 launch: Apple began assembling iPhones in India back in 2017. However, prior to 2022, the company used its manufacturing facilities in India to assemble older iPhone models. That changed with iPhone 14 when the company began assembling the iPhone 14 series in India just a few weeks after it began shipping Made in China iPhones to its markets across the globe. Now, word is that the company’s manufacturing and distribution process is about to undergo a major shift with the launch of the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

For the unversed, Apple has already announced its fall event, dubbed as Wonderlust. The event will take place on September 12, and it will witness the company unveiling the iPhone 15 series, which is likely to include the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, along with the Watch Series 9 and the second generation Watch Ultra.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Made-in-India iPhone models are expected to be available in India at the same time as the global variants. This means, the iPhone 15 models assembled in India will be available for purchase in the market around the same time as the ones manufactured in other countries including China and Taiwan. The move represents a major shift in Apple’s strategy. It will also strengthen India’s dream of becoming a global manufacturing hub by 2025.

People aware of developments revealed that the iPhone 15 model assembled at Foxconn’s manufacturing facility near Chennai be available for purchase in the market shortly after the launch, which in turn will reduce the delay to days. For your reference, Foxconn’s Chennai facility started manufacturing the iPhone 14 roughly 10 days after the launch last year and it took the phone about a month to be available in India.

Furthermore, the report says that preparations have been underway for the iPhone 15 launch for quite some time now. Components reached Foxconn’s manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou, China in June 2023. Around the same time, components required for manufacturing the iPhone 15 series arrived in India, which indicates that Made-in-India iPhone models will reach the interested buyers well in time for the festive season.

As far as availability is concerned, the report says that Apple is likely to cater to local demands initially. It plans to ship the Made-in-India iPhone 15 models to other markets including Europe and the US once the festive season is over, which is somewhere around December 2023.