Apple is on the verge of moving assembly for its lower-cost iPhone SE to India in a move that could come as early as this summer.
Apple has been manufacturing smartphone devices in India since 2017, and the first model was the original iPhone SE assembled by Wistron.
Now, according to a report by The Information based on info from “a person familiar with the matter,” Apple will be contracting Taiwanese manufacturer Wistron to manufacture the iPhone SE 2020 in India as well. Additionally, at least one Apple component supplier in China has already been asked to ship components to Wistron in July.
This could be a boon to Apple in India. The company currently pays steep levies on products sold in the country, but by moving production to India, Apple could avoid the 20 percent import tax, thus reducing the cost of the device — savings the company could then pass on to consumers.
The iPhone SE currently sells for about $560 USD in India, much higher than the $399 price it fetches in the US and much of the difference is the import tax.
