According to two industry executives, at Apple's request, the Foxconn mobile phone assembly plant in Chennai, southeastern India, has begun trial production of the iPhone 13. The U.S. tech giant is poised to produce almost all of its best-selling smartphone models in India. They said the company expects to start official mass production by February next year to meet India's domestic and export needs.
Executives say producing the iPhone 13 in India will help Apple improve its supply to its global market, where about 20-30 percent of what it makes is typically exported. As of Press Time Monday, Apple and Foxconn had not responded to emailed inquiries.
Meanwhile, sources say the supply of the best-selling iPhone has improved, alleviating severe shortages in the Indian market. Among the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone 13 is the largest selling model in the country, and the company does not plan to produce the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max here.
Apple already makes the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 at foxconn and the iPhone SE at the Wistron plant in Bangalore. It is estimated that nearly 70% of the smartphones apple sells in India are produced in India.
![Not only made in China! The new Apple iPhone 13 is coming: Cook finds a spare tire[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)