Apple will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tension and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.
“The new iPhone 14 line-up introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement.
The company unveiled its latest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer-lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models.
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market against cheaper smartphones from competitors.
The announcement from the California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing, which has been a key goal for his government ever since he took office in 2014.
The tech company has bet big on India, where it first began manufacturing its iPhone SE in 2017 and has since continued to assemble a number of iPhone models there. Apple opened its online store for India two years ago, but the pandemic has delayed plans for a flagship store in the country, local media reported.
The latest model will be shipped out by Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler, whose facilities are on the outskirts of Chennai, a city in southern India.
Apple is likely to shift about 5 per cent of its iPhone 14 production to India from later this year, raising it to 25 per cent by 2025, a JP Morgan report quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency said.
Supply chain risks such as the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns in China are likely the trigger for such relocation efforts that will continue over the next two or three years, the report said.
iPhone 14 launch — in photos
“Apple has been trying to diversify its supply chain for a while, but these efforts have grown in the last two years over trade sanctions between the US and China,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys.
Last year, the tech company manufactured about seven million iPhones in India. This news is likely to significantly increase India-made Apple smartphones, he added.
Most of Apple’s smartphones and tablets are assembled by contractors with factories in China, but the company started to look at the possibility of moving some production to South-East Asia or other places after repeated shutdowns to fight Covid-19 disrupted the global flow of products.
Apple has not released details, but news reports say the company has planned to set up assembly of tablet computers and wireless earphones in Vietnam.
Other companies are keeping or expanding manufacturing in China to serve the domestic market while shifting export-orientated work to other countries due to rising wages and other costs, as well as the difficulty for foreign executives to visit China due to anti-Covid travel restrictions.
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
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Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
All about the Sevens
Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales
HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
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