Apple to Start Producing AirPods in India by Early 2025: Report

Apple plans to start manufacturing AirPods in India early next year, in what will be yet another step towards diversifying production beyond China — reports Bloomberg.

According to the publication’s sources, a new Foxconn facility located near the Indian city of Hyderabad in the state of Telangana is prepping to begin AirPods production sometime around the first quarter of 2025. The factory is already well into trial production runs of Apple’s wireless earphones, per sources.

This news comes after Apple started producing its flagship iPhone 16 Pro models in India at launch earlier this year — another unprecedented move for the tech giant.

Apple has been producing iPhones in India since 2017. As of earlier this year, 1 in 7 (or 14%) of all iPhones sold across the globe were made in India. In the long run, Apple plans to move a quarter of its global iPhone production to the Southeast Asian country. AirPods will mark Apple’s second major product line to be assembled in India.

Apple’s growing manufacturing footprint in India is part of the company’s mission to reduce its supply chain’s reliance on China. Following factory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and, more importantly, growing geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, Apple and several other U.S.-based giants have been forced to start looking beyond the Asian superpower for their manufacturing operations.

India provides a hospitable environment for Apple and its manufacturing partners, complete with a skilled local workforce not unlike China’s, bulky subsidies from the Indian government, and the country’s growing technological prowess. Apple is also eyeing other countries in the region, including Vietnam and South Korea, to help expand its production operations outside of China.