Apple Wants All IPhone 18s In The US To Be Produced In India!

JAKARTA - Apple is reportedly preparing to accelerate iPhone production in India on a large scale, with an ambitious target: nearly all iPhone 18 sold in the United States will be from India by the end of 2026. However, although this plan sounds spectacular, many still doubt the possibility of achieving it.

Over the past few years, Apple has indeed produced iPhones in India. However, how many units from India actually entered the US market are still being debated. Based on the Financial Times report released Friday, April 25, that figure is predicted to spike dramatically in the next 20 months.

Currently, India produces around 40 million iPhones per year for local and export needs, equivalent to less than a fifth of the total global iPhone production. By the end of 2023, Apple had set a target to double India's production to 25% from global production by the end of 2024. The target has not been achieved, with production achievements of only about 15% of global demand.

According to previous reports, Apple plans to increase its global production share in India by 10% again by 2025. However, even with this increase, this figure is still far from the big targets predicted by the latest reports.

To be able to meet the iPhone's needs in the US market, Apple needs to increase production in India by around 25 million units per year unusually tough challenges. If you want to accelerate this expansion, Apple will have to double the rate of production increase they have previously achieved.

However, a number of major obstacles overshadow this ambitious plan. First, Apple must ensure cooperation from the Chinese government, given that many production partners such as Foxconn and Luxshare are from the country.

China has reportedly blocked production relocation efforts by slowing down the delivery of production equipment to India for no official reason. In fact, production equipment that has arrived in India often has technical problems, such as a menu system that is only available in Mandarin.

In addition, other challenges come from labor regulations in India. Unlike China which imposed two 12-hour shifts, the employment law in India required three 8-hour shifts, making Apple need to recruit more workers. Even though Apple has successfully lobbied so that a 12-hour shift system is allowed, its implementation is still hampered by labor unrest.

Apple also faces challenges in terms of procuring high-quality components in India, which do not fully meet the strict standards of the Cupertino-based company.

This ambitious report was first revealed by the Financial Times citing an anonymous source called "close to this issue". However, without further details, the validity of this report remains a question mark.

Given the many logistical, regulatory and geopolitical obstacles that must be addressed, many analysts think that Apple's targets seem very ambitious, perhaps even too optimistic.

Even so, Apple's move to reduce dependence on China remains a realistic long-term strategy, given the increasing geopolitical tensions in recent years.