WASHINGTON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – In response to Chinese Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and geopolitical concerns between the US and the communist leadership of the country, Apple has started producing iPhone 14s in India, shifting some production there for the first time.
The iPhone 14 is now being assembled in Chennai on a production line for the domestic Indian market. The action is a part of a strategy to separate the company’s manufacturing from China and is the first time iPhones have been produced outside of China in the same year they were introduced.
This month, Apple announced its latest lineup of iPhones. iPhone 14 will have a faster processor, improved cameras, and longer-lasting batteries at the same price as the models of the previous year.
After China, India is the second-largest market for smartphones, and Apple has been producing phones there since 2017. However, up until this point, Brazil’s and India’s manufacturing operations had primarily concentrated on assembly of the older models.
JP Morgan analysts stated that Apple plans to make 25% of all iPhone 14s in India by 2025 and the same percentage of all of its products outside of China by that date, compared to 5% now. By the same date, the company also plans to have plants in Vietnam producing a fifth of all iPads, Apple Watches, and more than half of all AirPods.
Apple is facing problems as a result of the deteriorating US-China relations.
This summer, in order to comply with a long-standing but previously unenforced Chinese law that requires imported goods to falsely suggest the island is a part of the People’s Republic of China, Apple asked Taiwanese suppliers, including chip manufacturers, to label the origin of their products as “Chinese Taipei.” The request came after Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House, visited Taipei.
In contrast, Taiwan has an opposite rule which requires the products bear either the name “Taiwan” or the official name of the country, “Republic of China”.
The decision to demand that vendors deny Taiwan’s independence has drawn criticism from all over the world.
The action, according to GreatFire, an organisation that fights Chinese online censorship, escalated Apple’s earlier decision to remove the Taiwanese flag from emoji keyboards for users in Hong Kong and China.
The organisation asked if it was only a matter of time before Apple began to remove apps whose names contain the characters [for] Taiwan without indicating “province of China”.
