Foxconn will make AirPods in India – report
AirPods put a little AI inside your ears
Yet more news relating to Apple’s rapidly expanding manufacturing partnerships in India as Foxconn wins an order to make AirPods at a new $200 million factory to be situated there.
Foxconn will make AirPods in India
That’s the latest AAPL supply chain news from Reuters.
It’s also the first time Foxconn has won an AirPods manufacturing contract and will see a company subsidiary build a $200 million factory in India to make the Apple earbuds. This will be situated in Telangana, India. Some AirPod components are already made in India, but Foxconn production won’t begin until 2024 at the earliest.
Neither Foxconn nor Apple spoke to Reuters on the story, but the report claim sthe Taiwan-based Apple contract manufacturer was reticent to take the deal at first. AirPods don’t carry a huge profit margin, apparently. In the end, it decided to take the contract to build its relationship with Apple, or, as the report puts it, “reinforce engagement”. (I do wonder if this follows tensions after the riots in the iPhone factory?)
Apple wants to build in India
The report also claims the decision to site manufacturing in India was requested by Apple.
That’s interesting as Goertek VP Kazuyoshi Yoshinaga recently hinted at the urgency with which Apple is pressing its manufacturers to set up in India – only to resign from the company within days of his statements being publicized.
Goertek is thought to be investing in AirPods production in Vietnam, but did these comments create problems with its highly secretive client?
This is just the latest in what appears to be a torrent of news items to emerge from India as the Apple supply chain makes its way there. Highlights across just March include:
- Foxconn seeks growth outside China, predicts ‘flat’ 2023
- India security plan may damage iPhone user experience
- India changes labour laws so Foxconn can make iPhones faster
- Apple’s adventures in India become increasingly serious
- Apple has a plan to reach 2030 climate targets, VP confirms
- Apple works with NGO to improve water management in India
The accelerating momentum with which stories pertaining to Apple’s plans in India leak speaks volumes as to the urgency with which the company is working to orchestrate this shift, though many challenges remain.
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