Price Drop Is Expected as Apple Started Manufacturing iPhone 13 in India

New Delhi: The manufacturing of California tech giant Apple's new iPhone 13 has also started in India. The new report revealed that Apple has launched trial production of the three-month-old iPhone 13 in the country. The company is already manufacturing iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models here. Making the new iPhone model a part of local manufacturing, Apple has started manufacturing 70 percent of its models in India.

iPhone 13 to be built at Tamil Nadu plant

Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn has started production of iPhone 13 units at its Tamil Nadu plant near Chennai, the Economic Times reported. The same plant also produces the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 of the premium tech company. According to people in the industry, it is only a trial run now and full-on commercial production of the iPhone 13 will start from February 2022.

These models will be produced in India

Despite the global chip shortage, Apple has met the requirements of starting manufacturing of iPhone 13 in India. However, not all iPhone 13 models will come with the 'Made in India' tag. The company will manufacture only iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro in India, after which the price can be cut. More powerful and expensive iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will still be imported from outside.

Manufacturing of old iPhone models already takes place

Apple is already manufacturing old iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models in India. The company's bestselling devices in India are also associated with the same series. On the other hand, the bestselling device in the iPhone 13 series in India is the Standard iPhone 13. The recent festive sale saw big discounts on iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 and both sold heavily.

Apple's cheapest device is the iPhone SE

Apple is also manufacturing its affordable iPhone model iPhone SE at the Bengaluru plant in Wistron. It is Apple's cheapest iPhone available for sale in India. In 2022, Apple may bring a successor of this iPhone SE, which will also provide users with 5G connectivity.

In 2023, Apple plans to bring a fully new designed iPhone SE, which will come with hardware and displays like iPhone XR.

iPhone models cost so much in India

The iPhone 13 Mini in India is priced at Rs 69,900, while the iPhone 13 can be purchased at a starting price of Rs 79,900. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max Models can be purchased in order for Rs 1,19,900 and Rs 1,29,900. 59,900 and Rs 65,900 in the initial price order of iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12. The base model of the iPhone 11 has been priced at Rs 49,900 in India.

Why is manufacturing in India affecting prices?

To understand how iPhone models manufactured in India can be priced down, we need to understand the taxes and customs duty levied on them. Importing made-up iPhone models requires the company to pay more tax and customs duty and customers also pay a higher price for them. This does not happen when components and parts are ordered from outside and most companies manufacture devices in India to avoid additional duty.

Apple's home-country California (USA) is having iPhone 13 priced at $799 (about Rs 58,800) and the iPhone 13 Mini can be purchased for $699 (about Rs 51,400). In this way, customers in India have to pay up to Rs. 20,000 more. Indian manufacturing will help in reducing the price.