The government wants you—and the world—to know that India played a big role in making the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus a reality. The iPhone 16 series was launched globally, India included, on September 9 during a special Apple event. Global sales start from September 20 with pre-orders beginning September 13.
A day after the announcement, Communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, took to X (the platform previously known as Twitter) to say and we quote, “Apple’s latest iPhone 16 being produced and launched globally from Indian factories!,” adding that “PM @narendramodi Ji’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is now driving the creation of iconic products for the world.”
This confirms two things. Apple is making iPhone 16 and 16 Plus in India. Secondly, the gap in terms of market availability of made in India iPhone 16, has come down in line with ongoing reports. The iPhone 16 in fact could be the first iPhone ready for shipping worldwide soon after release, marking a big milestone for India’s manufacturing prowess and government’s poster Make in India initiative. Vaishnaw’s tweet does not confirm it, but even the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are expected to be manufactured in the country—a first for these kind of models.
India has become a major hub for Apple for manufacturing iPhones both for fulfilling local demand as well as to export overseas. Reports suggest that the company made iPhones worth USD 14 billion in FY24, double the number it manufactured in the previous fiscal. In other words, one in every seven iPhone in the world is now being made in India.
CEO Tim Cook recently emphasised on the need to make in India. During the company’s Q2 2024 earnings call, he had highlighted that Apple needs to make in India in order to stay competitive in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market.
“In terms of the operational side or supply chain side, we are producing there, from a pragmatic point of view, you need to produce there to be competitive,” Cook said.
In FY24, Apple reportedly averaged over USD 1 billion worth of iPhone production each month. This was USD 620 million in the previous fiscal. This production has been achieved by Apple’s three key vendors—Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron, and Wistron which is now owned by the Tata group—all of which are participants in the government’s smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
By 2025, Apple plans to shift 25 percent of its manufacturing to the country. Currently, it’s at 14 percent (up from 7 percent in the previous year). Apple has been making iPhones in India since 2017.
