Apple to Begin Manufacturing iPhone SE in India, Starting April

Reportedly, Apple, in collaboration with its manufacturer, Wistron Inc., will begin to assemble iPhone SE in India starting this April. The plant will be located in the state of Karnataka in south India, according to a new report from the Economic Times.

“Apple will in the coming months start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer’s plant in Bengaluru,” an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Apple’s move to manufacture in India makes sense since cheaper and smaller models of the phones are extremely popular and it might help Apple maximize profits by reaching a certain target audience. The report says that Apple plans to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India.

The SE is packed with a powerful A9 processor and 4-inch Retina display. The phone is also capable of shooting 4K video with the 12-megapixel primary camera on board. Other than the iPhone SE, there are no other plans to manufacture the latest iPhones in India.

Currently, Samsung and a host of Chinese players including Xiaomi and Vivo dominate India’s smartphone market where the vast majority of phones sold are priced below Rs 15,000 (around $300 CAD). In comparison, the entry level iPhone SE model sells online for as high as Rs 28,433 ($555 CAD).